While Scandoval undoubtedly was one of the hardest things Ariana Madix had to go through, she has so much to be grateful for following that chapter in her life. Not only has her career flourished due to the cheating scandal, but it also saved her spot as a cast member on Vanderpump Rules?! Yeah, you read that right.
According to The Sun, Ariana was about to be FIRED from the show after Season 10! A source claimed that producers were not going to ask the 38-year-old to return to Season 11 as they thought she brought nothing to the show anymore:
“Ariana was on the chopping block. Producers were like, ‘We’ve had it with her.’ She was boring and they believed she didn’t bring anything to the table. She didn’t have much going on at the time and she was on the show for so long because she was dating Tom.”
Related: Rachel Leviss Says She & Ariana Madix Are BOTH The Victims Of Tom Sandoval!
WHAAAAT?! At first, Ariana’s main storyline of the season had been her opening a sandwich shop, Something About Her, with Katie Maloney — which producers were interested in covering. The source said:
“The sandwich shop essentially gave Ariana something to talk about and to film. It was new and exciting and turned into a competition with the Tom Toms since they were also in the midst of opening Schwartz & Sandy’s at the time.”
However, the sandwich shop plot wasn’t enough to save her job! Even Lisa Vanderpump wanted her gone if she wasn’t going to bring the drama! The insider continued:
“Lisa even brought it up in conversation while she was mic’d in Season 10, around the end of 2022. She said, ‘If she doesn’t give something, she’s out.’”
Has Ariana tried to remain out of the drama as she had been friends with almost everyone in the cast in recent seasons? Yes. However, she has been with the VPR since nearly the very beginning! It’s hard to imagine a world without her on the show anymore! But Lisa and the producers were sick of her, apparently. Well, that is until Scandoval happened.
The source alleged that Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss’ cheating scandal prevented her from getting fired, as she was now part of one of the biggest storylines of Season 10 and beloved by so many! Not only did the scandal stop her from being fired, but the affair essentially saved the show!
“There wasn’t supposed to be a Season 11. The show was supposed to be over after 10 seasons. Nobody had a contract to continue. So, the only reason the show got extended for another season was because of the affair.”
Whoa. With the next season covering the aftermath of affair, producers definitely will not have to worry about whether Ariana will bring the drama!
Reactions, Perezcious readers? Are you surprised Ariana nearly got fired from the show? Or did you agree her storylines were boring before Scandoval? Sound OFF in the comments below.
[Image via Bravo/YouTube]
