Lala Kent rolled into the scene during Season 4 of Vanderpump Rules. She was outspoken, and blunt, so by all accounts, she should have fit in well with her costars. Yet, some of her female colleagues, like Katie Maloney, were less inclined to love Lala, as Lala loved sunning her teets for all to see. But in time, several icebergs melted, and Lala finally found genuine connections on VPR.
However, her friendship with Katie has always been the most volatile. But their roller-coaster-styled relationship makes sense, as both these women carry zero-fake-f*cks-given styled vibes. From foes to friends to finally done with each other for life, lets look back on this trail of tits and tears, hoping that this helps to explain what went wrong between Lala and Katie.
Lala Kent and Katie Maloney meet and mistreat each other – VPR Seasons 4 and 5
During her first season of VPR, the cast traveled to Hawaii, where Lala quickly removed her bikini top. Jax Taylor, a sometimes man of his word, told the cameras that he was looking. Beside him, a giggly Tom Schwartz also looked on, which annoyed his then-girlfriend, Katie.
The ladies were hard on Season 4 Lala, using slut-shaming and accusations of lying to help shut her down. We saw you, Jax. You WERE flirting with Lala, you messy man.
Therefore, Lala came in hard during Season 5. She questioned Katie on her summer body, which she deemed not ready. So Katie doubled down on Lala being a “wh*re” because Lala was dating a still-married man.
However, Katie and Schwartz got engaged in Season 5. Therefore, Lisa Vanderpump threw them an engagement party, which Lala attended. Kristen Doute, however, took over the microphone, giving a lengthy speech to the happy(ish) couple that took ages. Cue Lala, yelling from the audience for Kristen to wrap things up.
Katie went in on Lala at their following reunion, telling Lala that she “acted like a drunken asshole” during her engagement party. Katie then revealed that Lala had called her a “blob” and a “no sex Teletubby” behind her back, all while joking that she could easily sleep with her fiancé, Tom (allegedly).
But Lala clapped back, reminding Katie that she had been slut-shaming her since her entrance into this series. It was a mess until Katie owned up to her behaviors and apologized through her tears, making Lala cry as well.
Peace(ish) arrives for Lala Kent and Katie Maloney – VPR Seasons 6 – 10
Following their emotional conversation at the Season 5 Reunion, Lala and Katie entered into a period of peace. Like most friendships, this era still held a few roadblocks, as Seasons 6 – 10 of VPR proved.
Behind her back, Katie allegedly labeled Lala as a home-wrecker. Instead of “popping” Katie, Lala revealed that Schwartz had cheated. Katie grew upset, and small cracks started forming in this still-healing friendship.
Yet, when Katie and Schwartz divorced, Lala stood nearby. When Scheana Shay got married and banned Katie from her ceremony, Lala still included Katie in her plans. Likewise, when Lala split from her man, Katie was there. Katie was also present when Lala underwent IVF to have a second child, and when asked, Katie turned her soft button on with Lala once Lala stressed that her life was too much to deal with during filming.
Lala called Katie her ride-or-die friend. But then the Scandoval hit in Season 10, and everything went straight to hell.
The vibes are off between Lala Kent and Katie Maloney – the tail-end of VPR Season 10
As Season 10 aired, Katie went on her podcast, You’re Gonna Love Me, to answer questions from her fans. One viewer asked Katie if she and Lala were still on good terms. In their opinion, the vibes felt off on their end.
In response, Katie quipped, “Vibes are definitely off.” Katie then rolled right along to the next topic, but once Lala caught wind of this statement, her gloves started sliding off a bit more with Katie via her podcast, Give Them Lala.
Lala first explained that many people asked her to talk about this vanishing vibes comment. But Lala had not heard this podcast yet, so off she went to have a little listen. “So I guess the vibes are definitely off,” Lala remarked after hearing what Katie said.
Lala then revealed that she and Katie had a heated conversation in their DMs, starting after Lala failed to wish Katie a happy birthday. This date slipped her mind, as “it was MLK Day,” Lala said, suggesting that this oversight was why Katie might have felt like their vibes were off.
Lala Kent and Katie Maloney actively try to restore their friendship – VPR Season 11
Off vibes are not that deep. It happens. Lala and Katie likely agreed since their friendship was intact as Season 11 rolled around. Katie and Lala are both single, independent women, so their scenes together were often lighthearted.
During Season 11, Episode 8, Katie and Lala met for lunch. They agreed that they both hit each other below the belt. But in her confessional, Lala quipped that she was trying to “get soft and heal” because she did not want to become a “miserable, bitter b*tch.” She then quipped that Katie “was happy on her warpath,” making it hard for her soft era to shine.
Thankfully, their at-the-table chat was less snarky, as Katie and Lala used their words to communicate their feelings like pros. They hugged and said, “I love you,” as a season of girl power might be heading our way. (Sadly, our feelings died shortly after, but more on that in a bit).
Lala grew so close to Katie that even she let it slip how Scheana and Schwartz had made out in Las Vegas. Katie realized this was possibly another cheating situation, so she grew annoyed with her ex, as she should.
But then, Lala started filming with Tom Sandoval, trying to get into his head following his affair that heavily divided this cast. Ariana Madix was not a massive fan of this, so a wall started to go up on her end with Lala.
Lala Kent and Katie Maloney are back at odds – the VPR Season 11 Reunion
Katie and Ariana are close friends. They also co-own Something About Her, a sandwich shop in Los Angeles. However, between Seasons 10 and 11, Ariana left to fulfill her Broadway dreams in New York City while their shop lingered around in permitting hell. Her absence meant that Katie had to solve their last-minute issues on her own back in CA.
Her absence annoyed Katie, so she vented in private to Lala. However, Lala saw a storyline here, so Lala encouraged Katie to address this with Ariana on camera during Season 11. But Katie refused, as by the time filming picked back up, she and Ariana had already sorted this out. Cue a very annoyed Lala at the VPR Season 11 Reunion.
Lala went in on Katie, revealing that Katie refused to confront Ariana on air out of a need to protect their sandwich shop. Lala then quipped that there was nothing about their business, a play on the word Something in their cafe. As Ariana watched, Katie talked over the Toms to explain that she and Ariana did talk about her frustrations so everyone could choke (basically).
Still, Lala remained firm, slamming Katie for not filming her authentic life for this series. Ariana, however, disagreed. Ariana noted that Katie is valid in all of her feelings.
When Andy asked where Katie and Lala now stood, Lala said she was unsure. Andy then commented how Katie looked “pissed,” which Lala quickly stated was a “standard” look for her costar. Katie clarified that she is not pissed. Instead, she is just “tired of the bullsh*t.”
There is likely no hope for a reconciliation between Lala Kent and Katie Maloney – post-filming VPR Season 11
Following the reunion, this cast took a long pause, which eventually turned into a total reboot decision made by the network. Thankfully, podcasts and Watch What Happens Live exist, so we still know how Lala and Katie feel post-VPR Season 11.
On WWHL, two fans called in to ask Katie about where she stands with Lala. Katie answered, “Um, that’s a good question.” Lala then took her response to her since-expired Instagram stories, one-upping Katie’s vague answer.
“I’m sure if I go back to being real miserable, we’ll get real thick again,” Lala quickly snarked. Lala also admitted that she “contemplated not posting this because I love her mom.”
Then, Lala appeared on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, explaining that “Katie and I have two very different viewpoints on what happened and the demise of our friendship. We can go over this all the live long day, [but] what’s done is done,” Lala stressed.
As for where Lala now stands, “We may be able to rebuild at some point, or we may never see each other again,” she declared. “Who the f*ck knows, right? But I do want her to be happy in her life. She deserves that.”
We wish Lala and Katie well as they move forward.
Vanderpump Rules is streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – WILL LALA AND KATIE EVER MAKE AMENDS? WHAT DO YOU THINK THE MAIN UNDERYING ISSUE IS HERE?