Credit: Todd Williamson /Bravo
Scheana Shay struggled to navigate her relationship with Tom Sandoval while filming season 11 of Vanderpump Rules.
After cutting ties with Sandoval, 40, at the end of season 10 as it was confirmed that he’d cheated on her best friend, Ariana Madix, 38, with their co-star, Raquel Leviss, 28, Scheana, 38 was brought back together with her longtime friend and admittedly faced challenges amid changing dynamics amongst the cast.
Earlier this summer, after the Pump Rules cast traveled to Lake Tahoe, Scheana was met with backlash after posing for a group pic with Sandoval and took to her Instagram Story to defend herself.
“I don’t know why I feel the need to defend taking a photo with my hand like this [in a fist] in the back of someone,” she said in July.
Even Ariana spoke out on her behalf.
“[Scheana] is an amazing friend who took a photo with a fan for their birthday,” she explained in a social media post of her own. “There’s been so many mean comments towards her for it and she was just doing something nice. We always try to stop for photos and when the whole cast is present, it’s common for the whole cast to be in the photo regardless of what is going on between any of us at the time.”
A short time later, before Lala Kent, 33, was met with backlash for her own interaction with Sandoval, Scheana found herself with Sandoval yet again as the two of them were paired up for a “spiritual meditation” session.
“We went to Tahoe, it was all filmed for season 11. Ariana and [Katie Maloney] did not come, but Tom Sandoval did. There was one day [that was] beyond the most emotionally draining day I have ever had in 11 seasons of Vanderpump Rules,” she later admitted on Amazon Live. “No joke, my eyelashes hurt from how much I cried that day. My contacts were dry and I was congested. I felt weak in every way possible. [Eleven] seasons and that day got me the most.”
While it’s hard to say where Scheana and Sandoval stand today, Scheana addressed their relationship on an episode of her podcast with guest Kelly Osbourne on Friday.
“I never thought he was a bad guy. He was one of my best friends for almost 15 years. He was the only person who had my back on this show, who fought for me whenever something was unfair and he was the person there in my corner,” she admitted on the September 8 episode of Scheananigans, via Us Weekly.
According to Scheana, she had a hard time navigating her status with Sandoval amid season 11 because he never did anything to hurt her directly.
“I have personally really struggled with all this because I’m like, ‘Yes, you did a really bad thing. But you weren’t a bad friend to me. But then what you have done has affected me,’” she added. “So it’s just changed the entire dynamic of our group.”
Vanderpump Rules season 11 is expected to premiere on Bravo sometime later this year or early next year.