In her new book, My Good Side, Scheana Shay makes a revelation about Lisa Vanderpump, alleging the SUR boss knew more about Shay’s affair with Eddie Cibrian than she let on.
“We all saw it play out on the show when I went up to her and she acts shocked that I was working her party with this guy’s ex-wife who I used to date because I didn’t know he was married,” Shay, 40, tells Us Weekly during her cover story interview, referring to a scene on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills when she crossed paths with Brandi Glanville. “Up until about six months ago, that was the truth that I knew because that’s what she told me. Now, I feel like she low-key used my real-life pain to launch her TV empire — and what an empire she has.”
Acknowledging it was hard to believe Vanderpump, 64, didn’t know — “I vividly remember when photos leaked of Eddie and I, there was a magazine being passed around the kitchen at Villa Blanca” — Shay feels manipulated.
“She gaslit me about it for a decade instead of just coming to me in the beginning,” Shay tells Us. “And that’s the thing with Lisa: She doesn’t make mistakes. She makes moves and then calls them coincidences.” (Us reached out to Vanderpump for comment.)
Scheana Shay and Lisa Vanderpump’s Tension After ‘VPR’ Overhaul Explained
Shay reveals it was a producer who confessed Vanderpump “was worried the Disney girl with a connection to Eddie wouldn’t join the show” when they were developing VPR in 2012.
“In that moment, my jaw wanted to drop to the floor,” Shay says.
While Shay admits that she likely would have signed up for VPR anyway, she wishes Vanderpump “was transparent with me from the beginning.”
“I’ve always looked up to Lisa. I’ve always admired her. Now I’m like, ‘Did I admire her out of fear?’” Shay asks. “I guess I would’ve just like to have agency in my own story.”
Scheana Shay Has a ‘Trauma Response’ When Lisa Vanderpump Calls Her
In the book, Shay mentions getting phone calls from Vanderpump during production of VPR. While she typically listened to what her boss had to say, things changed after one specific request.
“On season 6 of VPR, when James Kennedy told Katie Maloney that the outfit she was wearing wasn’t flattering, I got a phone call from Lisa. She didn’t want to fire James, so she needed someone to stand up for him [at a staff meeting],” Shay recalls. “If you go back and watch, I’m getting a death stare from Lisa, like, ‘When are you going to speak up? When are you going to stick to the script?’ That’s when I stopped following her orders, and I feel like the relationship changed after that.”
The book also touches on a more recent falling out with Vanderpump, where the restaurateur snubbed Shay because she took a photo with Kyle Richards.
“Whether it was following my mom’s rules as a child or changing my look to fit in at school or taking Lisa’s calls, I’ve let their narratives and guidance define me,” Shay tells Us. “[With the memoir], I wanted to finally take the narrative back and tell my story.”
My Good Side is available for pre-order ahead of the memoir’s July 22 release. For more from Shay, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
