In November 2024, Bravo announced that Season 12 of Vanderpump Rules would see a complete overhaul. The season will follow fresh, new faces who work as servers, bartenders and hostesses, at Lisa Vanderpump’s SUR restaurant, which is exactly how the show first amassed its fans.

The previous season ended with fractured friendships and uncertainty after Scandoval. In fact, OG cast member Katie Maloney admitted that filming Season 11 “was torture” and if she had to work on another season, it would be filled with “fake” and “phony” friendships. Ouch!

Although the new season will likely deliver drama among these co-workers, former VPR star Ariana Madix had a few choice words to give these new reality TV stars.

Ariana Madix Believes The New Season 12 Vanderpump Rules Cast Have “A Tough Road Ahead”

Ariana Madix had a few things to say to the new cast of Vanderpump Rules. As someone who has shared over 10 years of her life on reality TV, including being a part of one of television’s biggest cheating scandals, Ariana knows the good and bad when it comes to living your life on camera 24/7.

Speaking to Extra TV, Ariana shared that she was “excited to see” how the new Season 12 cast will handle being in the spotlight.

She added, “Anybody, I think, who’s done that has lived that, and I think they’ll be great. They’ll have fun.”

Besides having a “tough road” ahead (Ariana can attest to that), fans are also hoping that the new cast will bring just as much drama as the OGs, which include Scheana Shay, Tom Sandoval, Tom Schwartz, Katie Maloney, James Kennedy, Lala Kent, and former VPR stars like Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, and Jax Taylor.

In her same interview, Ariana was asked what she had learned since appearing on reality TV.

“I’ve learned to trust myself. I’ve also learned to trust my gut more and I think I’ve learned that I can do things that are hard in life,” she shared. Hopefully, the new cast will take Ariana’s advice. The last two seasons of VPR saw the fallout and aftermath of Tom Sandoval’s cheating affair with co-star Rachel “Raquel” Leviss that ended his 9-year relationship with Ariana.

Ariana Admitted She Was Never Cut Out For Reality TV

In a recent interview with People, marking the two-year anniversary of Scandoval, Ariana revealed that being on a reality television show was never part of her plan.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been what makes ‘a good reality star.’ I think in some ways that’s what has made me a good reality star,” she told the outlet.

Ariana further detailed why she didn’t see herself cut out for reality TV, like the drama that came with it.

“But that being said, I think that a lot of times I got in my head … “I’ve also learned that maybe that’s not the best setting for me, and it’s not a setting that really allows me to be myself. And when you’re not being yourself, you get yourself into situations where you’re saying or doing things that you don’t really back or believe in,” she told the outlet.

Of course, fans would say otherwise as they enjoyed watching her journey from working as a SUR bartender to the owner of her very own establishment in West Hollywood with pal Katie Maloney. In between, Ariana found herself in a nearly 10-year relationship with Tom, which ended when he cheated on her with Rachel. Unfortunately, after Season 11, the cast could not move forward as their friendships were not what they used to be.

Additionally, Ariana told People for the first time ever that she decided to leave the show before a reboot was announced.

The New VPR Season Will Have “Very Interesting Characters” According To Lisa Vanderpump

As of this writing, there is no set premiere date for Season 12 of Vanderpump Rules. However, the reboot is said to have begun filming this year. SUR restaurant owner Lisa Vanderpump is also making sure that the season will have fans intrigued as they have been so heavily invested in the former cast.

During an interview with Us Weekly in February, she shared, “When you have a restaurant, especially in Hollywood, with a revolving door of beautiful people who are all kinds of normally rather large personalities because they come to Hollywood for a reason, it’s always complicated.”

“I am sure it’s gonna be very different with these young minxes when they get to work, but we shall see. I got some very interesting characters for sure, but SUR has been around for a very long time, and as I say, it’s a show we could have shot 12 months of the year,” Lisa added.

SUR restaurant’s Instagram has shared numerous photos of its employees, which have given fans a few hints about who may be starring in the new reboot.

In fact, VPR star Peter Madrigal is also believed to be the only former cast member returning to the reboot, since he actually works at the restaurant as a manager. It’s been rumored that Peter would act as a mentor to the new cast.

Peter even teased in an interview with People that “there’s gonna be a lot of drama” among the new cast.

“I know the new cast. Yeah, I know them pretty well. There’s a lot of drama going on at the restaurant. There always is … So, it’s going to be insane. It’s going to be a little bit intense. Absolutely,” he admitted.

Vanderpump Rules

Release Date

January 7, 2013

Writers

Alex Baskin, Douglas Ross, Lisa Vanderpump