Awkward Vanderpump Rules Moments That Were Caught On Camera

"Vanderpump Rules," the hit Bravo series that follows employees at former "Real Housewives" star Lisa Vanderpump's LA restaurant SUR, gives us an inside look into the world of luxury restaurateuring. Just kidding — it's a tantalizingly messy drama at its core, a guilty pleasure that keeps fans wanting more episodes.The staff working at the restaurant (wait, do they actually work?) show us love and lust, cheating, fighting, and drama, with little anything else. The entire series comprises mostly of these awkward moments. That's why there were so many deliciously bumbling scenes to choose from for this list.

If you've worked at a restaurant, you'll understand how the strange, often long work hours and constant drinking can make for some messy stories. So let's be glad that we didn't have reality TV cameras following us around as we pounded back drinks after a long shift. Luckily we didn't, so we can enjoy the embarrassing moments of those that did, and raise a glass to the debauchery!

"I like watching you walk away," are words no woman wants to hear her off-and-on-again boyfriend say to her boss. Talk about an uncomfortable moment for Stassi Schroeder in the Season 6 finale of "Vanderpump Rules," as her then-boyfriend Patrick Meagher sexually harasses her boss, Lisa Vanderpump.

When Vanderpump tries to wave off the comments by saying, "Alright well, thank you for your few kind words," he later elevated the awkwardness by insisting, "Oh no, I was definitely saying your a**." Patrick mentioned her "good a**" multiple times. Vanderpump, of course, was not happy with this behavior, saying, "What is your problem? I'm old enough to be his mother and he hits on me in front of his girlfriend who also used to work for me" (via Us Weekly).  

Meagher proved to be an overall villain, dumping Schroeder on the day of their four-year anniversary — Ouch! She had even planned a trip to Mexico for them to celebrate. Lucky for friend Rachael O'Brien, she got to take his place instead. It's highly likely that O'Brien was a much better date than a misogynist would have been, anyways.

Shirts off, guns out! The testosterone-fueled men of "Vanderpump Rules" throw down in a Vegas parking lot in an uncomfortable moment that stands out in the series. The scene takes place when the cast is in Las Vegas to celebrate Stassi Schroeder's birthday.

Jax Taylor and Schroeder had been dating for two years when Frank Herlihy told Schroeder that Taylor cheated on her and got a girl pregnant (via Cosmopolitan). Schroeder then uninvited Taylor to her birthday. Yet, Taylor refused to miss a trip with his "boys." He told Bravo TV, "I mean, deep down inside I knew it was probably a bad idea. But Tom [Sandoval], Tom [Schwartz], and Peter were going, and those guys are like my best friends." When he arrived and saw Schroeder on a date with Herlihy, he lost it. "I was stumbling on my words and my adrenaline was going crazy. It was through the roof. There was so much testosterone inside me. There was so much male ego in that room, and so much we all had to prove. I just lost it."

Frank then fought with Jax and Tom Sandoval (both shirtless) in a parking lot; Bravo security and crew had to intervene. Sandoval told Bravo TV, "Not my proudest moment. We all had a pretty good amount to drink. I had so much pent up anger towards Frank and felt so betrayed. Once we started arguing it escalated quickly, and things got physical. I def cringe every time I think of it."

Many anticipate the special moment in their relationship when their partner will pop the big question. There's the excitement of wondering when they'll propose, the beautiful speech they might deliver when the moment comes ... And as a commitment to the relationship, they'll present you with ... a ring on a necklace? Wait, no, that's not quite right! Well, that was the case for Katie Maloney, who was expecting an engagement ring from longtime boyfriend Tom Schwartz, but instead received a "ring on a string." 

Schwartz later made it up to her by proposing with a gorgeous custom ring (per People). A two-carat pear-shaped champagne diamond set in rose gold, with pink sapphires on the band. According to E! Online, the couple's 2016 wedding ceremony was at TwentyMileHouse in Northern California and interestingly, Lisa Vanderpump officiated in front of 120 friends and family.

Unfortunately, the pair has now split after Maloney filed for divorce. "After 12 years on an adventure through life together Tom and I are ending our marriage. This ending is not met with resentment or animosity, no sides to choose. We have deep admiration for one another that will always remain and we cherish our friendship," Maloney shared on Instagram in 2022. Apparently the "heartbroken" Schwartz dried his tears by making out with Raquel Leviss at Scheana Shay's wedding a few months later, Us Weekly reported. 

Kristen Doute, professional pot-stirrer, couldn't seem to let go of ex Tom Sandoval. She proposed a plot to bring in a woman she found online and prove that he had cheated on his new girlfriend Ariana Madix with her.

Doute claimed, "I wanted answers. I know that I'm broken up with Tom, I know James and I are together, and I know that it's probably none of my damn business, but I made it my business," she said in a vlog for Bravo TV. Yet, it seems more like she wanted revenge on Sandoval and to take down his new relationship, since she has accused him of cheating on her with Ariana before their breakup, per Insider. 

Allegedly, Sandoval and a woman named Annemarie Kunkel slept together during a trip to Miami (per Cosmopolitan). When Doute brought Kunkel to the restaurant, Madix and Sandoval walked out. They later returned when Lisa Vanderpump called the couple back.

Madix told Us Weekly, "I almost wish I didn't leave. The reason why we left is because we felt like production was pulling this whole thing. I do regret, I guess just not fully calling out the whole real story, like on camera and staying there." Only two people know the truth here, and it seems like we'll never know if the cheating story was actually true — although Sandoval has cheated before, so it wouldn't be completely out of left field. 

Embarrassingly, Jax Taylor was arrested during a "Vanderpump Rules" trip to Hawaii for stealing sunglasses — and not just some $20 off-the-rack pair, but ones valued at over $300. Taylor's arrest caused his friends and girlfriend (now wife) Brittany Cartwright quite the headache. They had to hustle up $11,000 for bail to get him out of jail so they could make their flight back to LA. 

He was charged with theft in the second degree and entered a no-contest plea. Taylor later accepted a plea deal in connection to the charge. According to E! News and local reports, after the deal he was sentenced to 364 days of probation and if he stays out of trouble, his record will be clean. He was also fined $350 to pay back the Sunglass Hut he stole from, $105 to the crime victim compensation fund, and $1,150 in fees and fines.

Taylor has since reflected and told the Daily Dish, "I made some choices that I wish I wouldn't have made. I kind of needed to be knocked down a little bit. The Hawaii thing was a perfect example — my ego was getting a little out of control. I was drinking a little bit too much and I kind of felt like I was a little bit untouchable. And it was just very wrong what I did. It was a humbling experience. So it was good. Some good came out of that, what happened in Hawaii." 

"Why is it about the damn pasta?" James Kennedy yells at Lala Kent. "Get over the damn pasta! Read between the f***ing lines! It ain't about the pasta! It's not about the pasta! It's not about the pasta." These iconic words left viewers wondering, what was between the lines? Isn't pasta just pasta?

The argument in Season 6 started during a double date after Kent joked she ate Kennedy's girlfriend Raquel Leviss's pasta without permission while she was in the bathroom. Kennedy then called Kent a "b*tch" who will never be as beautiful as his supermodel girlfriend. Then he goes after her boyfriend, Randall Emmett, calling him a "fat f***ing man" she only sees because he "pays her rent."

So maybe it makes sense that there's more to it than pasta, because although many of us get hangry, they weren't even his noodles!

Maybe between the lines are his unresolved feelings for Kent, with whom he had a sexual relationship in the past. Later in the season, Kennedy said to Kent, "I have a negative view of [your] man because he put the one I love in jeopardy. So then when you've come to a place where you're finally happy and now you're talking about a future together and a house, beautiful things that I want. I've loved you. So you have to understand, Lala, I'm not used to it" (via Refinery29). Seems like maybe "It's not about the pasta!" was really code for "I love you."

In a 2016 episode, Lala Kent accused her cast mates of not "working on their summer bodies." Then, James Kennedy, hurt that he couldn't sit at the adult's table, lashed out at Katie Maloney, saying, "Wait, are you pregnant? Oh my god, congratulations!" According to People, he made further comments in 2018 at LA Pride, mocking her shorts and telling her to "lose some weight."

Not only was he fat shaming, but Kennedy had consistently called his female coworkers almost every derogatory insult under the sun — before being fired by Lisa Vanderpump. While firing him, she said, "I cannot stand behind that. The way you're talking to women — who the f*** do you think you are, that you can stand there and you can call these beautiful, young women, 'they're sluts, they're whores.' You've got to start showing respect. You put me in a very, very difficult position. I cannot have you as one of the faces of my company with the way you disrespect women" (via People). They both ended the conversation in tears.

People reported that Kennedy has since joined AA, saying alcohol made him lash out and apologized to Maloney, and she has forgiven him. It seems like the bullying didn't hold her back, but strengthened her into a vocal supporter of body positivity.

Kristen Doute and Stassi Schroeder pulled a gatecrash on Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz's engagement party, per E! Online. Maybe they were hoping to be cast in a remake of "Wedding Crashers," but instead, Doute ended up in another awkward "Vanderpump Rules" moment, during which she gives an exceptionally confusing speech at an event she wasn't even invited to. This turn of events was surprising to absolutely no one, as Doute wouldn't let the lack of an invitation stop her from showing up at Lisa Vanderpump's home for the party. She's never been the type to really care about what other people want.

After Vanderpump made a toast to the engaged couple and opened the floor to anyone who might want to say some words to the couple, Doute's moment came, as unfortunately for Vanderpump, she was the only one to raise her hand. "Please don't, Kristen," Vanderpump says. "Okay, let me say that again. If there's anybody but Kristen that wants to say anything?" Lucky for us, there wasn't, and her speech was drunken poetry found at the bottom of a gallon of cocktails. As she sipped from her straw, she waxed-poetic to the crowd.

"Hiii guys, I'm gonna give myself a little credit because when little T. [Schwartz] got out of his Honda Civic, coming from Florida off of Craigslist ..." Cue more incoherent rambling. Regrettably, the piece was cut short when Lala Kent yelled, "Can we wrap it up? Wrap it up! Wrap it up!"'