Ariana Madix Wanted Me to Film ‘Pump Rules’

By her side — no matter what. Kristen Doute opened up about getting back in front of Bravo cameras amid Ariana Madix‘s split from Tom Sandoval.

The Vanderpump Rules alum, 40, claimed during the Thursday, March 16, episode of the “Viall Files” podcast that Ariana, 37, personally requested that Kristen join her on season 10 as the drama develops. “I filmed that scene because Ariana specifically said, ‘I really need you to do this for me,’” Kristen told the former Bachelor, 42. “I told her, ‘I have nothing to gain from this. I, in fact, will probably look like an opportunist or thirsty.’”

She continued: “I specifically said to her, ‘This has nothing to do with the network, the production, the ratings, whatever. What do you need? Because you’ve also now had to talk about this a million times with so many people, on and off camera. So if this is just one more time you don’t wanna do that, I don’t need to do it.’ She wanted me to, so I did.”

Us Weekly confirmed earlier this month that Ariana and Tom, 40, called it quits after nine years of dating due to his affair with costar Raquel Leviss. Kristen, who was fired from the Bravo hit in June 2020 for past racist behavior, was later spotted visiting Ariana amid the breakup. When the reality show resumed production on season 10, Us confirmed that the Michigan native filmed with her former costars.

“The cameras haven’t stopped rolling,” a source exclusively told Us as the controversy continued. “It’s not an understatement to say this will be the most explosive season of Vanderpump Rules ever.”

Shortly after news broke that Kristen was rejoining the Bravo stars for a scene, Lisa Vanderpump weighed in on the development — and threw a little shade at her former SUR employee. When asked whether her opinion of Kristen had changed since her departure from the series, Lisa, 62, told Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen viewers on March 8, “Let me think about that for a moment, no.”

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The He’s Making You Crazy author seemingly responded via her Instagram Story after the apparent diss, writing, “Word on the street is that tonight’s #WWHL guest s—t on me, again…? Dear Guest, why are you so obsessed with me? Xoxo Kristen.”

While she may not be Lisa’s biggest fan — or vice versa — Kristen commanded the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum for supporting Ariana “off camera” throughout her breakup. “Ariana has said that Lisa’s welcomed her with open arms, like, ‘You can come bring your dog and your cat, you can come stay at Villa Rosa,’” she said. “Ariana’s like, ‘S–t, do I do that? That sounds fabulous.’ … She needs all the love and support she can get, whether it’s from someone I don’t like or not.”

The James Mae T-shirt designer has been expressing her unfiltered opinions on the scandal since news broke of her ex’s infidelity. (Kristen and Tom dated on and off from 2007 to 2013.) Despite her rocky history with Ariana, the reality TV alum denied that she felt vindicated by Tom’s affair.

“I don’t know why I feel like I need to make this clear, but there’s so many people right now wondering if this is making me happy,” she said via her Instagram Story on March 3. “And you guys, Ariana and I’ve been really good friends for many, many years now. So, I am team Ariana — all day, every day. That’s what’s up.”

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When it comes to her firing from Vanderpump Rules, Kristen has been candid about growing from her mistakes. “I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned is that I have so much to learn,” she said on the “Hollywood Raw” podcast in September 2020. “I know that’s super cliché and a lot of people say that but it’s absolutely true because I think that I thought that I understood racism but now I’m really learning about unconscious bias. Learning about anti-racism. Learning about how we can do things locally to really truly make changes and putting work into your community locally to make those changes I think [are] so important.”