Lala Kent is fresh off of Season 11 of 'Vanderpump Rules,' which was filled with "Scandoval" aftermath and cast tension at an all-time high after Tom Sandoval was caught cheating on longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix with her then-BFF Rachel Leviss.
For the first time in a decade, Lala Kent has the summer off from filming Vanderpump Rules, and she's grateful for it. In fact, she kind of wishes they'd been given last summer off, too, saying they could have used "a little bit more downtime to process."
The reality star made her comments during an appearance on iHeart's Two Ts in a Pod podcast, hosted by Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge, explaining that what needed processing was the just-exploded "Scandoval" of it all.
"Was the show in jeopardy? Yes. And not because of anybody else but Tom Sandoval," Kent said on the podcast, per ET. "You wrecked the group. The show's based on the group, okay?"
While there's been no shortage of drama across a decade of VPR, things hit a new level just after the cameras stopped rolling for Season 10 of the Bravo reality show. This was when Ariana Madix discovered her longtime live-in boyfriend Sandoval had been sleeping with her then-BFF Rachel (née Raquel) Leviss -- all three were part of "the group."
As soon as the scandal broke, Bravo picked up the cameras again for a bonus episode of Season 10, which quickly led to an explosive series of reunion specials. Then, in a matter of months, they were back at it again for a very tense Season 11.
It was all a little bit too much, too fast for Lala, who said she's "a little bit relieved" that producers and the network have opted for a pause on the long-running series for at least this summer. "I want a break," she said.
"I cried every day out of frustration," she explained. "I usually look forward to going and filming that show, [but this season] I dreaded every second. Every time they said, 'Hey, you've got a day off tomorrow,' I cried tears of joy because I was so happy I did not have to engage."
"I have never felt that way before," she added.
With the cast more divided and fractious than ever -- both Ariana and Sandoval returned, but Leviss opted out for mental health reasons and has since launched her own podcast -- there may be a cast shakeup on the horizon. Luckily, Bravo loves to franchise.
Two spinoffs of VPR were launched this past season, with The Valley featuring castoffs Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, and Kristen Doute as they embark on more family-oriented chapters of their lives. That show drummed up plenty of its own relationship drama.
While no official statements have come out about the future of either show just yet, there is talk of possibly dividing the VPR group in some way with The Valley. Some of those rumors even included the idea of Lala herself jumping ship, but Jax already expressed his unhappiness with that idea.
To this, Lala referred to him as a "buffoon" on the podcast, while sharing that she and Brittany are currently "taking a break from each other." At the same time, Brittany said on her When Reality Hits podcast that she thinks things are "fine" between them.
Fans will recall Lala calling Brittany out during the reunion for a text about a babysitter, which Brittany admitted she shouldn't have sent when she did. She doesn't think it was rude, but acknowledges that tension in her marriage to Jax (they've since separated) and the difficulty of finding someone she could trust left her in a heightened state.
"I shouldn't have done that. I apologize immediately for that," she said on her podcast. But she also thought things were fine before Lala brought it up at the reunion, so maybe they're not as fine as she thinks.
Does that mean Lala on The Valley is completely off the tables ... or perhaps even more enticing for producers? Who doesn't love a little baked-in drama?
Both The Valley and Vanderpump Rules have completed their latest seasons. Previous episodes can be found on Peacock.
