Charli Burnett explained why Vanderpump Rules fans may not see her on season 11 — and it mainly has to do with Raquel Leviss.
The SUR waitress, 26, confirmed during an interview with Rolling Stone on Wednesday, June 14, that she was offered a contract for the upcoming season. Charli, however, remains unsure about her plans since she will likely have to film with Raquel, 28, in the aftermath of the beauty queen’s affair with Tom Sandoval.
“That’s uncomfortable for me because I love Ariana [Madix]. I am Ariana’s friend and I’m very upset with everything that’s going on,” Charli explained, referring to Sandoval’s ex-girlfriend. “So I feel like filming next season would be very, very weird and really stressful.”
During season 10, the esthetician was on Raquel’s side amid her feud with Katie Maloney and Lala Kent. The California native found herself at odds with her costars after she showed interest in Katie’s ex-husband, Tom Schwartz. (The former couple were married for six years before calling it quits in March 2022.)
Things took a turn off screen, however, when Us Weekly confirmed in March that Sandoval, 40, and Ariana, 37, had ended their nine-year relationship due to his affair with Raquel. Charli, for her part, said she regretted defending Raquel so often throughout season 10.
“Oh wow would these convos go differently now,” she tweeted that same month while watching an episode of the Bravo series. “I hate when people aren’t honest. Tbh 🙃 I feel incredibly silly on some things obvi knowing what I know now. I can take the accountability on my end always.”
Charli continued: “But what I won’t apologize for is always being a good & honest girls girl. Even if I look dumb for believing someone. I pride myself always on being a good friend. Especially to the women around me. I am only responsible for my words & actions if they ever hurt anyone.. xx 🤍.”
Following the season finale, which aired in May, Charli has been considering all her options. The social media influencer admitted she was also concerned about filming with past cast members amid speculation of surprising returns.
“Old cast members are rumored to come back. I don’t know how that will look, but I imagine they’re probably going to come back with a force because they want to keep that spot again. They don’t want to lose that paycheck,” she told the magazine on Wednesday. “If they did bring Jax [Taylor] back, Tom Sandoval is probably going to be so f—king pissed.”
Charli noted that she is interested to see how the aftermath of the cheating scandal will continue to play out, saying, “A lot of them thrive in that chaotic environment. I also think that with this group, a lot of people flip-flop. I’m actually curious to see if everyone still stays friends like they are right now. Everyone has a really core strength because we all hate Tom [Sandoval] and Raquel, but we also know how that goes. I’m very curious to see how it unfolds and I think it probably will unfold very messily.”
According to Charli, her experience filming season 10 made her reconsider the way she approaches her friendships.
“It definitely has made everything feel very jaded and has brought up a lot of my old trust issues with people. It makes me question who I was with last summer,” she explained about her past bond with Raquel. “Watching those scenes back, anyone can be like, ‘I wish I saw or I wish I knew.’ I said to myself, ‘How could you not put two and two together?’ I was so blind to things, but I think at the time we’re exhausted from filming and there’s so much going on.”
She concluded: “There are so many moving parts and I think a lot of the time you don’t really see things in a clear vision because of that. But now it kind of feels like we were all pawns in Tom and Raquel’s little game. Honestly, watching back I’m like, ‘Is Tom a f—king cult leader? What is he saying to people and convincing them of?’”
