Vanderpump Rules star Katie Maloney doesn’t understand why Scheana Shay is hanging out with Tom Sandoval after he cheated on their pal Ariana Madix.
Katie, 36, exclusively told Us Weekly on Saturday, November 4, that she is confused by Scheana’s willingness to hang out with Sandoval, 40. “‘Girl, I love you, but why do you keep making these weird choices?’ It’s just weird choices to make,” Katie shared while on the BravoCon red carpet with Ariana, 38.
Scheana, 38, and Sandoval were seen spending time together while in Las Vegas for BravoCon this weekend, and the Vanderpump Rules season 11 trailer makes it clear that Scheana — unlike her costars — isn’t exactly icing out Sandoval after his affair ended his nine-year relationship with Ariana.
“I check with her sometimes,” Katie told Us of Scheana. “I’m like, ‘Do you feel like you’re on the wrong side of things often?’ And she’s like, ‘Mm-hmm.’ I’m like, ‘OK, well it’s good that you know so you can correct that.’ But then she doesn’t correct it.”
“I agree,” Ariana added. “I mean, it’s weird and I don’t know. It seems, you know, whatever. I am not going to tell somebody what to do or how to —”
“I will,” Katie interjected. “They don’t have to listen, but just do the smart thing.”
Ariana continued, “It just seems like it’s not a difficult thing to do … unless you want to [hang with Sandoval], but then you have to also be prepared that people are going to think it’s weird. That’s the thing.”
In the Vanderpump Rules season 11 trailer, which dropped during the show’s BravoCon panel on Friday, November 3, Scheana is seen giving Sandoval a hug. However, Katie tells Scheana that she’s risking her friendship with Ariana.
“If you’re going to be friends with him, she’s going to f—king cut you off,” Katie tells Scheana. “Think about your next move very carefully.”
In July, Scheana revealed during an Amazon Live that she was paired off with Sandoval for a “spiritual meditation” exercise while filming the upcoming season, which will premiere on Bravo in January 2024.
“It was very uncomfortable,” she noted, though she called the interaction “good TV” for viewers. “I don’t like what he did to Ariana, obviously. Him and I have had a really long friendship so everyone always [says], ‘Oh, Scheana the flip-flopper, Scheana needs to have loyalty.’ And losing a friendship of that long has obviously been a struggle.”
Sandoval is on the outs with his Vanderpump Rules cast mates after his affair with former costar Raquel Leviss came to light in March.
After facing her costars during the season 10 reunion, Raquel, 29, checked herself into a treatment center for her mental health. She later confirmed she wouldn’t return to the show for season 11. Sandoval admitted to Us that while he considered not returning, he ultimately decided to face the music.
“I think as time went on when I get to times where I find life really hard to deal with, I think it’s good to challenge yourself,” he told Us on Friday at BravoCon. “Do what’s hard, you know what I mean?”
Reporting by Christina Garibaldi
