Strange Things About Lala Kent's Relationship With Randall Emmett
For decades, producer Randall Emmett was very content to work behind the scenes on big Hollywood movies. In contrast, his fiancée, Lala Kent, thrives in front of the camera. She's a cast member on the reality show Vanderpump Rules, who has acted on the big screen and even put out music. She's also a social media influencer with her own cosmetics line, Give Them Lala Beauty. It seems like these two epitomize the old adage "opposites attract," but there is much more to their dynamic than reality TV storylines, social media posts, and salacious rumors in the press.
Despite some doubters and their fair share of scandals, Emmett and Kent have been going strong for years, ultimately weathering all the storms that come their way. Their relationship is far from conventional, but then again, whose really is? Besides, when it comes down to it, isn't it better to be entertaining than to be dull? Whether they're fighting with foes or each other, this duo has always managed to keep things interesting since the very beginning of their courtship — and even years later, they have no problem spilling their own tea for their fans (and haters) to sip on.
Let's dive into some of the strange things about Lala Kent's relationship with Randall Emmett.
Lala Kent kept Randall Emmett's identity a secret for years
Before Lala Kent and Randall Emmett confirmed their romance, she simply referred to him as "my man," hiding his identity for over a year. In 2016, the former hostess told Us Weekly, "I feel like my personal life is meant to be personal and I don't have to share everything." Even though she didn't name drop, former Vanderpump Rules castmate Stassi Schroeder almost did on Twitter in January 2017.
At the show's Season 5 reunion, which aired that April, Kent said she doesn't "have the right to speak about someone else's life on national television when they did not sign up for this." She later told ET, "I'm always going to baby [the relationship] and keep it pretty much private." But she still dropped hints, thanking someone with the initials "RE" for sending her flowers in an Instagram Story. Kent continued to play into the speculation when she released lip gloss shades named "The Affair," "Mistress," and "Randy," which is notably a nickname for "Randall." During an Us Weekly interview, she teased, "It's named after a special person and obviously I had to poke fun at last season so we had to go with The Affair and we had to go with Mistress."
By December 2017, the cat was officially out of the bag when Page Six released a video of Kent and Emmett kissing at a party. Then, the real drama began.
Randall Emmett was legally married when they met
Once Randall Emmett's identity was revealed in December 2017, his marital status was, as well. Page Six reported that he had been married to Netflix's You actress Ambyr Childers, with whom he shares two daughters, since 2009. He filed for a legal separation in 2015, but later changed his mind, dismissing the petition. Meanwhile, Childers filed for divorce in January 2017.
However, Emmett reportedly started dating Lala Kent in 2016. Before their romance was confirmed, Kent denied getting involved with a "married man" during the April 2017 Vanderpump Rules reunion. "No one is ever going to get the answer they're looking for," she told host Andy Cohen. "And I'm sorry, I'm not going to put my relationship on the forefront." During that conversation, Stassi Schroeder interjected that "everyone knows" Kent was with a married man. With her relationship out in the open by the next season's reunion, Kent clarified her previous answers: "When I met Rand, he had a legal separation, so I don't see how I did anything wrong."
On Dec. 22, 2017, Page Six broke the news that Emmett was officially divorced, but kept the terms of the split and child custody details under wraps. Even though zero details were disclosed, a rep for the producer told the outlet, "It was an amicable divorce," insisting the exes have "a healthy co-parenting relationship for their children." That may have been true, but Kent and Childers' relationship was far from "amicable" at that point.
Lala Kent feuded with Randall Emmett's ex-wife
In 2018, Randall Emmett's ex-wife, Ambyr Childers (pictured, above), posted (and deleted) a screenshot of Lala Kent's texts on Instagram. Captured by Betches, the Vanderpump Rules star allegedly texted, "Leave my name out of your mouth homegirl. When your child comes to me with what you've said ... there's going to be a problem. Enough with that. It's as low as it gets." She also wrote, "And I'm nothing like you. First I can hold on to a man. Secondly I have a job. And thirdly is [sic] never get engaged to someone 2 weeks after the ink is dry on my divorce papers."
Per Reality Blurb, Kent addressed the incident on The Jenny McCarthy Show, remarking, "I just know that she posted something that I sent privately and I think that speaks volumes about her character." That wasn't the last time Childers put Kent on blast, though. She later took to her Instagram Stories (via People) with, "Since you don't want to answer my text messages, I'll try here. Lala, I appreciate your love towards my children, but until you're officially their stepmother please refrain from posting my children on social media! I hope [you] understand where I'm coming from."
It all seemed like water under the bridge by the end of 2019, when everyone celebrated the holidays together. Kent even promoted Childers' jewelry line with a "swipe up" link. In February 2020, Emmett told ET that the two ladies talk often, joking, "I'm the outsider now!"
Randall Emmett was a Vanderpump Rules fan before they met
During the Season 6 Vanderpump Rules reunion episode, Andy Cohen asked Lala Kent what Randall Emmett thinks of the show. "He definitely watches, let's put it that way," castmate James Kennedy interjected, with Kristen Doute confirming, "He loves it." Finally, Kent dished, "He watches the show, and I feel like he loves to sit there and be the little gossip king."
Emmett confirmed his fandom himself when he appeared on the Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast in June 2020, confessing, "Every year, I did a Christmas party at [Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant] SUR as a goof, because a lot of my partners loved the show back then." The producer recalled, "I saw [Kent], and I was like, 'Oh my god, that's the new girl.'" When he was asked if watched the show, he admitted, "Oh yeah ... the first three and a half years, [my co-workers and I] all watched, because we all loved reality. It's escapism. It's fun. The show was a super, big hit show ... I am always open about saying I loved the show."
He even dished on meeting OG Vanderpump Rules cast member Jax Taylor for the first time, sharing, "I thought it was huge ... because we were all such fans." At the time, Emmett thought to himself, "Oh my god, that's Jax Taylor" — which is saying a lot, considering he's worked with Hollywood greats like Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro.
Randall Emmett puts Lala Kent in his movies
While opening up about seeing Lala Kent for the first time at SUR, Randall Emmett revealed on Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef, "I said to Alex, my head of my company, '... Go ask her: is she in the business, what does she do? Try to get to know her.'" He claimed that Kent wasn't into him, but said, "If you ever wanna talk business, talk to my manager." The three got together for lunch, and the Vanderpump Rules star ended up starring in a film Emmett produced called The Row. Since then, she's also acted in other movies he's produced, including Trauma Center, Hard Kill, and Axis Sally.
However, Kent doesn't always get the parts she wants just because her man's a producer. In 2019, she told People, "There are sometimes where I read and Randall's like, 'You know, it's not a great fit.' And I can't take it personally." Similarly, Emmett insisted that Kent doesn't get special treatment: "I make her go up with the director and read and ... there have been movies that she didn't end up doing. And there are movies that fit perfect."
Specifically, Kent once eyed a role in Midnight in the Switchgrass, divulging, "I wanted Megan Fox's role so bad ... They were like, 'We have no interest in that.' ... They wanted a Megan Fox-type person." Considering that they ultimately cast Megan Fox herself, it makes sense the Bravo starlet didn't land that job.
He bought her a Range Rover after they hooked up for the first time
In 2016, Vanderpump Rules cast members wondered how Lala Kent could afford a new Range Rover on a hostess salary, with some co-stars claiming she was a sugar baby — which she denied during an interview with Us Weekly. At that time, Kent temporarily quit the show, telling the magazine, "I got in my car, my Range Rover, that apparently was paid for by some man who I've never heard about or seen in my life. I jumped in my Range Rover and drove 10 hours to Utah, and my mom turned my phone off so no one could get ahold of me."
Two years later, however, Kent was singing a different tune, telling Andy Cohen that her man had given her "shoes, purses, [and] cars" as gifts during the Season 6 Vanderpump Rules reunion. She declared, "Everyone can sit there and be like, 'Her man does this. Her man does that.' It's like OK, you're just mad 'cause your man doesn't do that.'"
During a 2019 episode, Kent shed new light on the start of her romance with Randall Emmett, recounting, "I let him hit it the first night, and we were inseparable [ever since]. He would just send me really expensive gifts. The first night we banged, I got a car the next day. He was like, 'Do you want a Range Rover?' I was like 'Yeah.'" A modern fairytale.
Lala Kent and Randall Emmett feuded with ... 50 Cent?
How does that age-old saying go? "The couple that feuds together, stays together," right? At least, that's the case for Randall Emmett and Lala Kent.
Emmett and 50 Cent work together as producers on the Starz series, Power. But their business partnership and friendship turned sour in April 2019, when the rapper asked Emmett to pay back $1 million he'd lent him in 2014, per People, and took his demands public. Apparently bothered that Emmett was giving Kent expensive gifts when he owed a hefty debt, 50 shared a series of Instagram posts making fun of the couple, including that infamous Vanderpump Rules clip of Kent's Range Rover origin story, going so far as to compare Emmett to Harvey Weinstein. He also shared alleged text messages from Emmett, in which he typoed 50's name while frantically asking him to stop publicly shaming him: "I said I'm sorry fofty." Kent got involved in a back-and-forth on social media that was messy and problematic on both sides, but Emmett paid the money back, and the feud ended with 50 deleting the posts.
However, Kent reignited the drama on Watch What Happens Live that September. "I think I really dinged 'Fofty's' ego," she boasted, promising she had "a receipt to prove it," but quipping, "I ain't beefin' unless I'm getting paid on Vanderpump, yo." In response, 50 Cent questioned her sobriety, she accused him of "cyber bullying," and the shady remarks eventually stopped once Emmett begged for peace in another since-deleted Instagram post. Phew!
Lala Kent deleted photos of her man from Instagram to prove a point
In July 2019, Lala Kent suddenly deleted pics of Randall Emmett from her Instagram. Don't worry, there were no signs of Splitsville here, as she actually did it as a protective gesture. "The day I met him I knew I wanted to protect him forever. Sometimes things don't go exactly as I plan. People are hurtful. They create entertainment off of your pain. I get it, it's what I signed up for. I don't feel he did," Kent explained on Instagram, adding, "In a moment of feeling protective, angry, and impulsive, I deleted every photo of him, including the moment we got engaged. I felt what people were saying was so unfair and I'm the one that put him out there like that."
A year later, Kent added a new tactic to her Instagram account: archiving, instead of permanently deleting, photos. It left some fans wondering if they broke up. This time, however, she wasn't protecting Emmett, but rather spiting him because he neglected a household chore. "We go to the house and I unload all the groceries — he goes MIA," Kent shared with ET. "Not only do I unload the groceries, I put them away. This guy was on the boat! On a boat, waterskiing! I was so pissed." Kent thought to herself, "You got the wrong one. So, I archived [his pictures] 'cause I was petty. I was just petty like that. It's so stupid." (Oh, #RichPeopleProblems.)
Why did Lala Kent and Randall Emmett block each other on Instagram?
Yup, you read that right: Lala Kent may be engaged to Randall Emmett, but they have each other blocked on Instagram. Explaining that the platform "causes a lot of weird stuff" during a 2018 appearance on The Tomorrow Show, the Vanderpump Rules star said, "There's no reason for me to see what he's posting or what people are saying to him, and there's no reason for him to see what people are saying to me. It just causes unnecessary drama — not that we've had it, because we've had each other blocked from the beginning."
As evolved as that sounds, it turns out Emmett initially blocked Kent because he was upset over something he saw, possibly "a comment about the show," she shared. "I blocked him ... I was like 'two can play the blocking game.' We were like 12 year olds, right?"
Two years later, fans wondered if the pair broke up yet again since they reportedly unfollowed each other, not actually realizing they never followed each other in the first place. The couple addressed the breakup rumors during a July 2020 episode of their Give Them Lala... with Randall podcast. When Emmett's phone blew up with questions about their relationship status, he had a slight memory lapse, saying, "I didn't realize that we didn't follow each other from the day we met." Kent reminded him, "I've had you blocked since I got with you," prompting her man to say, "Same."
Lala Kent and Randall Emmett share a 19-year age gap
While many Vanderpump Rules fans have embraced Lala Kent and Randall Emmett's relationship, they've also encountered their fair share of trolls calling out their 19-year age difference. At this point, probably goes without saying that Kent has no problem clapping back. Addressing the criticism in a March 2020 Instagram post, she wrote, "People have slammed us. Our age difference, looks, how we came to be, all of it. To my sweet Rand. You are truly one of a kind ... To those who have doubted us, put us down, or supported us and lifted us — I hope everyone experiences a love like we have. We all deserve it."
Thanks to their age difference and the movie producer's impressive bank account, they've also been plagued by rumors that Emmett is Kent's "sugar daddy." During a joint interview with ET that February, Kent poked fun at herself: "I wish I was chic enough to have a sugar daddy, I'm totally not." Meanwhile, Emmett theorized, "I think people have a real misconception about how hard the cast works and how successful they are. They do very well."
Some aspects of this pairing's relationship may seem strange to outsiders, but it certainly seems to work for them. Besides, who wouldn't want access to luxury cars, private jets, an intriguing reality TV storyline, and big screen auditions? The outside drama is probably just a minor drawback in the grand scheme of things.