Warning: This post contains spoilers for “Vanderpump Rules.”
It’s no secret that Lala Kent and Raquel Leviss haven’t been the best of friends on “Vanderpump Rules,” but the Season 11 premiere shows that even the most complicated dynamics have room for empathy.
In the season premiere, which aired Jan. 30 on Bravo, some familiar faces were reintroduced following last year’s explosive affair between Tom Sandoval and Raquel, infamously known as "Scandoval." A preview for a future episode hints at Tom's return to the series while Raquel seemingly isn't coming back, but in the midst of her absence, she's unexpectedly on Lala's mind.
In March, longtime “VPR” couple Tom and Ariana Madix split after nine years of dating amid cheating allegations. Tom first came forward in a March 4 post, writing that he was “sorry for everything,” followed by Ariana breaking her silence almost two weeks later, saying that her being “devastated and broken is an understatement.”
At the time, cast members showed support for Ariana in both the updated Season 10 finale and intense three-part reunion in May. Lala called Tom a “dangerous human being” and told Raquel that she is “truly insane” during the reunion. But in the Season 11 premiere, Lala seemed to be shifting her perspective on Raquel.
In the season premiere, Lala, Ariana and their other castmates go to TomTom, the bar run by Tom and the other Tom (Schwartz), for the first time since the night Ariana found out about the affair. At one point, Lala steps away to talk to Lisa Vanderpump, and she explains that she’s “feeling a lot of different ways” about the “Raquel situation” three months after Scandoval.
“After taking a step back, what Raquel said, ‘If I basically go against Tom, I don’t have anybody,’ … what I can relate to is feeling isolated,” Lala tells Lisa, referring to Raquel’s final confession from the Season 10 reunion.
“I know what it’s like to have a man in front of you painting a beautiful picture, saying you’re the one for me, you’re my soulmate, and you see what your future could be with this person, and you’re willing to f------ risk it all,” Lala says in a confessional interview, referring to her previous relationship with ex Randall Emmett. “So much so that I ignored everyone around me telling me, ‘Girl, you’re the other woman.’”
In Lisa’s confessional interview, she shares that out of all the cast members, Lala is the “last person” she’d expect to have empathy for Raquel due to their tense interactions in the past, which plays out in a series of flashbacks.
“So maybe if there’s room for forgiveness from Lala, the others will come around," Lisa says.
After their conversation, Lala steps outside and decides to check in on Raquel via voice memo, saying that she’s hoping she’s “doing OK” and that she would like to talk, if Raquel is open to it.
In a recent interview with TODAY.com, many months after the outreach occurred, Lala reflects on the moment and why she decided to extend an olive branch to Raquel.
"I don't know that it was that I was feeling like she should be forgiven. After that (Season 10) reunion, I stand by everything that I said in that moment. I actually look back on that version of myself and I'm like, damn, what a f------ badass. But that version of me cannot exist months later, because at that point it's not badass, something's wrong with you," Lala explains.
Lala reveals that she was "triggered by everyone" after Scandoval, and so she started to do some inner work to try to figure out what was at the core of her emotions. As a result, she found "elements" that she could "relate" to when it came to the situation with Raquel and tried to "put the shoe on the other foot."
"I want to live a good life, I want to be happy, I don't want to put walls up and be angry at the world forever and go into life thinking everyone's a piece of s---. Like, I want to be hopeful again. So I started putting in the work, and I guess it started with Raquel."
After the Season 11 premiere, Lala appeared on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." She revealed that she never got a response from Raquel, saying, "The universe really protects me at all costs."
"She does Bethenny (Frankel's) podcast, and I'm like, I never would have reached out to you, had I had a crystal ball," Lala says. "I thought she was going to go bag groceries at Vons or something and live a normal life, you know?"
Season 11 of “Vanderpump Rules” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo. Fans can also stream episodes the following day on Peacock.
(Peacock is part of our parent company, NBCUniversal.)
