Ariana & Katie Share Advice For New SURVers and Who They Still Talk to After VPR Shakeup
Vanderpump Rules' Katie Maloney and Ariana Madix weighed in on the Season 12 cast shakeup, including what they'll miss.
Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney have plenty of experience when it comes to appearing on Vanderpump Rules and working at Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant SUR. Now that the show will be highlighting new SUR waiters and bartenders on Season 12, Ariana hopes that the cast will be authentic.
"I think they should be looking for people who are unapologetically themselves,” Ariana told E! News on December 4 about the ideal Season 12 cast. "And who aren’t trying to be a ‘reality star.’ Or be the newest GIF, or the newest meme. But who are really just themselves. Hopefully they’re able to find that."
Though she won't be a full-time cast member on Season 12, she told Us Weekly that she would be happy to host any of the new cast members at her and Katie's sandwich shop, Something About Her. "If any of those kids next door at SUR want to pop into Something About Her and have a sandwich and have a little argument over some Cameron sandwiches and some Avaline wine, we’d love to have them," she joked.
On the December 4 episode of her podcast, Disrespectfully, Katie shared what she's going to miss the most about being on the show.
"This past week, [I’ve seen] people at the store or coming into the sandwich shop or going to the laser hair removal and they’re just like, ‘I am so sad,’” Katie, who is Ariana's business partner at Something About Her, said. “So many people were so invested and it touched so many people’s lives, so many people are affected by this that you forget. I’m gonna miss that kind of connection because so many people grew up with us and we shared our lives with so many people.”
Katie reflected on how much she's grown during her 11-season run on the show. "It was some amazing memories, I learned a lot. I went through a lot being on that show. It was not always easy,” she said. "I think being able to have that break away from it has been healing, really promotes a lot of growth."
Katie Maloney reveals who she's been in touch with since the Vanderpump Rules news
Since news broke on November 26 that Vanderpump Rules would return for Season 12 with a new set of SUR employees, Katie has only been in touch with her business partner and her ex-husband Tom Schwartz.
"I’ve talked to Ariana and I talked to Tom Schwartz, but that’s it," Katie said. "I mean, Ariana and I have very, very similar thoughts and feelings. Tom, I don’t want to speak for him, but I think, while he also kind of knew this was coming and all that, he’s still, like, in a [state] of suspended disbelief."
Ariana, for her part, has previously said she's texted with Scheana Shay (as she shared in the WWHL clip above), and, obviously, she's remained close with Katie.
Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney react to the Vanderpump Rules cast shakeup
After the Season 12 cast announcement last week, Katie took to her Instagram Stories to share a throwback photo of her in a SUR dress.
"It's a mixed bag," Katie began in the caption over the photo. "But I wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for the memories and the love the last 11 years."
Ariana, for her part, shared a carousel of photos and videos from her time on the show.
"Vanderpump Rules, you will forever be that girl. I was up til 4am looking for all the right pics and the right words, but there’s no post or caption that could ever encapsulate everything. I am forever grateful to have been a part of such an incredible cultural phenomenon..." she wrote, before thanking Lisa, Bravo, and the production team. "Thank you especially to the fans. You’ve been the constant over the last decade your love and support is what I’ll miss the most about it ending. You made this show what it is. To the fans who have shown up for us, old and new, it’s all because of you that we are here. I'm feeling at peace with closing this chapter and I'm excited for everything that is to come. I don’t know that these were the best days of our lives, but they were definitely something special."
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