VPR’s Katie Maloney Accuses Former Costars of Self-Producing the Show

Reality TV shows aren’t meant to be scripted — but that doesn’t mean cast members on shows like Vanderpump Rules haven’t tried.

During the Tuesday, February 12, episode of the “Boyfriend Material” podcast, host Harry Jowsey asked Katie Maloney whether her costars had any control over their story lines, to which she replied, “Some people on the show definitely were trying to self-produce a lot. That would be frustrating because why are you acting this way?”

Katie, 38, recalled being annoyed by the approach. “You’re just trying to be as authentically yourself as possible when you see somebody else trying on a new personality,” she noted. “People think that they can sway an audience’s opinion. You are just so f—ed if you think that you can predict what an audience is gonna think or feel.”

She continued: “But they would think that and they would just be like, ‘Well, I’m gonna be this [person] this season.’ You want to appeal to people more, but it never works. It blows up in people’s faces every single time.”

Later in the episode, Katie cited a specific incident when an unnamed costar would contact their partner to alert them to conversations before they were brought up on screen.

“There’s one girl that really made a habit of that,” she claimed. “We would be filming it. We would be talking about her boyfriend or husband or whatever at the time. She’s texting him and telling him everything that’s happening, which is fine if that’s normally what you do. This is a very strange and specific thing that we’re doing. That was always frustrating because you’re like, ‘Why would you do that?’

Katie was an OG star of Vanderpump Rules when it premiered in 2013 as a spinoff of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and evolved into its own hugely popular franchise. In the aftermath of Tom Sandoval‘s affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, the show picked up cameras immediately to document season 11. The episodes, however, were met with mixed reactions and ultimately the show was put on pause amid cast tension.

Bravo confirmed in November 2024 that season 12 begins production next year with Lisa Vanderpump and a brand-new group of cast members. Katie, for her part, revealed that she didn’t plan to return for season 12 before Bravo decided to overhaul the entire cast.

“I had made a decision months ago after this past season. I needed to move on with my life,” she explained on an episode of her “Disrespectfully” podcast in December 2024. “I had talked to our producers about it and I told them my decision on that. I felt personally ready to move on from the show. I felt like my life and where I was at was moving in a different direction. Mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, I was prepared to move on from the show.”

Katie said she was ready for something new. “It had been a long time. I lived many lives and went through so much on that show,” she continued. “It just got to a point where I don’t know that I can live and grow and be the version of myself I want to be on this show any longer.”