Over the years, Lisa Vanderpump‘s SUR and Villa Blanca establishments have featured dozens of attractive servers and bartenders, all with larger than life personalities. Ever the great business woman, Lisa pitched a reality television series to be filmed within these restaurants. Shortly after, Vanderpump Rules was born. When it premiered in 2013, the staff’s antics raked in the views, just as Lisa predicted.
As the years passed, some of these well known personalities were released from the series. A bulk firing even occurred post Season 8. Here, Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, and Jax Taylor were let go after racially profiling their fellow cast member, Faith Stowers. Fired in the same manner were Brett Caprioni and Max Boyens, who held social media presences with racially insensitive contents.
Other cast members have also “dipped out” over the years, but the reasons given are vastly different from those above. Many of these personalities were not only entertaining, but a few also brought a much needed (and still lacking) sense of diversity to the cast. These are the faces that we’d love to see brought back for a second chance.
As for the cast members who were fired for just causes, their return(s) are not high on our list, but if lessons were truly learned, perhaps pop-in appearances (such as Kristen’s in Season 10), could continue.
Recap—Kristen was brought back this season to briefly film the fallout over her ex Tom Sandoval‘s affair. Stassi was the queen of reading Tom for filth, but she was not brought back. Stassi would have destroyed him, and we would have enjoyed every second.
That said, these are the Vanderpump Rules cast members we’d love to see on the show again.
Tina McDowelle – Seasons 1 – 2
Tina McDowelle‘s close friendship with Scheana Shay was apparent during Season 1. The duo shared a love for music and performance, with Scheana even opening for Tina at the Roxy. Tom also jumped onstage with Tina at one point, sharing his musical talents passions with his coworker.
Though Tina held a full-time role on season 1, she returned for season 2 in a lesser role, with a reason why never fully stated. This would be Tina’s last time seen on the series, however, Tina’s Instagram is still followed by several of her former SUR cast mates. These connections could spell out an easy return for the musician.
However, an unfortunate event occurred in November 2019. While shopping the Black Friday sales in Los Angeles, Tina was shot. “The bullet collapsed my lung, severely lacerated my liver, punctured my diaphragm, broke my ribs and exited out my back. I almost died,” Tina wrote on her GoFundMe page.
With her calm spirit, beautiful voice, and abundantly displayed kindness during her time spent on the series, we’d love to see Tina make a return. Her trauma, diversity, and healing would also lend a voice for others who have walked in her steps.
Laura-Leigh – Season 1
Like Tina, Laura-Leigh also appeared in Season 1, though she did not return for Season 2. Laura-Leigh was Jax’s rebound fling following one of his many splits from Stassi. Much of her storyline centered around addiction. One of her aired dates with Jax even saw him accompanying her to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Jax dumped Laura-Leigh shortly after, but the reads she gave him made for excellent television. Even Stassi couldn’t help herself, as she could be seen dying of laughter over some of Laura-Leighs quips throughout Season 1. At the end, Laura-Leigh got the last laugh, booking the role of Kymberly in the movie, We’re the Millers, alongside Jennifer Aniston.
Laura-Leigh is still adding credits to her name, though with her humor and bare-it-all mentality, we really wish she’d add another season of Vanderpump Rules to her schedule.
Jennifer Bush – Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 6
Jennifer Bush has made many cameos on Vanderpump Rules over the years in a friend-of role. While working at SUR in 2013, Jennifer and former bartender Jeremy Davidson welcomed a baby boy named Kingston, whom Lisa lovingly referred to as “the SUR baby.”
Various cast members went on to babysit for Kingston on-air, as Jen easily popped in and out of filming with her precious little boy. One storyline, however, received a huge nudge thanks to Jen’s presence. In Season 6, Jen alleged that she witnessed Scheana’s then-boyfriend, Rob Valletta, kissing another women while dining at Toca Madera. Scheana down-played this situation as other full time cast members took the rumor and ran wild with their opinions.
Jennifer is now a married mother of two, and like Tina, her Instagram is still followed by the majority of her former castmates. With several of these personalities now raising children, Jennifer could make a great addition, bringing diversity back into this friends group as she rejoins the madness of filming.
Vail Bloom -Season 3
Vail Bloom was a hostess at SUR during Season 3. On air, Jax and Peter Madrigal could be seen taking an immediate interest in Lisa’s new hire. While many of the staff held aspirations to act, Vail had already earned a Daytime Emmy for her work on The Young And The Restless by the time her appearances on this series began. Making it clear that she was only working at SUR to cover her bills in between acting jobs, Vail’s honesty and lack of cattiness was a breath of fresh air.
Though Vail’s time on the series felt a bit unnatural back then, her return now could work. Vail is now a mother of two and is still residing in Los Angeles. In 2023, she returned to her former soap opera role, so she would not likely be up for a Vanderpump Rules return, though that doesn’t stop us from adding her to our list. We feel that Vail’s laid back vibes are needed, now more than ever, amongst this dramatic friends group.
TELL US – WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE RETURN TO VANDERPUMP RULES?
