Entertainment <\/p>\n
\n\tLisa Vanderpump<\/a>, Bravo personality, restauranteur and branding mogul, labeled the \u201cVanderpump Rules<\/a>\u201d infidelity scandal, \u201ca producer\u2019s dream, but talent\u2019s nightmare.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tWhen speaking with editor at large Kate Aurthur at Variety<\/em>\u2019s 2023 Entertainment Marketing Summit, Vanderpump revealed just how \u201cgobsmacked\u201d and \u201cshattered\u201d she was when the cheating scandal \u2014 aka the Scandoval<\/a> \u2014 broke out between her cast members on the reality show, which she executively produces.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was basically having a bloody heart attack,\u201d Vanderpump told Aurthur. <\/p>\n \n\tTMZ first reported that \u201cVanderpump\u201d stars, and real-life couple, Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix\u2019s nine-year relationship came to an end after Sandoval\u2019s affair with fellow co-star Raquel Leviss. Since then, all eyes have been on the reality TV show centered around Vanderpump\u2019s restaurants in West Hollywood.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tVanderpump painted the picture of the magnitude of the affair for the uninitiated, \u201cIt was almost akin to \u2018Friends,\u2019 like [if] Chandler and Phoebe suddenly [started] shagging.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhile filming for Season 10 of \u201cVanderpump Rules\u201d had wrapped prior to the Scandoval leaking, production quickly picked up once the news broke to capture the fallout on-camera. \u201cThis group moves so quickly and they talk 10 times a day \u2014 we had to pick up the cameras straightaway.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTensions between cast members ignited to the highest degree when the full cast came together for the first time after learning of the infidelity to film the show\u2019s reunion episode. Vanderpump recalls how during the \u201cfirst minute [of the reunion], it looked like it was gonna end there,\u201d <\/a>hinting at a conflict that will play out on-screen later in the season. \u201cIt was so intense and there were a lot of tears, a lot of heartbreak,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \n\tAn added layer of tension arose when filming the reunion after Leviss filed a restraining order against fellow castmate Scheana Shay for an alleged conflict that ensued after the scandal was revealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think everybody is so intrinsically entwined, emotionally, that everybody felt so much,\u201d said Vanderpump. Leviss and Shay filmed their reunion segments at separate times as they were to be kept at least 100 yards apart from each other. \u201cI think she kind of slapped [her] around the face,\u201d revealed Vanderpump. \u201cWhich I, again, don\u2019t condone,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tVanderpump hopes that the drama surrounding the show will die down soon \u2014 and that fans will be able to forgive Sandoval. \u201cHe didn\u2019t kill anybody, you know,\u201d said Vanderpump. \u201cIt was an infidelity, and I\u2019m not condoning it in any shape or form. But at some point, let\u2019s hear both sides and try to move on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n