Back in 2020, a prior incident came to light about Vanderpump Rules castmates Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute. Their former co-star Faith Stowers, the only Black castmate to ever be on the show, alleged the two had called the police on her at one point over a false crime. The situation prompted Bravo to fire the alums, as well as a few others for separate controversies, in the weeks following. More recently, though, rumors have started circulating that Schroeder may be returning to the fold, so to speak. But I’m not totally buying it.
The majority of the speculation seems to have started after the Bravo and Cocktails gossip column received an anonymous tip. Stassi Schroeder’s name is never specifically mentioned by the source, only that an “ex bar star” in the midst of newfound motherhood is making a TV comeback “soon.” All signs indeed point to the ousted Vanderpump Rules alum who had her first child with husband Beau Clark last January.
Yet, it’s not altogether too likely that Stassi Schroeder will be welcomed back by Bravo to her former show, if we take into account the current climate at the network. Efforts are being made to tame down controversy, not invite it back. We can take the recent Real Housewives of New York reboot/spinoff news as just one example. Executive producer Andy Cohen shared that the upcoming rebooted series is going to be a lot more diverse and inclusive in the wake of the divisive thirteenth season. It’s a bold statement to do a factory reset on the network’s second-longest running entity for that franchise – and I think it's an indication the network may be going in a different direction than past years.
Nevertheless, Vanderpump Rules’ matriarch Lisa Vanderpump has said in the past that she wished Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute could’ve come back for Season 9 to see their potential journey of “growth.” She added there were “a lot of reactive decisions” at the time this all occurred. So perhaps the restaurateur/ex-RHBH star intervened on behalf of her former protégé to Bravo, and perhaps we will in fact see her in the next VR season or perhaps some other series. Still, that’s just too many perhapses in my book…
All in all, too, I think the next season of Vanderpump Rules (yet to be greenlighted) should be dramatic enough without fired former co-stars complicating things further. Lala Kent already has plenty to say about her ex’s reported infidelity of late. James Kennedy and Raquel Leviss called off their engagement. And longtime couple Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney are getting divorced (but still living together temporarily).
As you can see, based on recent Bravo decisions and other factors, I just don't feel a return is in the cards for Stassi Schroeder just yet, nor does the show need it, though you can always relive her major moments with a Peacock subscription. One imagines she’s been perfecting the art of “Next Level Basic” in the time sense, though.
