Katie Maloney says Bravo’s decision to reboot “Vanderpump Rules” was a good one for everyone involved. In November, the network announced that the Emmy-nominated reality show would return for season 12 with a brand new cast.
In February 2025, Maloney, who appeared in the first 11 seasons of the show, told Harry Jowsey’s “Boyfriend Material” podcast that she was ready to move on long before Bravo’s official announcement was made.
“I was very much, especially after the last season, done with the show,” Maloney told Jowsey. “I mean, it was 11 seasons. That’s a long time to be on a show, and I never thought that I would get to the point where I wanted to walk away, but so many relationships were damaged beyond repair, and I just was like, ‘How can I realistically, in an authentic way, kiki with these people ever again? I can’t.’”
“It would be so fake and phony,” she added. “And the whole premise of the show is like a group of friends that travels together and hangs out and fights sometimes, but like, it just got so dark. But then they decided not to bring us back anyway, so it worked out for everybody.”
Katie Maloney Made the Decision to Quit Before ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Was Put on Pause
Bravo
The decision to reboot “Vanderpump Rules” was a long time coming. Following a volatile 11th season that centered on the aftermath of the shocking “Scandoval” cheating scandal, the show went on a lengthy hiatus.
On April 30, 2024, TMZ reported that “Vanderpump Rules” would take a “pause” from its normal filming schedule to give the cast a “break” after shooting near back-to-back seasons.
On the December 4 episode of her “Disrespectfully” podcast, Maloney revealed that she never planned to return to the show she starred in since 2013. “I didn’t plan on returning,” Maloney told co-host Dayna Kathan. “Maybe it doesn’t matter at this point. But I had made a decision months ago after this past season, I needed to move on with my life.”
“And this was before we knew the show was gonna be put on pause,” the Something About Her co-owner added. “I talked to producers about it, I felt personally ready to move on from the show. I felt like my life and where I was at was moving in a different direction.”
Maloney explained, “I got to a point where I just don’t know that I can live and grow and be the version of myself I want to be on the show any longer.”
Maloney explained that the cast became too divided following Tom Sandoval’s friendship-ending scandal. “I think the group dynamic, what makes the show that show, would be hard to do because it was so fractured at the end there. And many of us don’t hang out. As far as it being a cohesive unit, it just doesn’t exist anymore,” she said.
Katie Maloney Said She Doesn’t Know the New VPR Cast Members
On Jowsey’s podcast, Maloney said she doesn’t know who the new “Vanderpump Rules” cast members are. The newcomers are all real staff members at Lisa Vanderpump’s Sur Lounge, where Maloney worked as a waitress when she first joined the show more than a decade ago.
“Apparently [the new cast members], I know they were doing a little bit of filming something at SUR restaurant last year,” Maloney said on the podcast.
In a February 2025 interview with Us Weekly, Vanderpump teased the dynamic of the new cast. “When you have a restaurant, especially in Hollywood, with a revolving door of beautiful people who are all kinds of normally rather large personalities because they come to Hollywood for a reason, it’s always complicated,” she said. “I am sure it’s gonna be very different with these young minxes when they get to work, but we shall see.”
The “Vanderpump Rules” queen bee also described the new cast as “some very interesting characters for sure.”
