The Valley star Janet Caperna is taking space from longtime pal Kristen Doute.
“We were very close for many years and there just was so much that happened all at once that it really felt like it was like, ‘OK, I need a break for right now,’” Janet, 34, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, April 24. “I never say never. And I love Kristen. I want to see her do well, but we kind of got to a point where we were like, ‘We need a pause for now.’”
Janet and Kristen’s friendship highs and lows are currently airing on The Valley, Bravo’s spinoff of Vanderpump Rules. Since the show wrapped in summer 2023, Janet and Kristen have not reconnected.
“It’s funny, we had a little bit of a break and then when we came together to celebrate the premiere, I was like, ‘Oh, I kind of miss Kristen,’” Janet told Us. “And then an episode aired and I was like, ‘I do not miss Kristen’ [and] how dare her?’”
According to Janet, watching back The Valley drew attention to certain remarks Kristen, 41, had made in confessional interviews.
“[It’s] a different experience that I’m not used to since this is my first season on reality TV,” Janet explained. “Reliving everything all over again and seeing what people are saying in their interviews and behind your back, you’re like, ‘I can’t believe she said that.’”
The Bravo newcomer further noted that she was “really surprised” when Kristen mentioned feeling like “a pawn in [Janet’s] game.”
“I was like, ‘What?’ And I was like, ‘Wow, she’s giving me a lot of credit,’” Janet recalled. “Like, I don’t think I have that in me to make pawns and expect that four different people are going to all do my dirty work perfectly for me. I’m like, ‘That’s putting trust in too many people.’”
While the two women have yet to bury the hatchet, Janet has forged a newfound bond with costar Brittany Cartwright.
“Especially since I’ve been through a divorce and, [I’m] not saying that that’s for sure where [Brittany and Jax Taylor are] heading right now, it’s just a separation but when she made that leap, we kind of bonded over that,” she told Us. “I just kind of let her know whatever ends up happening, she’s going to be OK. So that’s kind of a different stage in our friendship that we haven’t gone through.”
Janet was previously married before finding love with now-husband Jason Caperna. Brittany, 35, meanwhile, confirmed in February that she had separated from husband Jax, 44.
The Valley airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET and is available to stream on Peacock the next day.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
