James Kennedy is teasing fans about what is to come on tonight’s final episode of the Vanderpump Rules reunion.
As James spoke to his fans and followers about the “madness” of part three, which is expected to focus on Raquel Leviss and her months-long, sordid affair with former best friend Ariana Madix‘s boyfriend of nine years, Tom Sandoval, producer Alex Baskin addressed Raquel’s role on season 11, hinted at the returns of former cast members, and further explained the reunion bomb.
“There is, as we’ve been teasing, a twist at the end of the reunion. So I think it’s the perfect capper to a season unlike any other. We wind down the day of [filming the reunion] and then a few days later, there’s yet another development,” Alex revealed during a June 6 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Although Alex did have a “real concern” that Raquel would not show up to the reunion, especially after he lost contact with her after she filmed the finale episode with Sandoval, and saved her one-on-one taping until that day to ensure she’d be present, she was ultimately “dead-set” on attending.
“She was pretty dead-set on going to the reunion and dealing with what she needed to; Looking Ariana in the eyes and standing up and taking accountability for what she had done,” he explained, noting that he couldn’t have forced her to attend if she chose not to.
But while Raquel was able to come face-to-face with many of her co-stars, her temporary restraining order against Scheana meant she could not come within 100 yards of her.
“Raquel and Scheana had what they both thought was a real friendship; There was an intensity in feelings there. So I wish they could have hashed out their issues,” Alex said of having to keep the women apart.
As for Sandoval, Alex said he never tried to get out of filming the reunion.
“He was never in doubt. He obviously was dreading it, and that’s to be understood. But I think he always anticipated that he would go,” Alex stated.
In the weeks leading up to the final episode of the Pump Rules reunion, there has been tons of buzz about the bomb that is expected to drop. And while Alex, of course, could not share the news ahead of the broadcast, he promised it would be “super-explosive” and “a big twist.”
“This development happened after the reunion was shot… and I just will say that things are unsettled by the end… And then there’s a further development a few days after the reunion that we cover,” he revealed. “It is a wrinkle to what was said at the reunion.”
“There’s information that was not known at the reunion itself about the entire situation that then comes to light in the days following,” he added. “The group ended in one way, unsettled, but having hashed all this out. And then they will come to find out, or in some cases have already found out, that there’s even more to the story. It’s not some earth-shattering development about the direction of the show or someone else involved in this whole situation. It’s clarity and further diving in on what really happened versus what we thought happened.”
Alex confirmed that the timeline of Sandoval and Raquel’s affair “evolves” during episode three, but he couldn’t share much else. Instead, he declared that the revelation was not that Raquel and Tom Schwartz slept together, nor that Raquel is pregnant.
It’s also not that Lisa Vanderpump will be moving Pump Rules‘ home base to Schwartz & Sandy’s following the closure of PUMP for season 11, which is expected to begin production “in the next few weeks.”
As for the cast of season 11, Alex said they won’t be able to make demands regarding who they will and won’t film with.
“The cast knows that those conditional demands never work,” he stated. “It can’t be a show with separate islands. That doesn’t work and it’s not exciting if we have groups who agree with each other but never interact.”
Currently, Alex and his team are having “ongoing conversations” with Raquel’s team in regard to her position on the upcoming season, and they are also considering adding past cast members into the mix.
“It is a distinct possibility that some past cast members might make appearances on this upcoming season,” he revealed. “And we’re supposed to speak to [Raquel] as well soon. And, we’re going to see. We want to make sure she is in a place where it makes sense for her to tell her story in a public setting… But our first order of business is making sure that it makes sense for her to be on television.”
As Raquel remains in treatment for her mental health, Alex said he’s unsure of where she stands with Sandoval.
“She has been taking care of herself and she’s somewhat isolated. But I don’t know what their exact status is,” he admitted.
After getting his advance copy of the Pump Rules reunion on Tuesday, James took to his Instagram page to share some insight on the “madness” that is to come.
“Guys. If you think it’s been a wild ride thus far. Strap your bloody seatbelts. The madness begins tomorrow,” he teased in the caption.
Then, in his video clip, James proclaimed, “Just watched part three of this reunion, okay, and let me just tell you, like, if you were thinking that you were, like, over it, right, or you’re ready to forgive anyone, okay, just watch tomorrow and I swear, you’re gonna get shot right back to square one, okay?”
Part three of the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion airs tonight, June 7, at 9/8c on Bravo.