Vanderpump Rules Most Dramatic Moments Ever

For those yet to experience Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules" — "are you trying to get popped?!" The series barreled onto television screens in 2013 (via IMDb) following an episode of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and has been teaching us the value of a good goat cheeseball ever since. The iconic backdoor pilot seamlessly transitioned from documenting the lives of the rich and famous to following the wait staff behind the scenes of West Hollywood's SUR Restaurant & Lounge. The hit reality show has inspired spin-offs and think pieces (via The New York Times), but the real reason for the show's unprecedented success is its cast.

In a 2019 interview with People, creator and star Lisa Vanderpump stated that the recipe to a long-running reality show is finding a cast with history, i.e., built-in drama. "We didn't just manufacture a reality show by pulling people from left field," Vanderpump explained. "They really were friends before the show, and have struggled to grow up together, and sometimes that manifests in contentious situations."

We'd say that's an understatement. "Vanderpump Rules" has gifted us some of the most legendary GIFS and quotes in reality television history. Now that the series has finally started production for its ninth season, we're taking a look back at memorable moments that have cemented "Vanderpump Rules'" place in the reality show lexicon.

Season 2 may have even surpassed Season 1 of "Vanderpump Rules" in the dramatic reveal department. Midway through the season, after a night of heavy drinking, Katie Maloney revealed a jaw-dropping rumor that seemed so ludicrous, viewers immediately dismissed it: Kristen Doute slept with Jax Taylor. The alleged affair happened when Taylor was staying with Doute and her boyfriend Tom Sandoval, following Taylor's break-up with Schroeder. What makes the rumor even more sordid is that Sandoval and Taylor make up two parts of the show's male tripod, the third being Tom Schwartz. Taylor and Doute shut down the rumor through their favorite form of defense: denial (via YouTube.) And it worked. Almost everyone in the cast chose to ignore this piece of juicy gossip, except Schroeder.

The timeline added up to her, and although she and Taylor were already broken up by the time of the alleged entanglement, best friends do NOT sleep with exes, so she dug deeper. With Doute's loyalty in doubt, Schroeder turned to Taylor, seduced him into admitting the truth, and confronted Doute before an audience of other wait staff (or SUR-vers). When Doute continued to deny the scandal, Schroeder slapped her across the face so forcefully, it became part of GIF culture (via GIPHY). Doute ended the season eventually admitting to the affair with Taylor, her confession costing her a friendship with Schroeder and her relationship with Sandoval.

While we met DJ James Kennedy a season prior, Season 4 of "Vanderpump Rules" is when his crazy really started to show. A perfect fit for this band of West Hollywood misfits! Season 3 concluded with a dramatic fight between Kennedy and Kristen Doute at cast mate Scheana Shay's wedding. The brawl included Doute punching him in the face, but somehow, their love was stronger than physical abuse, and the two remained together until this volatile break-up scene in Season 4.

Kennedy accused Doute of cheating on him on a trip home to Michigan, and though Doute denied the allegation, she hasn't always been truthful (see above.) After Kennedy called Doute "ratched," the claws came out, and both began hurling insults like "you 23-year-old son of a b****!" In the moment, Doute did make some eerie predictions about Kennedy's future storylines (via YouTube.) "You're going to drink yourself into oblivion, you're going to get f***ing fired, you're going to lose all your friends," Doute prophesied, all of which came true, resulting in Kennedy getting sober (via People.) 

The argument ended with Kennedy hocking a loogie at Doute's door. And, while it may seem like there's no coming back from that, the two would continue a physical relationship for another few seasons. 

Season 5's "Vanderpump Rules" cast trip to New Orleans was presented as Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz's shared bachelor/bachelorette party, but the two lovebirds were the show's worst example of a healthy relationship. During a drunken night out, made all the more ridiculous by the groomsmen dressing as drag queens, the cast participated in their favorite pastime: fighting (via YouTube.) Doute had determined that Schwartz cheated on Maloney on a prior trip to Vegas. She urged Schwartz to admit to sleeping with another woman so that the relationship could return to a clean slate before the two walked down the aisle, but Schwartz refused to acknowledge his infidelity, claiming the furthest his affair went was "making-out."

The argument traveled all the way from the hotel lobby up into the groom's suite, ending with a final shot of Schwartz sitting on the toilet and Sandoval declaring, "Leave him ... alone! He's a f***ing battered wife!" (via YouTube.) The somberness of the allegations of adultery contrasted by the men in drag left viewers in stitches. Though this fight was one of the most dramatic moments on the series, it's also gone down in history to be one of the most hilarious.