‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Scheana Shay Finally Tells the Story Bravo Didn’t Show

For 14 years, Scheana Shay has lived her life on camera. We’ve watched her navigate friendships, feuds, heartbreak, and Scandoval from our couches. But while the world was busy dissecting her storylines, a much harder reality was unfolding behind the scenes—one that almost killed her, one that consumed her mind, and one that shattered her marriage.

In a raw conversation on After Bedtime with hosts Deena Margolin and Kristin Gallant, Shay finally opens up about what she was really going through: a traumatic, life-threatening birth that left her hospitalized for days. Debilitating postpartum OCD that made her afraid of her own thoughts. And the devastating moment she learned her husband, Brock Davies, had cheated on her while she was pregnant with their daughter, Summer Moon

This isn’t a reality-TV recap. It’s Scheana, unfiltered—on motherhood, betrayal, mental health, and the complicated choice to stay when walking away might have been easier.

Below are highlights adapted from After Bedtime with Big Little Feelings. Every answer is Scheana’s words, pulled directly from the episode.

Scheana Shay After Bedtime Interview

You went back to filming ‘Vanderpump Rules’ incredibly soon after giving birth. What was that experience actually like?

“So, obviously, during COVID, we weren’t filming at all. And then I had her literally a week and a half before we started filming season nine. And I do wish you saw more of that postpartum journey because I was going through so much at the time that I was expressing, and it was unfortunate you didn’t see it because I feel like having an audience, especially of millennial women and moms, it would have been really beneficial. But for me, I just was like, ‘Okay, back in work mode. Like, this is my job. This is what I have to do. The world is  starting to open back up.’ And I kind of just got back into it.”

Wait—are you saying you went back to work still bleeding? Still postpartum in that way?

“Yes. In a diaper. Spanx, diaper. Like, it was not fun. That was the biggest transition, was just feeling so not myself. I’m in clothes that are much bigger than I’ve ever worn. I’m still in a diaper. And I’m breastfeeding. I have my pump with me all of the time. I mean, it was a really crazy time that I feel like just was kind of brushed over and filled with themed parties and whatnot.”

But your birth story itself was terrifying. Can you walk us through what happened?

“I’m very glad that I ended up getting induced because my doctor was like, ‘Look, you’ve been off work for a while. I want you to have at least a week at home where you’re able to just kind of figure this out before cameras are in your face. So get to 40 weeks. If she’s not coming out, then I’ll induce you.’ So 40 weeks, one day, I get induced, and then all of a sudden her heart rate’s dropping, this and that. And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, she’s not ready. I think I’m killing my baby. I’m terrified.’ But it turned out I had preeclampsia, which I didn’t have yesterday at my 40-week appointment. There were signs, but they didn’t know. That then advanced to HELLP syndrome. And I’m like, had I not been induced, I could have died. My baby could have died. Like, we might not have survived.”

You’ve been incredibly open about postpartum OCD. Can you describe what that actually looked like for you?

“I think it started even before that when I had the miscarriage. Because then when I got pregnant again with her, I was just terrified every day that something was going to happen. I did not feel her move until I was 22 weeks, five days. I’m more than halfway through my pregnancy, and I’ve not felt my baby move once…

…And then when I did have her, because I had the preeclampsia, they had to pump me with magnesium. They gave me a heads up that I would feel extremely flu-like. They didn’t give me a heads up that my baby was going to come out limp and blue—and they call them mag babies—and that that was normal. So I finally push her out, and she doesn’t make a sound for almost a full minute. And it was just like, they’re counting, 44, 45. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, oh my God.’ So now I think I’ve just given birth to a stillborn after having a miscarriage. And I’m like, ‘This is my fault because I induced. She wasn’t ready.’ Until I heard that cry, it was terrifying. And so I think it all started at the miscarriage, but then just everything that happened leading up to having her, it was really scary. And immediately, the intrusive thoughts came in.”

What did those intrusive thoughts look like?

“In my head every day, when I’m walking upstairs, I just see myself falling down, landing on my baby, her jumping out of my arms. And I’m like, ‘I don’t want to hurt her.’ But then it wasn’t just about Summer. I started having them about Brock…

…He was driving his motorcycle, and I was driving behind him, and I just saw myself running him over. Not because I wanted to kill my husband or run him over, but I’m like, ‘Someone’s going to hit me, and then I’m going to hit him, and then I’m going to kill my husband.’ And it’s just like, so many of those things that I was like, ‘Okay, this is now not just about my kid. Like, why am I seeing these things about my husband?’ And once I opened up to [my therapist], she’s like, ‘Have you ever been diagnosed with OCD?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I have felt that I’ve had OCD my whole life, but I’ve never been diagnosed.’ And she goes, ‘How are you with numbers?’ And I was like, ‘Well, let me tell you!’”

You’ve opened up in your book about Brock having an affair. How did you find out?

“He told me on Easter. So Easter 2023…it was just—I didn’t believe what he was saying when he told me. He and I sit down, we’re having a great day, spent Easter with the fam. Real Housewives of New Jersey has a new episode. And right when I go to hit play, he’s like, ‘Wait, I have to talk to you about something.’ And he looks really serious. And he starts to tell me, and I’m just confused. I’m like, ‘What kind of joke are you playing? Like, this isn’t funny.’ And it obviously wasn’t a joke.”

Why did he tell you then, after all that time?

“All of these rumors about him and Raquel that were coming up—he was worried that with false rumors, a true one would come out. And so that’s why he told me. And I don’t know if he ever would have told me if that wasn’t happening. I can’t even say I’m glad he did because I don’t know if I am.”

How did you process that in the moment?

“In that moment, I’m just like, ‘This is something you did two and a half years ago. Am I going to let your actions from past Brock affect our future together? You’ve proven to be an incredible father to Summer. You know you’re doing all of the work you need to do with your two older kids. You’re such a good person. I’m so angry at what you did.’ But for our daughter’s sake, I’m going to just not tell a soul other than my amazing manager to be on high alert if there were any blind items or anything that came out about it. And I told my best guy friend, and that was it, other than Brock’s sister, because I called her immediately and I was like, ‘Your brother.’ And she had to yell at him for me.”

You chose to stay. Why?

“There was a moment, I talked about this in the book, where I can picture exactly where we’re standing. We’re on the second level of our Marina condo. And Brock hugged me, and [Summer] put her arms around us. And she was like, ‘We’re a family.’ I was like, ‘I have to give this every shot I can—there’s nothing wrong with growing up in a split household if that’s what the parents have to do. I didn’t grow up that way. He did. I didn’t want her to grow up that way. And I was like, ‘I will do whatever I have to do to keep us together because I want her to have that stability.’ And I love him. He’s an incredible partner. He’s an incredible father…

…What he did back then, I think, goes with his attachment style. He’s a fearful avoidant. They are more likely to cheat. He felt shame. He didn’t feel he deserved to be a father again. And then I started to actually have empathy and just to feel for him of, ‘I feel so bad that you felt like that was your only option. You felt like you had to self-sabotage and ruin this amazing thing because you didn’t feel like you deserved it.’ And so I stayed. It was not easy.”

What is your favorite thing about motherhood right now?

“This is my favorite age. The little pitter-patter I hear down the hall in the morning when she’s coming in—even though I’m exhausted and I don’t want to walk downstairs to get her milk—but I want to cuddle with her and have that more time. She is the best thing. I am so, so blessed with an incredible kid who is empathetic, who’s helpful, who follows the rules, who listens…Everything is just my favorite.”

Want the full conversation? Listen to Scheana Shay on After Bedtime with Big Little Feelings, streaming now wherever you get your podcasts.

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