James Kennedy may no longer be the No. 1 guy in the group now that Graham Cracker is back in the picture.
The 31-year-old DJ surprised his Instagram followers on Wednesday, July 19, when he shared snaps of himself spending time with Raquel Leviss‘ dog during a Vanderpump Rules cast trip to Lake Tahoe, California. Raquel, 28, for her part, was spotted in Arizona with her family as her reality TV future remains up in the air.
“Look who made his way back home, back into my life. I’ll take care of you forever, and I love you,” James captioned the sweet social media upload, which included a photo of his girlfriend, Ally Lewber, cuddling Graham on a boat.
Viewers were introduced to Graham while James and Raquel, who dated from 2016 to 2021, were still together. Raquel, now a main cast member, began making appearances on the Bravo show during season 5.
The former couple’s festival-themed engagement was featured on the show in early 2022. During the season 9 reunion, which taped in December 2021, Raquel and James announced their split.
“We have decided to break off the engagement. It’s been something that I have been thinking about for a while, and I think that James has noticed that my heart hasn’t been fully in it,” Raquel explained. “I didn’t want to give up on him because he really has shown me how dedicated he is to me and the things that he is willing to do to better himself. But I feel like it is something deep within. I have been having nightmares about our wedding day, and I think that’s a telltale sign that something is wrong.”
Before the reunion aired, James offered an update on whether Graham, was still part of his life post-breakup.
“Raquel always made it clear that Graham was her dog because her mom got it for her as a graduation present,” he said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in December 2021. “And then the next day we moved into our apartment together, so technically, Graham Cracker is her dog even though we raised him together.”
James added: “I’ll always love the little guy and I do miss him right now. Hopefully I’ll get to see him, maybe in February or something if we hang out. Everything’s pretty good right now as far as Raquel and I talking and stuff. There was no big fight or anything, so I don’t see why I couldn’t see Graham Cracker.”
Raquel and James’ dynamic as exes was a major story line when the series returned for season 10. In a February episode, James quipped that he only missed one aspect of his relationship with Raquel.
“I’ve missed Graham more than I’ve missed Raquel,” he said in a confessional after a tense reunion with Raquel. “This is f—ked up, honestly. Maybe if I could see him once. I f—king miss him.”
One month later, Us Weekly confirmed that Raquel was having an affair with Pump Rules costar Tom Sandoval. The cheating scandal caused Sandoval, 41, and Ariana Madix to end their nine-year relationship. Raquel, meanwhile, faced backlash from her fellow cast members and later checked into a mental health facility.
The Vanderpump Rules gang has since been spotted filming season 11 — with Sandoval tagging along for the group trip to Tahoe. Katie Maloney and Ariana, however, were notably missing from the getaway.
As fans questioned their loyalty, Scheana Shay and Lala Kent addressed their decision to film with Sandoval in the aftermath of the scandal.
“I don’t know why I feel the need to defend taking a photo with my hand like this [in a fist] in the back of someone,” Scheana, 37, said in an Instagram Stories video on Wednesday.
Lala, meanwhile, slammed the criticism, adding, “It, like, still blows that people, like, don’t realize we’re filming a show. And it was that girl’s birthday. What are we going to be like, ‘No! Absolutely not.’ Like, no, happy birthday. Let’s take a f—king picture. It’s called adulting.”
