Vanderpump Rules fans don’t have to wait long for more drama with the season 11 premiere just around the corner.
Viewers were in for a surprise during the first BravoCon panel on Friday, November 3, when a teaser clip confirmed the series is returning in January. “What a difference one scandal makes,” read a message in the video as a slowed down version of Vanderpump Rules‘ theme song “Raise Your Glass” played. An exact return date has not yet been announced.
Season 10 — which concluded in June — wrapped up with Ariana Madix dealing with the fallout of her ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval’s affair with her friend Raquel Leviss. Ariana, 38, and Sandoval, 40, split in March following nearly a decade of dating due to his infidelity. Meanwhile, Lisa Vanderpump confirmed in August that Raquel, 29, would not be returning to the reality show.
In addition to Ariana and Sandoval, Vanderpump, Katie Maloney, Tom Schwartz, Lala Kent, Scheana Shay, James Kennedy, Ally Lewber and Brock Davies are expected to appear in season 11.
Before news broke of Raquel’s exit, Ariana refused to film with either her or Sandoval, though Ariana was later spotted shooting scenes with her ex. “No. I have nothing to say to either of them,” Ariana told The New York Times in May. “Our show is very real and follows a real group of friends, and neither of them are in the group of friends, so, good luck.”
Raquel, for her part, reflected on her relationship with Tom during an August appearance on Bethenny Frankel’s “Just B” podcast. “I felt seen and heard by him. I haven’t really had that connection with other people in the cast, nor people in my real life,” Raquel explained. “I was filming in a tumultuous environment. I was needing some validation and somebody to hear what I was going through. Here comes along Tom who really gave me that time of day to share my side of the story in a non-judgment zone. That’s exactly what I needed in that moment.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Raquel downplayed her friendship with Ariana, claiming that the two did not spend much time together when they were not filming the series. “Ariana and I were not best friends. We were acquaintances who became friends through the show,” she said. “She’s always been somebody who’s been very sweet to me. She would stand up for me and encourage me to pursue whatever I was, I don’t know … pursuing. And that was all great — but we never had, like, a deep conversation that I would have with a best friend.”
As for Ariana, she has thrived since the scandal, competing on season 32 of Dancing With the Stars and moving on with boyfriend Daniel Wai. “This situation made me realize that I can do hard things,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in October. “The worst-case scenario literally did happen, and I was OK. Like, look — you can handle what’s thrown at you.”
