You know what they say: you can’t beat out of the bones what’s in the blood. While Stassi Schroeder has come a long way since her time on Vanderpump Rules — she’s now a doting wife, a loving mom of two, and a bestselling author — some of her infamous, yet beloved habits still bubbled up amid her long-awaited return to reality TV in the second season of Hulu’s Vanderpump Villa.
Lisa Vanderpump, who employed Schroeder at SUR Restaurant & Lounge through most of her 20s, invited the reality TV legend and her family to spend the summer watching over her staff at her 12th-century castle, Castello Rosato, in Italy. Speaking with DECIDER ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Vanderpump said she always “hoped” she would work with Schroeder again, joking that, like her time on Vanderpump Rules, the experience was “vacay and a whole lot of fun.”
“There wasn’t a lot of working going on then, either,” Schroeder playfully added of her time as a SUR waitress.
While Schroeder’s main purpose at Castello Rosato was to keep a watchful eye on Vanderpump’s rambunctious staff, she did get to take some time off to celebrate her birthday with her husband, Beau Clark, their family, and their friends in Episode 7. But after one too many Aperol Spritzes, Schroeder’s drunken alter ego — the dark passenger — returned to the screen as she argued with her husband over his tendency to put his sister before her.
“I’m embarrassed. The dark passenger — I thought I had gotten rid of it but I guess I haven’t,” she told us, before adding, “God, I really thought I was past birthday meltdowns.”
When DECIDER caught up with Vanderpump and Schroeder via Zoom, they spoke all about Vanderpump Villa, from this season’s toxic couples to hosting the #MomTok squad from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: I’m so excited to see you both working together again. Did you ever think this day would come?
STASSI SCHROEDER: Yeah.
LISA VANDERPUMP: I hoped it would. But working together again – working is a term I use very loosely when it comes to my relationship with Stassi.
STASSI: This one was like vacay for me. No, this was just, like, a whole lot of fun for me.
LISA: Well, it was vacay and a whole lot of fun when you were on Vanderpump Rules.
STASSI: There wasn’t a lot of working going on then, either. But yeah, no, I kind of always knew that our paths always just cross and go like this.
LISA: Well, I always knew you’d be up to something, always. I told you that right from the beginning.
Lisa, this season you fired, I believe, six of your staffers. Would you say you were harder on them this season than last season? And is there anyone that you regretted firing?
LISA: Well, I regret firing most of them. Look, I actually prepared with a few extra people because I knew it was too dangerous to go to the other side of the world with something we actually had to execute to a level of perfection without having a couple of extra people. To be left short staffed is just a no-no in this business. And we still didn’t get it quite right, as you see. But it’s sad when it doesn’t work out, but then it’s not for everybody. So there are people that have never been on reality television before. There are people that maybe thought that they just came there to be on reality television, not to do their job. So neither of those work really. It’s gotta be somebody who can just ignore the cameras, get on with their lives, and that sometimes sounds easier than it is.
Stassi, you have come so far since your Vanderpump Rules days. You’re an amazing wife, mother, author. But I have to say I was so thrilled to see another birthday meltdown in Vanderpump Villa. Is it safe to say that some things never change? And have you convinced Beau to get a tattoo of your name yet?
STASSI: It’s not about the tattoo! I’m gonna say that until I die. No, he does not have the tattoo. You know, I’m embarrassed. The dark passenger — I thought I had gotten rid of it but I guess I haven’t. OK, you know when it’s your birthday…
LISA: No! Nobody else feels like that.
STASSI: The pressure of your birthday to have a great time, make sure everyone else is having fun, and then you just drink too much.
LISA: You don’t care about everybody else!
STASSI: Yes, I do. I swear!
LISA: When have you ever cared about anybody else on your birthday? Name one instance, please. Yeah, I see it all.
STASSI: God, I really thought I was past birthday meltdowns.
They make great TV!
STASSI: They do make good TV.
You were able to host the #MomTokkers. Do either of you watch The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives? What were your thoughts on them after their stay at Castello Rosato?
STASSI: Oh, I watch.
LISA: I wasn’t quite as aware as Stassi was. Of course I thought, “Oh, Mormons.” And then I heard something about a swinging scandal and saw some things on TikTok. And I thought they seemed like a lot of fun because you don’t want people coming to the castle that are going to be negative. So, they were a lot of fun. I didn’t believe they were quite so liberal.
STASSI: Oh, no. Like, these girls aren’t even drinking cocktails and they were one of the wildest guest groups. Yeah, no, I knew all about them. But this was before their show came out. Then when we got back from Italy and we were able to watch their whole entire show, I was just like, “Oh, my gosh.” Yeah, they were a good time.
I’ve got to ask you both about Siadi and Sianna because their journey was a wild one to watch. Would you put them in the same ranks as a Kristen Doute and Tom Sandoval or even, sorry Stassi, but a Stassi and Jax?
LISA: Oh, wow. Um, no. I didn’t see the real feel-good factor in their relationship. Because I think with Stassi and Jax, they still — no, but you still had a lot of good times even though it’s clouded by … no, it just seemed like [Sianna] didn’t do well in that relationship and I told her that honestly. I mean, I’m not going to give my opinion on somebody else’s relationship, but if they ask for it then I’m going to tell them the truth, which I did.
STASSI: I’m triggered right now, thinking about my old relationships. I’m triggered right now!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Vanderpump Villa Season 2 is currently streaming on Hulu.
The post Stassi Schroeder, Lisa Vanderpump Tease Cameo From “The Dark Passenger” In ‘Vanderpump Villa’: “I Really Thought I Was Past Birthday Meltdowns” appeared first on Decider.
