Season 10 of Vanderpump Rules won’t just follow the aftermath of Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz’s split. Raquel Leviss and James Kennedy also called it quits in between seasons and aren’t holding back about what happened during their five-year relationship.
In the February 2023 premiere, the DJ and Lala Kent drop a bombshell that they hooked up during the early stages of his relationship with Raquel and her romance with now-ex Randall Emmett.
“James and I — when we were both very new in our relationships — definitely hooked up,” Lala said. “We went to Chicago [in 2016] and we started drinking before we got on the plane. That’s why he said I do handstands before — I definitely do handstands.”
James, who admitted that he was “nervous” to own up to what happened after years of downplaying things, noted that “a lot of guys make mistakes.”
“Obviously half of Lala wanted it to happen too so let’s not dilly dally,” he said in a confessional. “She probably had big f—king plans on getting that fat f—king rock on her finger — which she did. So, she probably wanted to seal the deal with J.K. before that. Who wouldn’t?”
The “Topman” musician went on to get serious with Raquel, proposing in May 2021. They called off their engagement that December and he started dating now-girlfriend Ally Lewber six weeks later.
“James loves a thin-lipped bitch. First Raquel and now Ally,” Lala quipped on the show. “Even I was a thin-lipped bitch back when we started banging.”
Having a new girlfriend wasn’t the only change Jame made following his broken engagement.
“After two and a half years of not a single drop, I decided to drink again. Have a couple of drinks. After Raquel left, I thought [about how] I was getting married and all that I did to better myself was still clearly not enough,” he explained on the premiere. “And frankly it was a new year. It was 2022 and what am I doing? I am James Kennedy. Let me live.”
He added that if he was going to “quit again,” it would be “for me and not an ultimatum in a relationship.”
Raquel, for her part, has been linked to several men on the series post-James. In addition to casually dating Peter Madrigal — whom she referred to as a “man” and not a “manchild” like James — she made out with Tom and SUR employee Oliver Saunders (son of Garcelle Beauvais) during the production of season 10.
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Vanderpump Rules airs on Wednesday Bravo at 9 p.m. ET. Scroll through for more from Raquel and James:
