The beginning of the end of Jax Taylor and Tom Sandoval’s friendship reared its ugly head during the season premiere of Vanderpump Rules on Jan. 7, when the former retaliated after the latter skipped one of his wedding events. Apparently, having a “pre-bachelor party” is some sort of thing now, so Jax went ahead and threw one for himself. The only problem was that Tom Sandoval, who was one of Jax’s best men, couldn’t make it. Why? Well, he had prior plans to fly across the country and visit his family, whom he hadn’t seen in quite some time. But Jax didn’t care. And after Tom skipped the event, Jax removed him as one of his best men.
“Tom Sandoval and I don’t really have a lot in common that much anymore,” Jax told fiancee Brittany Cartwright, as they sat inside their new home. “I kind of think it’s like, ‘Do you know… A: I’m getting married next month [and] like, B: Jax Taylor is getting married next month?’ Like, this is a big f***ing deal.”
“I know,” Brittany agreed. “I wish Tom would see that and at least try and reach out and see how you’re doing every now and then.”
But according to Tom, the reason why he hadn’t been reaching out to Jax was because Jax basically made fun of the house he and girlfriend Ariana Madix had purchased nearby. During their own scene, Tom told Ariana that Jax tried to one-up him every chance he could while touring Tom and Ariana’s new house. According to Tom, Jax kept saying that he and Brittany wanted a bigger house in a better neighborhood with a better school system. Tom felt like it was insulting, so he pulled back from his friendship with Jax. Tom also didn’t like that he got punished for missing the “pre-bachelor party” just because he was busy visiting with his family.
The two eventually hashed things out during a party at Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney‘s new house, but we don’t think this will be the end of their fighting. Especially because Jax didn’t fully comprehend why Tom Sandoval was upset with him over his comments about Tom’s house.
Meanwhile, Stassi struggled to rebuild her broken friendship with Kristen, who may or may not still be dating Carter. That much is still not clear, as Kristen claimed they had broken up, but she was still living with Carter. Plus, when Lala confronted Carter at Tom and Katie’s party, Carter revealed that Kristen was having him do work favors for her. And when Lala later demanded that Kristen tell her the truth, Kristen called her a “b****” and all hell broke loose (ie. screaming and yelling followed by an abrupt exit from the party).
And speaking of Lala — earlier in the episode, she told Lisa Vanderpump that because she’s now sober, she has a desire to make amends with James Kennedy. Lisa told Lala that James should get sober, too, before they reconnect, but we’re not quite so sure Lala will wait. Only time will tell.
As for the newbies — TomTom’s general manager Max broke the rules by dating the restaurant’s new hostess, Dayna. However, when she learned that Max was going to Palm Springs with his ex, Scheana, things got pretty awkward. But he insisted that he and Scheana are only friends now, even though he thinks she’s “boy crazy”, and things seemed to normalize a bit. Plus, Scheana already seems to have her sights set on another TomTom employee named Brett.
Want more drama? New episodes of Vanderpump Rules air Tuesdays at 9pm on Bravo.