During the Tuesday, July 2, episode of the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, Katie, 37, was asked where she stands with Lala, 33.
“I haven’t spoken to her since the reunion,” Katie revealed about how she “didn’t see” Lala’s digs at the season 11 reunion coming. “I think she thinks when you don’t see it, it didn’t happen. But we resolved [things initially], we talked about things in San Francisco [during the season finale]. We had a moment on the boat that was much longer than what you saw.”
Before season 11 started filming, Katie and Lala had a falling out that they resolved. The drama wasn’t mentioned again until the finale, when Lala came for Katie and claimed there were conversations happening off screen that weren’t addressed on the show.
“I felt like obviously she had been harboring certain feelings and thinking certain things that I didn’t know she had felt. And so she was saving them for the reunion, which I didn’t feel like was super authentic,” Katie noted. “To sit there and be called an inauthentic person or fake. But meanwhile, I’m sitting next to somebody who I thought I knew and knew very well and was open and honest with me, but had been feeling a certain way about me for a very long time. That was shocking.”
Katie was asked whether she could forgive Lala for violating her trust.
“No. Once you violate my trust like that, it’s very hard to come back from. Trust is the most important thing to me. And when you try to manipulate me with that and use it against me and say we talked about these things,” Katie continued. “Those weren’t the kind of conversations that were meant for the camera. Not everything is. … I’m allowed to have some kind of privacy and talk about emotions with people. I do with my mom, I do with other friends.”
A notable claim Lala made during the reunion was that Katie complained about Ariana Madix. Lala specifically said Katie was going to bring it up on the show but then walked it back.
“I think we were at odds because from my point of view she was not very honest this season. I don’t recognize that Katie [because] the reason why she and I really freaking connect is because we are no bulls—t,” Lala explained on a May episode of the Vanderpump Rules After Show. “You may not like what comes out of our mouths, it may be harsh or aggressive but this is what it is.”
Katie, for her part, pointed out that there was no reason to mention her issues when she had already worked them out privately with Ariana, 39.
“I was icked out. It wasn’t shocking [of Lala to say that] because it’s just like, ‘OK, well, you could have also brought this up literally anytime last season,’” Katie pointed out. “It would have been a hell of a lot more relevant.”
Katie referred to Lala’s behavior at the reunion as a “tactic,” adding, “I felt there were three instances that she brought up in an attempt to make me look bad.”
While reflecting on her past frustrations with Ariana, Katie clarified she was never envious of the opportunities her friend received after her split from Tom Sandoval due to his affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss.
“Because I’m genuinely very happy for [my friends]. What’s good for them is good for all of us at the end of the day. But I think admitting that you can be jealous — but also very happy — and have it not negatively affect your opinion or how you’re going to operate in your friendship with them,” Katie shared. “I feel that’s a wasted energy to be jealous of your friends when you could just be championing them.”
Since the recent season came to an end, news broke that Vanderpump Rules wouldn’t be picking cameras up immediately for season 12. According to Katie, there isn’t much to be worried about as the cast awaits more updates about the show’s future at Bravo.
“I’m not going to be concerned until it’s time to be concerned,” she added on Tuesday. “And it doesn’t feel like it’s time to be concerned.”
Vanderpump Rules season 11 is currently streaming on Peacock.