By Megan Riedlinger
8:00am PDT, Mar 16, 2023
_
With the latest "Vanderpump Rules" cheating drama — dubbed the Scandoval — dominating the news, we've decided to take a stroll down memory lane and reflect on all the crazy incidents of infidelity that have gone down on the Bravo show over the last decade. From Stassi Schroeder's slap heard 'round the world after she discovered her best friend slept with her boyfriend to Jax Taylor's messy dalliances while dating now-wife Brittany Cartwright, keep reading to reminisce about them all…
We were originally introduced to the world of "Vanderpump Rules" via Scheana Shay — who then went by Scheana Marie — due to her past relationship with a married man. The SUR waitress had an affair with former "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Brandi Glanville's then-husband, actor Eddie Cibrian, in the late '00s, which led to Scheana's boss and Brandi's co-star arranging a sit down for the ladies to hash it out years later. That meeting featuring Scheana paved the way for the show to flow into the "Vanderpump Rules" premiere episode.
Scheana reflected on the affair to Us Weekly in 2013, calling her relationship with the actor a "mess," explaining, "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. Then I run into him one night at my work. He comes by and wants to explain himself and ask me out for drinks. He says he's now separated from his wife… and I'm like, 'OK, whatever, I'll go with it.' But come to find out shortly after the encounter that we had, there's a story posted the next day saying that he was with LeAnn [RImes] and he was still married!"
Settle in and try and keep track of the rest of the cast's affairs…
MORE: A definitive timeline of the Scandoval
_
Season 1 of "Vanderpump Rules" introduced us to the turbulent relationship between Jax Taylor and Stassi Schroeder. Jax spent the majority of the season denying he'd been unfaithful to Stassi… only to admit during that season's finale that not only did he, in fact, cheat, but that he also got the other woman pregnant.
MORE: Reality TV's most shocking scandals
_
Coming into season 2, viewers knew Jax Taylor was unfaithful to Stassi Schroeder during a trip to Vegas… but they were yet to find out about an even bigger betrayal: Jax had hooked up with Stassi's best friend, Kristen Doute… who at the time was in a relationship with Jax's best friend, Tom Sandoval. Jax came clean about the infidelity after he was no longer with Stassi while Kristen tried to deny it to her face, resulting in one of the more infamous slaps in reality TV history.
MORE: Bravo's biggest scandals
_
Season 2 also served up another massive cheating scandal — this one involving Kristen Doute's then-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval. While we learned that Kristen was unfaithful with Jax Taylor, we also discovered that Tom wasn't an innocent party. He had his own indiscretion in Las Vegas when he kissed fellow SUR bartender Ariana Madix.
MORE: Biggest "Real Housewives" scandals
_
Tom Sandoval and Kristen Doute's relationship was put through the wringer on season 2. Aside from the Ariana Madix kiss, which ultimately led to Tom starting a relationship with Ariana, Tom was also accused of cheating on Kristen with another woman in Las Vegas — a bottle service waitress.
_
Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix kicked off season 3 as a new couple, but that didn't mean they were immune to cheating allegations. Season 3 saw Kristen Doute bringing new cheating allegations against Tom with claims that he hooked up with a Miami-based beauty named Annemarie while he was with Ariana. Kristen even flew the woman to Los Angeles to confront Tom at SUR, at which point Tom and Ariana refused to speak to her and left the restaurant. Tom continuously denied any interaction with Annemarie.
_
Tom Sandoval wasn't the only cheating Tom in the group. Over the years, Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz's relationship was plagued by rumors. During season 3, he fessed up to making out with another woman after he was accused of kissing two other people — a friend of Jax Taylor's and a friend of Scheana Shay's. Season 5 saw Katie and Tom marry… but that didn't put an end to infidelity whispers. Tom later admitted he made out with one of Lala Kent's friends during season 6. He and Katie eventually divorced in 2022 (and surprisingly, it wasn't due to cheating rumors!).
_
Kristen Doute moved on quickly, taking up with British DJ James Kennedy. Season 4 saw the new couple hit a rough patch as James was rumored to have hooked up with another SUR employee, Jenna Willis. Though James originally denied it to Kristen's face, he later revealed that they were sleeping together.
_
Things seemed to be smooth sailing for Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright… until their co-worker Faith Stowers made a shocking allegation during season 6. Faith claimed she hooked up with the SUR bartender, and though Jax originally denied it, he later confessed. For her part, Faith claimed it was only once and that it was her doing. She also told Us Weekly in 2017 that not only did Jax want the affair to continue, but that he'd also alluded to breaking up with Brittany for her. "He wanted it to be an ongoing thing. He wanted it to be me and him doing this, and he told me that he would let me know as soon as they were broken up, that he would come tell her soon, and boom, that'd be the end," Faith told the outlet.
_
James Kennedy introduced Bravo viewers to his new love, beauty queen Raquel Leviss, during season 5. Their relationship was continuously tested, but Raquel stayed by his side as he was accused of being unfaithful with not one, not two, but three different SUR employees (one of whom had photographic evidence!). James and Raquel went on to get engaged in May 2021, but things were over by that December. They discussed their broken engagement on the season 9 reunion.
_
Tom Sandoval revealed that girlfriend Ariana Madix hooked up with another person during season 7… and explained that he was there when it happened. Yep, Tom shared that he was present when Ariana and Lala Kent hooked up in the back seat of a car that he was driving.
_
Though they wouldn't fess up to the truth until season 10, Lala Kent and James Kennedy did, indeed, sleep together while James was dating Raquel Levis. At the time, Lala was also in a relationship — she'd just started dating producer Randall Emmett.
_
Lala Kent and Randall Emmett's relationship started as an affair. During season 5, Lala often referred to her off-camera boyfriend but denied rumors claiming he was married. The man in question was producer Randall, who was, in fact, married at the time — to Ambyr Childers. Randall and Lala went on to get engaged and welcome a child together, daughter Ocean, but he was up to his old tricks again in 2021. Rumors claiming he'd cheated with two women in Nashville that October led Lala to break off their engagement and end their relationship.
_
This all brings us to the mother of all cheating scandals — the Scandoval. Though they got off to a scandalous start back in 2013, Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix seemed to have a solid relationship over the next nine seasons of "Vanderpump Rules." But all of that changed in March 2023 when it was revealed that Tom had been cheating on his longterm love with one of her best friends — co-star Raquel Leviss — for months.
