Every Cheating Accusation That Rocked ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Over the Years

Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Every Cheating Accusation That Rocked ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Over the Years

For a show sparked by a cheating scandal, it shouldn’t be a shock that the cast of Vanderpump Rules isn’t afraid to throw out an infidelity accusation — but not even Andy Cohen could predict that the series would still be delivering jaw-dropping scandals after a decade on air. Fans were introduced to the staff at Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant SUR via a backdoor pilot on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2013. The episode began with Lisa’s then-RHOBH costar Brandi Glanville confronting SURver Scheana Shay about her past relationship with Eddie Cibrian. (Brandi and Eddie were married from 2001 to 2009, calling it quits when he had an affair with LeAnn Rimes.) The cheating theme continued throughout the series. Season 1 documented Stassi Schroeder and Jax Taylor’s tumultuous relationship, with the bartender repeatedly denying that he strayed amid claims he got another woman pregnant in Las Vegas. During the first season’s finale, Jax admitted to cheating on Stassi. Jax’s indiscretions didn’t slow down over the years. During season 2, he confessed to sleeping with Kristen Doute amid her relationship with Tom Sandoval and during season 6, he was caught cheating on (now-wife) Brittany Cartwright with Faith Stowers. “I see him every single day making efforts and he’s completely changed the way he treats me, the way he talks to me, the way he listens to me. Every single thing about our relationship is better,” Brittany told Us Weekly in 2018 about learning how to trust Jax again. “I know how much he’s wanting the wedding and how much he’s wanting to marry me, how much effort he’s putting into the wedding, just as much as me. I don’t know, whenever you know somebody as well as I know Jax, you can just tell.” Jax and Brittany moved past the Faith scandal and wed in June 2019, but his past with Kristen was never forgotten by fans. The affair broke up Kristen and Sandoval for good and was surrounded by a series of other allegations, including the Schwartz and Sandy’s co-owner cheating on Kristen with a bottle service waitress and allegedly having an affair with Ariana Madix. While Sandoval admitted to not being completely faithful to Kristen over the years, he and Ariana denied anything but a kiss happened between them. [jwplayer u9UfHTBB-zhNYySv2] The pair did, however, go on to date for nine years, confirming their relationship at the season 2 reunion. At the time, Andy asked Ariana if she worried about Sandoval’s past as he admitted to “cheating on Kristen a few times.” “I’ve been friends with him for three years. I know him really well. It’s not a thing for me — at all,” she responded during the February 2014 episode. When season 3 premiered in November 2014, Ariana added: “I’m very aware and know all about Tom’s past. The thing is — in every relationship, there has to be trust. Because you’re not going to be around that person 25/8. So yeah, you could sit there and go through people’s phones. But that’s what Kristen would do.” Nearly a decade later, Sandoval and Ariana’s romance came to an end when he cheated with Raquel Leviss — a SURver who joined the show as James Kennedy’s girlfriend during season 5. The controversy broke in March 2023 while season 10 was airing and prompted Bravo to pick the cameras back up for extra episodes. At the time, Raquel was feuding with Katie Maloney because she had made out with Tom Schwartz in August 2022 amid Katie and Schwartz’s divorce. Scroll through for a complete guide to the cheating accusations made on Vanderpump Rules over the years:

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Scheana’s Pre-Show Romance With Eddie

The “What I Like” songstress told Us in 2013 that her relationship with the actor was “a mess.”

“Seven years ago, I met Eddie, and six or eight months go by and I find out that he’s married and I call him out. He lied at first about it and then he admitted it. So I stopped talking to him for a long time,” she said at the time, noting that she “ended things” for good when she learned he married the country singer in 2011.

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

Jax Cheats on Stassi in Vegas

After insisting he wasn’t unfaithful throughout season 1, Jax admitted during the finale that he cheated on Stassi in Las Vegas.

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock; Courtesy of Frank Herlihy/Facebook

Stassi Cheats on Jax With Frank

It took Stassi years to admit that Jax wasn’t the only one who cheated in their messy romance, revealing that she slept with Frank Herlihy before things were over with Jax.

“This is so awful — I lied to Andy Cohen,” Stassi said during a 2016 “Uncensored” episode of the Bravo show. “I just had to say no and fight to the death. … It would be so like Jax, after freshly impregnating someone in Vegas, to make me look like I'm the bad guy.”

Andy was shook by the admission at the time. “Wow, so Stassi was lying,” he said on the episode. “She looked me right in the eyes!”

Credit: Nicole Weingart/Bravo

Kristen and Jax Sleep Together

A major story line in season 2 was a rumor that Jax and Kristen hooked up while he was trying to get back together with Stassi — and Kristen was still dating Sandoval. After repeatedly denying the claims, Kristen confessed as Jax gave Stassi access to their text messages. The scandal resulted in Stassi slapping Kristen, Sandoval punching Jax and fans never looking at the movie Drive the same way (as Kristen and Jax were watching the Ryan Gosling movie when one of the hookups went down).

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

Sandoval and Ariana’s Kiss at the Golden Nugget

Around the same time as the Jax and Kristen scandal, the former T-shirt designer insisted that her then-boyfriend was cheating on her with Ariana. While the twosome denied the claims, Sandoval eventually admitted that he kissed Ariana in Sin City but denied that they slept together before his relationship with Kristen ended.

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Kristen’s Affair With an Unnamed SUR Employee

During the season 2 reunion, Sandoval alleged that Kristen was having an emotional and sexual affair with another SUR employee. She admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with their coworker during a rough patch with Sandoval.

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

Sandoval Hooks Up With Bottle Service Girl

Sandoval and Kristen both admitted to being unfaithful throughout their romance, with the bartender confessing during the season 2 reunion that he hooked up with a bottle service waitress in Vegas.

Credit: Lisa O'Connor/Shutterstock

‘Miami Girl’ Claims to Have Sex With Sandoval

After Sandoval and Ariana started dating between seasons 2 and 3, Kristen returned with a vengeance, flying out a woman named Annemarie who claimed to have slept with Sandoval during his romance with Ariana. The then-couple fled SUR when “Miami Girl” arrived.

“I almost wish I didn’t [leave]. The reason why we left is because we felt like production was pulling this whole thing. We were, like, ‘Oh, so random people just show up now,’” Ariana told Us in 2021. “I do regret, I guess just not fully calling out the whole real story, like on camera and staying there.”

The TomTom co-owner denied the claims at the time and years later.

Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock

Schwartz’s Drunk Makeouts Part 1

During season 3, Schwartz was accused of making out with one of Jax’s then-girlfriend Tiffany’s pals and one of Scheana’s friends during his romance with Katie. He confessed to drunkenly making out with someone else as the rumors made waves at the restaurant.

Credit: Arlene Richie/Shutterstock

Katie Accused of ‘Motorboating’ a Dude

Jax claimed in a 2014 episode that Katie was seen “motorboating” a man when Schwartz wasn’t there. Scheana, who accused Katie of "inappropriate behavior" at the time, later apologized to her costar.

“I never once said she cheated. I said what I saw. After talking to Katie about it, I realize that it wasn't what it seemed. When she bent down to take her shoes off, her head was in that region. Also, in her drunken state when she was dancing shaking her head back and forth it definitely looked like she was ‘motorboating’ this guy,” Scheana wrote in a Bravo blog at the time. “She DID NOT cheat. … I simply felt like she crossed the line. Schwartz doesn't care so no one else should either. They had a rough summer with their relationship, and I apologize for any part, small or large, I may have had in that.”

Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock; Courtesy of Tiffany Matthews/Twitter

Jax Cheats on Tiffany in San Diego

After trying to juggle relationships with both Carmen Dickman and Tiffany Matthews during season 3, Sandoval alleged that Jax cheated on Tiffany during a boy’s trip to San Diego — at a hotel that Tiffany helped book for the crew.

Credit: Shutterstock (3)

James Is Unfaithful to Kristen With Jenna

During season 4, James lied to Kristen’s face and “promised” her that he didn’t sleep with SUR employee Jenna Willis.

“At this point, I’m just lying to Kristen for her own good because I know if I tell her the entire truth, it’s just going to devastate her,” he said during a 2015 episode. “The truth is, Jenna and I were definitely boning.”

Kristen wrote about the scandal in her book, revealing she caught him via an Uber receipt. “Passwords on iTunes are Steve Jobs’ gift that keeps on giving,” she wrote. “See, Apple passwords are all connected. The passwords to your iTunes, your iCloud, and your iPhone tracker are exactly the same.”

Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock

Lala and James Secretly Sleep Together

It would be eight years before James and Lala Kent admitted to being intimate, but the musicians slept together during season 4 — at the beginning of his romance with Raquel and her relationship with Randall Emmett.

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Jax and Lala Deny Hooking Up

During season 4, Jax was accused of getting together with Lala after he had started dating Brittany. The twosome denied that anything but innocent flirting happened.

“I think in season 4 before Brittany had come into Vanderpump Rules, there was flirting going on. But nothing ever happened, not even a kiss, like nothing at all happened ever,” Lala later said on her podcast. “There was a scene in season four, at the very beginning, where I went to have drinks with Jax, [Scheana] and [Kristen], and I had my hand on Jax’s leg. And everyone was like, ‘She’s doing something naughty.’ And I wasn’t. And then I had my person I was so in love with at the time, pick me up.”

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock ; Inset: Courtesy of GG/Instagram

James Accused of Cheating on Raquel With Several SUR Employees

Fans met Raquel during season 5. Over the years, the DJ denied being unfaithful to the pageant queen with SUR employees named GG, Ellie and Hope. After his split from Raquel, he admitted to the affair with Lala and played coy about straying elsewhere.

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Brittany and Kristen’s ‘Kentucky Muffin’ Moment

Jax alleged that Brittany and Kristen got intimate during season 5. The two women denied that anything but a “drunk kiss” happened.

Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Lala Starts Dating Married Randall

During season 5, Lala refused to reveal the name of her “man,” who she had started seeing off screen, and vehemently denied that she was having an affair with someone who was married. Lala and Randall got engaged in 2018. Several years later, they broke up and Lala claimed to learn the “truth” about Randall’s relationship with wife Ambyr Childers.  

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Jax Has Sex With Faith

During the season 6 premiere, Faith alleged she had sex with Jax amid his relationship with Brittany. While he denied the claims at first, Jax later confessed.

“He comes over at 3 in the afternoon, middle of the day, he was out running errands in my area, so I’m thinking, ‘OK, nothing’s gonna happen.’ I was in the room writing music, so I had my recorder on. I let him come over, he comes into the room and it was almost immediate,” Faith told Us in December 2017. “When he gave me a hug, I have on shorts on — it’s hot, it’s summer — he grabs my butt and I’m like, ‘Jax, what are you doing?’ He goes, ‘Oh, you know, Faith, you know I’ve been wanting this for a long time’ … He’s almost begging, but it was not in a disgusting or dirty way. It was like, he just really needed to talk to me and as he’s talking to me, he’s grabbing on me. One thing led to another. It happened so fast that … We weren’t worried about protection, we weren’t worried about anything, it was just so fast.”

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Schwartz’s Drunk Makeouts Part 2

After they wed during season 5, Schwartz admitted during season 6 that he had drunkenly made out with one of Lala’s friends.

“I’m so embarrassed. It’s like, especially for my age and maybe if I was single and 22, that would be OK. No, then it’s definitely OK,” he told Us in February 2018. “But as a married man, it’s … It’s easy for me to make light of the situation but knowing that I hurt someone I love so much, it’s really embarrassing. We know … I mean, I think it’s not that big of a deal in the big scope of things, but it’s still completely unacceptable and really douchey.”

Credit: MEGA

Rob Denies Kissing Toca Madera Hostess

During season 6, Scheana’s then-boyfriend Rob Valletta was accused of kissing the hostess at the Mexican restaurant Toca Madera. He denied the claims when the show aired in 2018 and again during a January 2023 appearance on Scheana’s podcast.

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

Pillows Point to Kristen and James Hooking Up

The former couple came under fire during season 6 after Jax suggested they hooked up during the cast trip to Mexico. James was with Raquel at the time, while Kristen was dating now-ex Brian Carter.

“Schwartz, James and I were all in the room together and Ariana actually watched the three of us leave on bicycles to go to the beach … I think what happened is James ended up going back to the suite … I was never there … It was like a game of Vanderpump Rules telephone,” Kristen told Us in 2018. “Although it’s not true, whether it’s true or not, it’s a very frustrating and upsetting conversation for [Carter] because he doesn’t deserve this.”

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Lala and Ariana’s Backseat Hookup

Sandoval exposed that his then-girlfriend hooked up with Lala during season 7.

“Ariana and Lala had been out all day drinking, and they’re wasted. They’re in my car, and Lala goes, ‘Sorry, Sando, I’m just in love with your girl right now. Ariana, will you come in the back seat? I just want to eat your p—y,’” he said on a 2019 episode. “Ariana climbs in the back and Lala just starts going to f—king town.”

Ariana denied that the hookup counted as cheating as Sandoval was present — and invited to join.

“I’m on the same page as you. I was also physically touching him and trying to get him involved. When that was obvi not going to happen, it stopped,” she tweeted at the time. “There’s nothing shady about it. People always want to shove everyone else into their own little boxes.”

Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

Randall’s Alleged Nashville Affair

While it happened off screen, the movie producer allegedly cheating on Lala became a story line when she declared she didn’t want any of her costars to stay friendly with Randall. He denied the claims against him.

Credit: Bravo (2)

Raquel and Oliver

While filming season 10, news broke that Raquel made out with Garcelle Beauvais’ eldest son, Oliver Saunders, who works at SUR. Oliver’s wife, Samantha Saunders, slammed him on social media at the time.

“I have been told to stay SILENT! DIVORCE — @iamoliversaunders since Oliver has started working at @vanderpumpparis he has disrespected me and my kids in every way possible,” Samantha wrote via Instagram. “He has made jokes about my mental health and suicidal thoughts with coworkers. He has committed adultery with coworkers and guests of the restaurant.”

Raquel later said she was “misled” by Oliver.

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Raquel and Sandoval’s Affair

While season 10 was airing in 2023, Us confirmed that Sandoval and Ariana ended their nine-year relationship after she learned he had an affair with Raquel. Fans and cast members alike were shocked by the scandal as Raquel referred to Ariana as one of her “best friends” just days before the news broke.