‘Vanderpump Rules’ Cast: Then and Now

Credit: Tommy Garcia/Bravo(2)

‘Vanderpump Rules’ Cast: Then and Now

While some things never change, the cast of Vanderpump Rules is used to a shake-up ... and a touch-up. Vanderpump Rules was introduced to Bravo viewers during a special episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in January 2013. Season 1 starred Lisa Vanderpump, who was a Beverly Hills Housewife at the time, Stassi Schroeder,Scheana Shay, Jax Taylor, Katie Maloney,Tom Sandoval and Kristen Doute. Tom Schwartz, Tina McDowelle, Peter Madrigal, Laura-Leigh, Frank Herlihy, Mike Shay, Kristina Kelly, Jen Bush and Jeremy Davidson all had recurring roles during the early seasons of the show. By season 3, Schwartz was upgraded to a series regular and Ariana Madix and James Kennedy had joined the cast. Lala Kent, Faith Stowers and Brittany Cartwright started appearing in season 4. While the show continued to focus on Stassi, Jax, Kristen, Katie, Schwartz, Sandoval, Ariana, Scheana, Kristen Lala and James through season 8, news broke in June 2020 that the network was cutting ties with Stassi and Kristen for their racially insensitive comments in the past. Production on season 9 of Vanderpump Rules was subsequently suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic as Lisa’s restaurants, including SUR and TomTom, were closed. “They haven't canceled it, so there's hope still. At least there's not, like, anything definitive in that regard,” Katie told Entertainment Tonight in September 2020 about the future of the series, noting that the show will be different without Stassi and Kristen if it continues. "I try to picture and think about it, and it's so weird. It's weird. Yes, it's definitely gonna feel different and look different, but it's not like they're not a part of my life, you know? So, it's gonna be weird to have this part of my life that was very much on the show not on the show anymore." A few months after Bravo announced that the series would begin filming season 9, Lisa confirmed that the drama was already heating up. "You can tell they've been locked up for a year," the SUR owner jokingly told Entertainment Tonight in June 2021. "Everybody's got a point of view, and they're willing to air it and vent it." The restaurateur also spoke about how the show would look now that there was a smaller ensemble cast. "I think it's more mature, the show, but there are people that really like to have their opinion and that's not going to change," she shared at the time. "And they've certainly got a lot of them. ... I'm surprised, actually, how amazingly quick, fast-paced and intense we're in and we're only a third of the way through, so it's good.” Scroll through for a look at how the cast members have changed over the years: [podcast_block]

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Stassi Schroeder

Before she was the queen of SUR, Stassi competed on The Amazing Race when she was 16 years old. She went on to appear on the short-lived N series Queen Bees in 2008. Before the cameras started rolling on season 1 of Vanderpump Rules, she had a chin implant.

"It’s one of the best things I ever did and to this day it makes me feel better about myself," she wrote about the procedure in her book, Next Level Basic.

Stassi has also had a breast reduction, lip fillers and Botox over the years. 

Us broke the news in June 2020 that Stassi and her now-husband, Beau Clark, are expecting their first child, a baby girl. They welcomed their daughter, Hartford Charlie Rose, in January 2021. The couple announced Stassi's second pregnancy in March 2023.

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Jax Taylor

Jax, who has been a part of the show since the 2013 premiere, revealed in 2018 that he gained 60 pounds over the first six seasons. “When I started the show, I took a back seat on the gym,” he told Men’s Health. “I looked great because I was still coming off of the modeling, but the show turned into so much work. We’re filming all day. We’re also partying all of the time. We’re drinking all of the time. I didn’t have the time to go to the gym.”

The Vanderpump Rules OG got back in shape before his season 8 wedding to Brittany, who announced in September 2020 that she is pregnant. 

Their son, Cruz Michael Cauchi, was born in April 2021.

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Kristen Doute

Fans watched Kristen, who has been open about her love for Botox, for eight seasons on Vanderpump Rules. She started seeing Alex Menache after season 8 wrapped in 2020. The couple split two years later in June 2022. “Moving day is hard,” the clothing designer captioned an Instagram Story selfie of her moving out of the home she once shared with Menache. “Leaving memories behind is even harder. Sending anyone having a DAY like this lots of love.”

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Scheana Shay

Scheana made the move from Lisa’s restaurant Villa Blanca to SUR to film season 1 of Vanderpump Rules. Over the years, the “Good As Gold” songstress has been open about getting Botox but denied having any serious plastic surgery in the past. 

“I lost weight. I didn't have work done. Believe what you want. My makeup is better and my face is thinner,” she tweeted in 2016 after a season 4 episode.

She announced in October 2020 that she is pregnant with her and her boyfriend Brock Davies’ first child.

They welcomed their daughter, Summer Moon Honey Davies, in April 2021. Three months later, the pair confirmed that they were engaged. They exchanged vows during a wedding ceremony in Mexico one year later.

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Katie Maloney

Katie has been a full-time cast member since season 1. In addition to her relationship with Schwartz, the former SURver has let cameras follow her struggles with body image. Katie and Schwartz exchanged vows in 2017 before calling it quits in March 2022 after over a decade together. 

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Tom Schwartz

Schwartz was promoted from recurring to regular after season 2. While his stint working for Lisa at Pump was brief, he and Sandoval went into business with their reality TV boss and opened up the bar and restaurant TomTom in 2018.

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Tom Sandoval

Another OG, Sandoval has experimented with his hair several times over the years. His relationship status, however, has stayed consistent since he and Ariana made things official in 2014. They bought a house together in 2019.

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Lisa Vanderpump

The SUR owner has been on Bravo since the 2010 premiere of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. While she left the franchise after 9 seasons in 2019, she landed her second spinoff, Peacock’s Vanderpump Dogs, in 2020.

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Ariana Madix

While she appeared in the background of season 1 during Scheana’s “What I Like” performance at the Roxy, Ariana became an official cast member on season 2 of the Bravo show. She has been dating Sandoval since they got together in between season 2 and season 3.

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James Kennedy

Working at SUR as a busser at the time, James started dating Kristin in between seasons 2 and 3 of Vanderpump Rules. While the DJ has been part of the cast ever since, he has been fired (and rehired) by Lisa several times over the years.

In 2020, he moved in with girlfriend Raquel Leviss. They got engaged in May 2021 during filming for season 9 of Vanderpump Rules.

During the reunion special, which taped in December 2021, the pair announced that they called it quits. James has since moved on with Ally Lewber.

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Lala Kent

Lala joined the SUR gang for season 4 in 2015. After flings with Jax and James, she introduced fans to her “man” Randall Emmett during season 8. The twosome, who got engaged in September 2018, welcomed their baby girl, Ocean, in March 2021.

Lala and Randall ended their engagement in October 2021 after he was photographed with two women in Nashville.

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Brittany Cartwright

Brittany joined the cast of Vanderpump Rules during season 4 when she started dating Jax. The Kentucky native subsequently moved in with the bartender in Los Angeles. After documenting their rocky romance for several seasons, they exchanged vows during season 8.

Brittany gave birth to their first child, Cruz Michael Cauchi, in April 2021.