Vanderpump Rules season 11 has been an overwhelming, emotional rollercoaster for the cast of the series, who finished off the season with a dose of reality that was shocking to viewers. While the major plotline of Vanderpump Rules season 11 has revolved around the cast doing their best to find a new status quo after the fallout of Scandoval, the affair between Tom Sandoval and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss behind Ariana Madix’s back, there has been new drama cropping up all season long. Tom, who has felt isolated and alone throughout the current season, has claimed to be working on himself.
While Tom’s self-help has felt like a rouse to Ariana and Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay and Lala Kent have been having a difficult time judging whether he’s actually trying to be their friend, or if it’s all a scam. Though the ripple effect of Tom’s actions have made it impossible for many of the Vanderpump Rules season 11 cast members to feel like they fully trust each other, it hasn’t been entirely about Tom and Ariana’s split. Katie and her ex-husband, Tom Schwartz, have been dealing with issues of their own, as have James Kennedy and his girlfriend, Ally Lewber.
Early in the episode, Tom’s conversation with Scheana at the end of Vanderpump Rules season 11 episode 14 came up when talking to her husband, Brock Davies. Scheana explained that it’s been difficult for her to understand if Tom is telling her the truth about his growth and intentions. She shared that while she wants to be able to give him some trust, she feels so broken from the events of Scandoval that it’s impossible for her to really let him back in just yet. Brock, who likes both Tom and Ariana, tried to help her rationalize about the issue.
During a group lunch out in San Francisco before the group was to head off to their friend Kyle Chan’s event on Treasure Island, Lala interrogated Ariana’s new boyfriend Daniel Wai. Though she wasn’t harsh with Daniel, she made it clear that she wanted to know where he stood on some of the important issues in their group. She asked about Danie’s stance on Tom, discussed his career and future plans, and tried ot make sense of how he may fit in with the cast of Vanderpump Rules in the future. Dan, thankfully, wasn’t offended by her highly intense questioning.
At the lunch, Brock tried to explain to the group that Scheana wanted to let Tom back into her life, and he found it disturbing that the women weren’t allowing Scheana to do what she wanted. Katie tried to explain that the situation with Tom was a lot less nuanced than the group wanted to believe. She shared that people like Scheana and Brock were open to forgiving Tom because it was beneficial to them, while it was clear that Tom was simply emotionally manipulating them to have people in his corner. Brock’s argument was successfully stopped in its tracks.
Tom and Schwartz met up after the lunch and while Schwartz filled Tom in on everything, he made it clear that Scheana was someone who did want Tom back in her corner. Schwartz shared that he felt if Tom were open to apologizing to Ariana about the way he’d slandered her mental health in the media after their breakup, it may help him to garner good faith with Scheana. While Schwartz also felt that Tom would be apologizing to Ariana in a way that may make his relationship with her less hostile, but Tom was far more focused on Scheana.
At the event on Treasure Island, James and Ally revisited a conversation they’d had about their figure in an episode earlier in the season, discussing the idea of what came next for them. After moving into a house they’d purchased together, the pair talked about potentially having a child together or getting married in the coming years. Ally wasn’t sure if she wanted to have kids or get married, while James was certain that’s what he wanted. During their conversation, Ally shared that she wasn’t ready yet, but in the future she wanted to end up happily married to James.
Although the majority of the cast had come to San Francisco early, Schwartz’s strange situationship-turned-friend Jo Wenberg showed up for the Treasure Island event, and she decided it would be a good time to talk to Katie about their issues. After Schwartz and Katie’s split, Jo had moved in on Schwartz quickly while trying to maintain a friendship with Katie. The betrayal hurt Katie, and while she’s spoken harshly about Jo, Jo has never apologized. During the event, Jo offered a milquetoast apology and was hurt when Katie didn’t reciprocate. Ultimately, Katie asked Schwartz to get Jo away from her.
Later in the event, Tom made it a point to approach Ariana and Daniel. While Ariana didn’t want to speak to or acknowledge Tom, she knew that Daniel was too polite not to talk to her ex-boyfriend. Tom introduced himself to Dan and shook his hand, extending the best of wishes to Ariana and her new boyfriend. While Tom was quick, Ariana wasn’t happy with the fact that he was reaching out to her partner at all. Dan, thankfully, took everything in stride and treated the interaction with as much care as he possibly could, looking out for Ariana’s feelings.
During a conversation with Scheana and Ariana after the former’s performance of her single, Apples, Scheana tried to approach Ariana about the idea of her being friends with Tom again. Ariana tried to be respectful, listening to Scheana and hearing her out about the amount of growth that Tom’s gone through. Ariana politely asked Scheana to stop talking to her about Tom, because she didn’t want to hear about her ex and his manipulation any longer. During the conversation, Tom approached Ariana. She stormed off, letting a Vanderpump Rules producer know she wasn’t happy that Tom tried to speak her.
After Tom approached Ariana, all hell broke loose for the cast of Vanderpump Rules season 11. At the end of the episode, the cast discussed their involvement in the show, sharing that they were all incredibly authentic on camera except Tom and Ariana while they were in their relationship. Lala and Scheana shared that they felt there had been a lot of secretive behavior, but they weren’t sure how to approach it. In the final moments of the episode, Tom, Schwartz, and a producer are heard talking about Ariana storming off, with Tom shockingly sharing it made him look good.
Source: Bravo/Instagram