Vanderpump Rules Season 12 Filming Delayed

Sandoval ostensibly verified that Vanderpump Rules is not filming season 12 over the summer as is tradition.

“I think one of the things is that, coming out of this scandal, it was like we picked up filming right when everything first happened,” Sandoval explained during an appearance on Fox’s New Day Cleveland on Wednesday, May 1. “And then we kind of had a very short break and then right into filming this season that you’re watching now, season 11.”

The reality star observed that “what would end up happening, production would just be down, the last episode of the season, the reunion, then our secrets revealed or whatever it is, would air and then it’s maybe a couple weeks and we would be back into filming again.”

Sandoval added that with the summer filming hiatus, the cast will get a genuine vacation and be able to catch up on the timeline.

“They just wanna give it some time to breathe, take a break, maybe, I’m really excited about it,” he said. “Because it’s like every year we film my birthday. We film Scheana Shay’s birthday at times or whatever. To kind of have a distinct time of the year, it might lend a new type of vibe to our show.”

Bravo is mixing it up when it comes to the Vanderpump Rules season 12 filming schedule, according to multiple outlets.

The reality series is taking a hiatus from filming new episodes after the ensemble filmed season 11 in the aftermath of Scandoval.

For a decade, Vanderpump Rules has filmed during the summer, with the program usually commencing production in May and continuing through June and July. TMZ reported on Tuesday, April 30, that the VPR cast won’t have cameras filming during the summer months. (The network hasn’t guaranteed season 12.)

VPR’s latest spinoff, The Valley, however, will likely film this summer, according to Deadline, which reported that although Bravo hasn’t formally taken up The Valley for season 2, the statistics are looking positive.

When it comes to VPR, the network reportedly feels like the actors need a respite outside of filming following all the controversy surrounding Tom Sandoval and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss’ 2023 affair. (Ariana Madix’s role as the host of Love Island season 6 is also rumored to be playing a part in the VPR production hiatus.)

Andy Cohen — who emphasizes that he doesn’t produce Vanderpump Rules — weighed in on VPR striking pause during a Wednesday, May 1, episode of SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live.

“We used to do this all the time with the Housewives. We would say, ‘You know what? Let’s set cameras down for, you know, four or five months and come back to them.’ And they will have lived, you know, life,” Cohen, 55, explained.

Cohen disclosed that he spoke with Ariana, 38, during her Tuesday appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen about how viewers “forget” the chronology of their show.

“People forget that we picked up cameras a few, three months after [Ariana] found out about [Sandoval’s] affair, so that’s why she’s still in the violently angry stage and you can understand that,” Cohen said, noting that “it’s great” to show that visceral reaction, but it’s now run its course. “Sometimes you do want people to live their lives and see how things develop and you know, so, I think it’s a very good idea.”

News of the deception scandal, which was labeled “Scandoval,” surfaced in March 2023. At the time, Us confirmed that Ariana and Sandoval, 40, separated after nine years in the aftermath of his infidelity.

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While season 10 of VPR had concluded months prior, the ensemble resumed filming to capture the unvarnished reactions of Sandoval and Raquel’s coupling. The group also filmed the season reunion that month, which gave viewers a front row seat to the backlash that Sandoval and Raquel received from their friend group.

Season 11 of the Bravo series proceeded as normal with new sequences being captured throughout the summer of 2023. The season premiered in January with Scandoval at the center of most of the narrative threads.

With Ariana, 38, and Sandoval’s living situation at the forefront of the season — they continued to be at odds while living under one roof — Ariana believed some people might portray her as a villain for not wanting to move out. (Most of the cast progressively absolved Sandoval for his actions during season 11, but Ariana remained adamant that she doesn’t want to be near him.)

“I mean, I know exactly why I said that, and I stand by why I said that,” Ariana exclusively told Us in March, reflecting on her incessant barbs at Sandoval during season 11. “I think that I was going through, again, what I said, the most difficult time of my life and I allowed all times and moments of my healing process to be shown and not just come out and say, ‘Hey, I’m healed everybody,’ and I think we don’t often get to see that.”

Ariana remarked that she’s “proud” that she continued to film the season during her sorrow and “showed up to all my call times.”

“I learned, honestly, that I am very brave and that I have a lot of really wonderful people in my life who have shown me what’s important and have shown me that I’m going to be OK no matter what, and we’re all in this together,” she added.

Other VPR performers like Lala Kent have also disclosed they are burned out after season 11.

“I was kind of getting into a darker place this season. I’ve stayed off the internet, but I don’t need to stay off the internet … like, I know what people are saying,” Lala, 33, shared during an Amazon Live on April 23. “The backlash that I’m getting. Unfortunately, it’s challenging, because I don’t lament any of the season. So, it’s just best that I stay away from it.”

Lala, who is pregnant with her second infant, explained that she’s been actively avoiding “anything to do with Bravo or this season” to help her “enjoy” her pregnancy.

“I love Bravo and I love NBCU, and I love Vanderpump Rules and I love all of you guys. But this is a really significant time in my life, and I will be dammed if anybody tarnishes or gives me recollections of it not being a gorgeous time in my life,” she said, adding that there are things she does not “want to see” or “know about” on the show.