Katie Maloney Says Scandoval Was a Worse ‘Betrayal’ Than ‘Summer House’s’ Scamanda

You didn’t have to watch Bravo to know what Scandoval was. 

For a few months in 2023, it felt like everyone suddenly had an opinion about a show they’d never watched. CNN covered it. ABC talked about it. Friends who couldn’t tell SUR from Schwartz & Sandy’s suddenly knew exactly who Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss were.

Katie Maloney lived through all of it.

Now, more than two years removed from Vanderpump Rules and getting ready to return to television on House of Stassi, she’s looking back on the scandal that changed Bravo forever, opening up about why this new chapter feels completely different and sharing where she stands today with ex-husband Tom Schwartz.

Here are the biggest takeaways from her conversation with Taylor Strecker on Taste of Taylor. 

Katie Maloney Says Scandoval Was Worse Than ‘Summer House’s’ Scamanda

How does living through Scandoval compare to watching the ‘Summer House’ cast go through ‘Scamanda’?

“I feel like they were way more composed than we were…It was a bloodbath. It was an absolute sh*t show…Now I feel like since Scandoval, I’m not saying people have tried to, but like anytime there is a thing people are trying to make it into [a thing]…Which feels weird because it’s something that really happened. Like, Ariana’s whole life changed in a night. And some of these things, they will change dynamics and friendships, but it’s never been on that level. And I’m not downplaying what’s happened.”

Do you think Scandoval was a worse betrayal than Scamanda?

“Yeah, for sure…Because there was betrayal on both ends. I feel like the big thing in Summer House is that there is a friendship betrayal.”

You’re the reality TV veteran in the ‘House of Stassi’ cast. What’s the part first-timers don’t see coming?

“You live it once, then you live it again watching it, and then you live it [through] the peanut gallery and the opinion of it all…That took some getting used to. Now I have such thick skin that I’m like, I don’t give a sh*t…It [took] a few years, and I would get, you know, I’d drink wine and get on Twitter and fight people. But now I just don’t pay attention. Every now and then, I’ll pick one motherf*cker in the comment section and just go in on them.”

Where do things stand with your ex these days?

“Me and Tom, like we’re cool-ish. You know, because of the dogs. But also like, I don’t want to have enemies. I don’t like being enemies with my exes…This person was important to me at one point. Like, I want to maintain a friendship, and I’m happy that anyone I’ve liked, kind of dated or like, whatever, that we’re friends.”

You passed on ‘The Valley.’ What’s your honest take on the ‘Vanderpump Rules’ spinoff?

“I check in every now and then with it. It was really dark and depressing…When you’re watching a show, you’re like, who can I root for? Whose story do I want to see win? And I don’t know if it’s any of their fault. I just think there’s been some missed opportunity and I just don’t like the dog piling that happens.”

So what makes ‘House of Stassi’ different from every other Bravo show?

“My only frame of reference has always been Vanderpump Rules and Bravo. And those are very specific types of programs, and they follow a blueprint, and that’s how it is. And we kind of did something else entirely different…

…The way people view reality TV now, they know what’s happening; they get the drill. They’re far more sophisticated than before, where people just believed everything they watched and didn’t understand production and scheduling and how it all works out. So being able to just talk about it like it is in the room with you, because it very much is. There’s cameras, there’s sound guys, there’s producers, there’s PAs, there’s someone logging everything you’re saying—like, that’s all happening in the room. Being able to just acknowledge that and understand that we’re making a show. What’s happening is real, but we’re going to tell the most fascinating version of what’s happening. It might be true to most, but not true to all. But it’s not fake.” 

Want the rest of the tea? Listen to the full episode on Taste of Taylor, available wherever you listen to podcasts.

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