Kristen Doute spreading rumors about Jesse Lally and Michelle Lally’s marriage caused irreparable damage to the Vanderpump Rules alum’s friendship.
“Kristen and I were friends for a very long time,” Jesse, 43, exclusively tells Us Weekly. “I remember when Jax [Taylor] first started working at SUR — Kristen probably won’t remember — but I used to go there and I remember sitting at the table where they counted tips and having drinks with everybody.”
Jesse noted that he was on very good terms with Kristen, 41, before they started filming The Valley in summer 2023. “Regardless of what she says, we’ve been friends for a long time,” he says. “She was one of only two of the girls that were at our baby shower.”
After Kristen started discussing Michelle, 36, and Jesse’s relationship on the show, their dynamic shifted on and off screen.
“We had a good relationship and we haven’t spoken since. We haven’t spoken at all. And [her boyfriend] Luke [Broderick] and I are cordial — mostly talking about stuff related to the show,” Jesse shared. “But yeah, I mean, it’s sad. You hate to lose friends.”
Bravo fans had no idea what they were signing up for when the Vanderpump Rules spinoff premiered in March. The show started off slow by reintroducing viewers to alums Kristen, Jax and Brittany Cartwright. It didn’t take long for all hell to break loose when Kristen claimed that the rest of The Valley cast was calling Michelle a “racist.” (Which she denied.) Kristen also alleged that Michelle had a “secret boyfriend” and revealed Jesse and Michelle’s marriage was on the rocks. (While Michelle denied cheating, the twosome have split.)
“The amount of time that’s passed since cameras went down — there’s so much information that’s come up [since] that it’s almost like we have to have a reunion. Not only resolution, but for us to just move on,” Jesse explains to Us. “I think it’s important for people watching to really hear what’s been going on since the cameras went down and have some sort of closure for everybody. I think that’s important.”
Jesse tells Us that he heard about the cheating rumors for the “first time” when the episode aired last month.
“I watched it when everybody else watched it. I remember specifically I had left [after the fight] and gone downstairs. Kristen and Luke had left and my adrenaline was pumping so hard. I had no idea that I bumped into Brittany. I literally put my mic back on, went upstairs, walked in the room and apologized to Brittany immediately,” he recalls. “So that whole transition of Luke and Kristen, I had no idea and nobody said [anything] to me. It was the first time I heard it.”
The real estate agent, who is currently in divorce proceedings with Michelle, wasn’t happy with the way Kristen chose to go about the situation.
“There’s been a lot of time that’s passed and a lot of stuff I’ve learned about my marriage since then. So there wasn’t a light that went off [when I watched the episode],” Jesse shares with Us. “But again, it’s been a long time since cameras went down and I think those things can all be resolved in a reunion. I think it’s impossible not to have one.”
Jesse also weighed in on Kristen’s onscreen claims that she was trying to protect Michelle. (In the aftermath of the argument, Kristen had a falling out with both Michelle and Jesse. The former couple haven’t gotten to a better place with Kristen.)
“The thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is that in your 40s, you don’t want to get involved in other people’s business. Because then you’re involved in the business and you have to be supportive, but you can’t get involved,” he tells Us. “Would I run and tell one of our friends that somebody’s cheating on you? Or I wouldn’t do that and it is not my place to get involved. … If it’s something that people are going through, it’s just the course of life.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
