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Vanderpump Rules’ Kristen Denies James Hookup, Calls Rumors a Game of ‘Telephone’ (Exclusive)

James Kennedy and Kristen Doute attend "Vanderpump Rules" Season 3 cast and crew party at SUR Lounge in West Hollywood, California.
James Kennedy and Kristen Doute attend "Vanderpump Rules" Season 3 cast and crew party at SUR Lounge in West Hollywood, California.JB Lacroix/WireImage

Caught by the cushions? Vanderpump Rules star Kristen Doute spoke exclusively to Us Weekly about the Monday, April 2, episode of the Bravo hit that insinuated she hooked up with her ex-boyfriend James Kennedy during the cast’s trip to Mexico.

Related: ‘Vanderpump Rules’ The Craziest Moments Ever

“That never happened,” the 35-year-old reality star tells Us of Jax Taylor’s story about Kristen and James hooking up in the hot tub. “Schwartz, James and I were all in the room together and Ariana [Madix] actually watched the three of us leave on bicycles to go to the beach … I think what happened is James ended up going back to the suite … I was never there … It was like a game of Vanderpump Rules telephone.”

As previously reported, Jax started the rumor that something happened between Kristen and James after he saw cushions by the hot tub that he believed were positioned in a suspicious way.

“I walked out this morning … Kristen is out in the pool area and James grabbed a bottle of tequila … Why, at 7:30 in the morning, would you be in a pool drinking with your ex-girlfriend?” Jax said during the episode.

Related: Most Tumultuous Relationships in Reality TV History

When Tom Sandoval asked James about the rumors during a game of golf later that day, he replied, “Did I what? What did you just say? Hang out with Kristen? I mean, a little bit, but not really.”

Kristen Doute and James Kennedy in ‘Vanderpump Rules‘
Kristen Doute and James Kennedy in ‘Vanderpump Rules‘ Jeff Daly/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

While James told his cast members that he simply hung out with Kristen, Jax, Tom and Tom Schwartz insisted that he admitted to hooking up with his ex.

“He just full out confessed that he did this. He said, ‘Yes, so what? We hooked up,” Jax said in his confessional.

While Kristen admits to Us that she felt “sympathetic” and “empathic” towards James in Mexico after he opened up about being bullied in his past during the March 26 episode, she was angry after she thought he told everyone they hooked up. “For me it was just like a 180, it was like, I gave you an inch and you took a mile … I didn’t know why he was saying that, or supposedly, as we all know, saying that.”

It was revealed that Kristen had started dating the now 26-year-old SUR DJ during the season 2 reunion of the Bravo series, which aired in February 2014. The pair ultimately called it quits during season 4 in 2015, but did admit to hooking up later that season, shortly after Kristen met now-boyfriend Brian Carter. 

Kristen called having to tell her boyfriend about the rumors “frustrating.”

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“Although it’s not true, whether it’s true or not, it’s a very frustrating and upsetting conversation for him because he doesn’t deserve this,” she tells Us. “It was not easy for Carter and I, for sure.”

Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. E.T.

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