Lisa Vanderpump Teases Emotionally Draining ‘Pump Rules’ Reunion (Exclusive)

Reality TV queen Lisa Vanderpump is doing it again with “Vanderpump Villa,” which delivers decadence and debauchery while following a staff handpicked to work and live at an exclusive French estate.

Lisa dished with “Extra’s” Billy Bush about what to expect from the series. She also reflected on the continued fallout from Scandoval on “Vanderpump Rules,” which just filmed its Season 11 reunion.

Billy called the “Vanderpump Villa” series “'Below Deck' meets 'Downton Abbey’ with a hint of ‘White Lotus.’”

Lisa told him, “That is very good,” adding, “Yes, it’s a little bit of everything, but it’s unique.”

He went on, “How long will it take before ‘Vanderpump Villa’ becomes ‘Vanderhump Villa’?”

She quipped, “It’s episode four,” which had them both laughing.

Lisa insisted, “It wasn't like a shag fest, Billy. It was a fully immersive experience. A lot of naughtiness, a little bit of bad behavior that I had to sort out, but there were invited guests as well.”

She added, “Every week there was a different group of guests that were there to celebrate a very important experience. And it was up to me to deliver that, and that was a challenge.”

Lisa has had her fair share of challenges in the past with “Vanderpump Rules” after Scandoval, when Tom Sandoval cheated on Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss, now known as Rachel. The shocking affair became the biggest reality TV scandal of 2023.

She went on to talk about the fallout from the affair and concerns over Tom’s mental health.

Billy brought up how Sandoval was depressed and about not wanting to “further depress a depressed person.”

Lisa replied, “I was very sensitive to that. That was a very serious subject to me. I’ve always been involved with suicide prevention and never though it would touch my life, and then my brother committed suicide… When Tom said he had suicide ideation, that to me rings a lot of bells. I became very worried about that, you know? It’s like one of the biggest causes of death in young men in Britain, especially. So, yeah, I was very aware of that."

Bush pointed out, “Everyone’s made mistakes in life,” including on “VPR.”

Vanderpump said, “Exactly. Of course. That’s my point. We talked about that. I said at the reunion previously, ‘Look, he didn’t kill anybody. Everybody needs to back off.’ But isn’t forgiveness a part of moving forward? It really is. I don’t expect everybody to be perfect. It’s like, we screw up. That’s what we do.

Ariana has moved on and is making a good life for herself post-Scandoval, competing on “Dancing with the Stars” and starring in “Chicago.”

Lisa said, “To see her come back from that, wow, and bring it home is amazing, because I thought she would flounder. That worried me.”

As for Madix being a victim, Lisa said, “That’s left behind, but there is still a lot of animosity between the two of them.”

She went on to reveal, “We just did the reunion… It wasn't chaotic, but it was definitely emotionally draining. It still is.”

Vanderpump continued, “And although there is some cohesion in the group, everybody still has a lot of feelings about the way everybody’s dealt with [it].”

As for Ariana wanting people to pick sides, Billy said, “That’s gotta go. You have to intervene on that, because we’re all messes, we’re all disasters.”

Lisa said, “That’s why you watch the show, isn’t it? To see all the different directions it takes?”

Billy wondered, “Maybe there’s love at the root that makes it so hard. Maybe she’s still in love with Tom. You think so?”

Lisa replied, “No,” and Billy laughed, agreeing, “Neither do I.”

Watch “Vanderpump Villa,” now on Hulu!