Lisa Vanderpump is confused by Rachel Leviss saying she won’t return to Vanderpump Rules unless production pays for her therapy.
“She said that, but I think she has had a therapist on hand the whole time through filming,” Vanderpump, 63, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her new floral collection, Vanderpump Blooms x Bloom Haus, available at Kroger stores starting Wednesday, September 4.
“I think Bravo [is] very cognizant of that — of being there even when you’re filming, saying somebody’s available for you to talk to,” she continued. “So, I don’t quite understand what that means.”
Leviss, 29, did not return to season 11 of VPR, which aired earlier this year, after the fallout from her affair with costar Tom Sandoval while he was dating Ariana Madix. Leviss exclusively told Us earlier this month that she would need “all expenses-paid therapy” to return to the Bravo reality series.
Every Cheating Accusation That Rocked ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Over the Years
“I just don’t know if I see a path forward because it’s not a healthy dynamic,” she said. “I’m trying to protect my mental health and I’m trying to live an authentic life.”
Leviss has become estranged from her former VPR costars since the cheating scandal, and Vanderpump can’t picture a world where she fits back into the fold.
“It’s hard to integrate somebody into a situation [like this]. As I say, you can never say never … but she’s had a lot of negative things to say about Vanderpump Rules, about producers [and] about NBC,” Vanderpump explained. “So, I think we can safely say that ship has sailed.”
While Leviss left the show after season 10, Sandoval, 42, stayed on as a cast member and attempted to repair his fractured relationships with his costars, including Tom Schwartz and Scheana Shay. Vanderpump told Us that she “tried to facilitate some kind of cohesion” between Sandoval and the group during season 11 because she saw Madix, 39, “thriving” while Sandoval was “kind of floundering.”
She noted that Madix’s success post-scandal — since she and Sandoval called it quits in March 2023, Madix has placed third on Dancing With the Stars, landed a Love Island USA hosting gig and made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago — has been “the greatest revenge.”
Ariana Madix Celebrates ‘Most Handsome’ Boyfriend Daniel Wai’s Birthday
“She didn’t get mad, she just got even,” Vanderpump said, noting that she initially “thought [Madix] would become the victim” of the situation. “I hope she can find a place in her life where she can let the anger go. I think then you can really feel you’ve moved on. But I think she’s done really well, and I cheered her on every step of the way.”
Vanderpump joked about the dynamics of the cast when asked to pick flowers for various cast members. She noted that she’d give Madix “yellow roses, for hope,” but she isn’t feeling particularly generous toward Sandoval at the moment.
“I might send him some weeds right now. I’ll let you know,” she quipped.
Jokes aside, Vanderpump’s new floral line is close to her heart.
“I’ve always really loved flowers, I think that’s been very evident. Going back to the beginning of [The Real] Housewives [of Beverly Hills], you’d see me kind of arranging these huge arrangements in Villa Blanca and Sur,” she said, referring to two of her restaurants. “Flowers were always a passion of mine. I’m at the stage of my life where I’m really committed to just doing passion projects.”
For more on Vanderpump’s floral line, watch the video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
