Bravo king Andy Cohen is weighing in on “Vanderpump Rules” going on a hiatus.
An insider told Page Six on Tuesday that production for Season 12 was put on pause despite typically filming in the summer months.
The network felt like the cast needed a break from the cameras in wake of Scandoval, which resulted in additional filming over the last two seasons.
“Everyone needs a moment to decompress after two very rough, intense seasons,” the source said.
“The cast is looking forward to a break from filming the show.”
Cohen, 55, expanded on the issue on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live.”
“I think that, you know, I was talking to Ariana [Madix] about this on the after-show last night,” Cohen said, referring to one of the women at the center of “Scandoval,” the name for the scandal when cast member Tom Sandoval, 40, cheated on his then-girlfriend Madix, 38, with their then-mutual cast mate Rachel Leviss, 29.
The affair was unearthed in March 2023.
After that cameras picked back up to capture the drama, cutting into the crew’s typical time off.
The scandal was the main drama of Season 11, which is currently airing and was filmed just a few months after Season 10 wrapped.
Showrunners hope the brief hiatus will bring about new storylines for Season 12, per Page Six.
“Producers are excited to catch up with everyone when cameras eventually go back up,” the insider said.
It hasn’t been announced when filming will resume, but an insider told TMZ that it will happen within the year.
While they take time off, the cast can regroup and think about their futures.
Madix revealed earlier this month that she has been debating whether or not to return to the show.
“Our show has always thrived, it’s always at its best when it is at its most authentic and its most real, and I have to be able to show up and be real and be authentic in order for it to make sense for me,” she said at a book festival.
“So that’s the question I would be asking myself going into it,” she explained.
Scheana Shay recently told Page Six that her relationship with Madix has suffered over the last year due to her mixed emotions about letting Sandoval back into her life.
“Things definitely aren’t where they were a year ago,” Shay said about their friendship.
Cohen continued in his Sirius XM show, “I was saying, people do forget, especially as it relates to Ariana, who was the one cheated on. People forget that we picked up cameras a few, three months after she found out about that affair, so that’s why she’s still in the violently angry stage and you can understand that.”
Madix has also been hosting “Love Island” while Lisa Vanderpump is busy with spin-off show “Vanderpump Villa.”
So, about giving the cast time and space, “I always think it’s great,” Cohen said.