Over the years, Lisa Vanderpump’s role on Vanderpump Rules has evolved drastically. When the cast members worked at her restaurants, she was literally their boss. She held the keys to their future. Now that the cast has all graduated from being servers and bartenders in her restaurants, Lisa’s role on the show has shifted. Some fans would argue that she doesn’t even belong there anymore. Behind the scenes, however, Lisa’s role has remained unchanged. She sees the cast as her children, but she’s also a producer.
Lisa recently opened up to the Wall Street Journal about her unique role on VPR, and how Scandoval truly threw her for a loop. She has been the executive producer of Pump Rules since its inception. That’s a switch she can’t turn off, so when Sandoval’s indiscretions rocked the show, Lisa had mixed emotions. She felt bad watching Ariana Madix, Rachel Leviss, and Tom Sandoval’s lives blow up right in front of her eyes. On the other hand, she knew she had a job to do as a producer.
The two sides of LVP
“As a mother figure and as a cast member, it was devastating to see an existing relationship break down in such a brutal and public way,” Lisa shared.
According to LVP, she gets “emotionally involved” with what’s going on with the Pump Rules cast. It might not always seem like it on the show, but Lisa said she cares about all of them. When she learned about Sandoval’s cheating fiasco, she legitimately felt caught off guard—both as the “mother figure” and as the show’s producer.
“As a producer, of course, it’s interesting to capture exactly what’s transpiring, and that’s what they signed up for. And the cast are very good about actually being pretty honest with what’s going on in their lives,” Lisa explained.
She continued, “I think that’s why people felt cheated when they found out this had happened, and that they didn’t know, because normally we know more than we want to.
Aside from the roles LVP plays on VPR, she obviously has a million and one other responsibilities in her life. There are businesses to be run and dogs to pamper. Plus, she has her new show Vanderpump Villa where she has an all-new crew of employees to boss around. It’s a lot, but LVP knows how to wear all of those hats and still look fabulous.
“I spread myself thin,” Lisa said of her many roles. “But once I’m there, I give my all.”
