In a shocking twist that has further fractured the already tense dynamics within The Valley cast, Kristen Doute has reportedly reached her emotional breaking point after discovering she was also the subject of ridicule in the same leaked group thread that tore apart Brittany Cartwright and Zach Wickham’s decade-long friendship.
Multiple insiders confirm that Kristen – who had remained publicly neutral during the initial fallout between Brittany and Zach – recently learned that she too was mocked in a separate section of the same group chat, with Zach referring to her as “low-budget emotional support.” According to sources familiar with the incident, the message was forwarded to Kristen by someone close to the production who “thought she deserved to know what was really being said behind her back.”
The timing could not have been worse. The revelation reportedly came just hours before a private off-camera brunch at The Butcher’s Daughter in West Hollywood, where several members of the cast were gathered to celebrate a mutual friend’s birthday. Witnesses say Kristen appeared “distracted and tense” from the moment she arrived, but it wasn’t until halfway through the meal that she emotionally unraveled.
“She was shaking,” one source tells DailyMail+. “She stood up in the middle of the table and said, ‘I defended this guy. I vouched for him when people told me he was toxic. I let him cry in my car after that party — and this is what I get?’”
According to another attendee, Kristen broke down into tears, excused herself from the table, and was followed into the restaurant’s restroom by Janet Caperna, who allegedly whispered, “We’ve all been fools.”
The phrase “low-budget emotional support” has since gone viral among Bravo fans, sparking a debate online about how male gay best friends in reality TV often use their proximity to female castmates for strategic gain — only to mock or discard them when the spotlight shifts.
Zach Wickham has yet to publicly address this specific comment, though he posted a cryptic Instagram Story shortly after the news broke, featuring the quote: “You never really know who someone is until they don’t need you anymore.” The post was deleted within an hour, but not before it was screen-recorded and reposted by multiple Bravo fan accounts.
Kristen has remained relatively quiet since the incident but is said to be “deeply hurt” and “questioning a lot of her past friendships.” One source close to her tells DailyMail+: “She’s used to drama, sure. But this wasn’t a cast fight. This was betrayal disguised as friendship. It broke something in her.”
Bravo insiders say this incident may now become a major storyline in post-production edits, with several producers reportedly pushing to include Kristen’s breakdown in a retrospective segment to highlight the real-life emotional toll behind the glitter and drama of reality TV.
For now, Kristen is focusing on her family and her newborn baby girl — but those close to her say she won’t stay silent forever.
“She’s not done. She’s just reloading.”
