Stassi Schroeder isn’t joining her fellow Vanderpump Rules alums on the upcoming spinoff The Valley, but she doesn’t feel like she’s missing out.
Stassi, 35, opened up about her involvement in the new series (or lack thereof) during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live on Wednesday, January 24. When host Jeff Lewis revealed he was “mad at Bravo” about Stassi’s absence from the spinoff, she insisted, “It’s not Bravo’s fault.”
According to Stassi, she was “asked to film the sizzle reel” to give a glimpse of what The Valley would be like. “Once this idea was brought up and they were like, ‘OK, we’re gonna film a sizzle with all the people that would be on it. Will you be on it and film the sizzle?’ and every fiber of my being voted no, like, truly,” she said.
Stassi noted that there were “a lot of different reasons” for her hesitation. “First of all, it wouldn’t be a reflection of what my reality is. … It’s not my group of friends,” she continued. “I’m friendly with some of them. I’m acquaintances with some of them and some of the new ones, too, I think are lovely, but it’s not my crew.”
While “playing devil’s advocate,” Jeff, 53, pointed out that Stassi wouldn’t “have to pretend” to be friends with the rest of the cast and argued that the group “probably would become closer” over time — but Stassi wasn’t convinced.
“I don’t want to have to go and do things that I normally wouldn’t do. I don’t want to disrupt the life that I have right now, because I really like my life right now,” she explained. “When they filmed the sizzle, I was still friends with everyone and I still was like, ‘No.'”
An official teaser for The Valley was released earlier this month featuring Vanderpump Rules OGs Kristen Doute and Jax Taylor and his wife, Brittany Cartwright. Along with bringing back old favorites, the cast includes several new faces — Danny Booko, Nia Booko, Jesse Lally, Michelle Lally, Jason Caperna and Janet Caperna — and Kristen’s boyfriend, Luke Broderick.
Stassi noted on Wednesday that she’s still friends with “a few of” her former costars, including Lala Kent and Katie Maloney, but she’s comfortable living a quieter life with husband Beau Clark and their two kids: daughter Hartford, 3, and son Messer, 4 months.
“My life is not the way that it used to be,” she said. “I’m not in this group. I don’t have time to just be in this group of friends that goes out all the time and gets to do whatever they want it.”
Stassi shut down Jeff’s prediction that The Valley might have “a different vibe” than the early days of Vanderpump Rules, saying, “I know what [those people] do on a regular basis and that’s not what I do.”
Following eight seasons on the Bravo hit, Stassi and Kristen were fired in June 2020. Several months later, Jax and Brittany announced their own exits. The couple previously hinted at being ready for their reality TV returns after recapping season 10 of Vanderpump Rules for Peacock’s Watch With series.
“We’re definitely getting the itch ’cause it was fun to have the cameras over and have crew over,” Brittany, who got her start on Vanderpump Rules in 2015 when she started dating Jax, exclusively told Us in June 2023. “Going through that whole lifestyle again was so fun. Like, when we did Watch What Happens Live [With Andy Cohen], I got a little teary backstage ’cause this was such a big part of my life for six years basically — and for Jax, like, nine. So, it just felt really good to do those things again.”
The Valley is expected to premiere on Bravo this spring, kicking off with a backdoor pilot on episode 8 of Vanderpump Rules season 11.
