The Untold Truth Of Scheana Shay
Scheana Shay does it all. The "Vanderpump Rules" cast member is one of the show's hardest-working stars; in addition to putting in her time as a SURver, she's launched a podcast, a YouTube channel, posts regular sponsored content, and has even made an attempt at a music career that was, well, good as gold. She's also a mom, having given birth to her daughter Summer Moon back in April 2021, shortly before filming commenced on the ninth season of the hit reality TV show. "My heart is SO FULL," she wrote on Instagram alongside the first of many snaps of her newborn.
With Shay on screen, what you see is what you get. She frequently gets into fights with her co-stars because she wears her heart on her sleeve, somewhere just above her iconic "It's all happening" tattoo. However, not everything about the content mogul's life makes it to air. Whether through shady editing decisions, crowded storylines, or scandalous pasts that she would prefer to keep private, Shay's life off screen is just as wild as her antics on the show. To quote her song "What I Like, "I'm not myself tonight / Tonight I'm like... the girl I want to be." This is the untold truth of Scheana Shay... the girl she is.
She sued Hooters after a violation of her privacy
Scheana Shay became famous as a server at SUR, Lisa Vanderpump's swanky West Hollywood restaurant that provides the setting for "Vanderpump Rules." However, that wasn't her first waitressing gig. Back in 2004, she tried out for a job as a Hooters girl. Unfortunately, as Court TV reported (via CNN) at the time, the manager who interviewed her for the position, Juan Aponte, apparently had her change into different clothing, and he filmed her against her knowledge while she did so.
When the existence of the surreptitious tapes went public, Shay took part in what ultimately became a class-action suit involving more than 40 women. "I'm disgusted in the way that I was violated and that my privacy was invaded. I am disappointed that I put my trust in someone who betrayed my rights and violated me," she said in a statement about the lawsuit.
Aponte was ultimately sentenced to five years in prison, according to the AP. As Shay's profile rose years later, Radar asked super-lawyer Gloria Allred about the status of the lawsuit; she merely announced that it had been worked out.
She was linked to John Mayer
Before her "Vanderpump Rules" days working at various Lisa Vanderpump-owned restaurants, Scheana Shay worked as a waitress at a members-only club called the Grand Havana Room. There she met rock's resident bad boy John Mayer, then fresh off a relationship with Jennifer Aniston, and the two struck up a friendship... or a relationship, depending who you ask. According to a source who spoke with Star, "She has always thought he was hot, and she said yes right away [when Mayer asked her out]."
She took tales of the relationship to several tabloids, telling People that they were friends. "He's a great guy," she said. "He's funny and sweet." Apparently their relationship was more raunchy than sweet, though; she later described the situation as a "sexual throuple" with Mayer and Stacie "The Bartender" Adams from MTV's "The Hills." According to ET, Shay said in a since-deleted podcast episode, "It just became kind of the three of us. We had a little throuple going on. ... Everyone always had attention."
Whatever was or wasn't going on did not to last. Shay said she was fired from her job at the Grand Havana Room over the situation, and after news of their relationship hit the tabloids, she was nervous Mayer would think she'd spilled the beans. "I never, ever, ever, sold a news story, never told a single soul," she insisted. However, a source claimed to E! News that their fling was far less of a thing than Shay described.
She was an actor before Vanderpump Rules
Before she joined the cast of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and later "Vanderpump Rules," Scheana Shay was trying to make it as an actor. She appeared on shows like "Greek," "Victorious," "90210," and more, but perhaps her biggest role came on the Disney Channel sitcom "Jonas." Fans of the Jonas Brothers will recognize her from their music video for "Pizza Girl," from the episode of the same name. In the ep, she plays a pizza delivery girl who the three brothers develop a crush on; in the video, she appears as a massive chef looking down on the band as they perform, in shrunken form, on top of pizza.
She later reflected on the experience in an interview with People Now, relating an adorable experience with the young stars. "I remember Nick was like, 16 at the time, and there was one scene where I had to like, grab his hand and pull him from one set to the next, and he was like, so nervous," she recalled. The future reality TV personality was mindful of the age difference, as the pop star was still a kid. "So I'm being very careful," she laughed.
While several of her "Vanderpump Rules" castmates have continued acting even as they became reality television mainstays — Lala Kent, for example, made headlines when she starred in a film with Bruce Willis — Shay appears to have put her acting aspirations on hold. According to IMDb, she hasn't been in a film since 2016.
She was involved with Eddie Cibrian
One of Scheana Shay's earliest storylines on "Vanderpump Rules" was about her involvement with Eddie Cibrian, ex-husband of Lisa Vanderpump's "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" co-star Brandi Glanville. Shay initially revealed the affair to Access Hollywood, claiming she had no idea he was married. However, even after her mother tipped her off to the fact that he was in a long-term marriage, Shay continued to see the "CSI: Miami" hunk. "I just wanted to believe what he was saying," she insisted, claiming Cibrian told her that he and Glanville had separated. "I was just kind of like, 'Don't ask, don't tell.' Whatever, let's have a great summer. When you're with me, you're with me."
After Vandeprump made Shay and Glanville talk it out in early seasons of "Pump Rules," they were able to joke and laugh together years later. "I've always liked Brandi," Shay told Bravo's Daily Dish. "I hated that her and I were where we were and how we met." For her part, Glanville shared a snap on Instagram with herself and Shay hanging out with a handsome man. "I think we have a type @scheana," joked her caption.
In 2020, Shay reflected on her own responsibility for ending Glanville and Cibrian's marriage. Echoing a fan who was defending the star against accusations of being a homewrecker, the "Pump Rules" star tweeted, "He wrecked his own home. I was a single 21 year old who met a cute actor in LA."
Dreams of becoming the next Britney Spears
A lot of people join reality television as a means to an end, hoping to get famous through their drunken on-camera antics and fights. Scheana Shay, however, saw "Vanderpump Rules" as a show that would document her other pursuits of fame, not be her biggest claim to fame. Speaking with Radar early in the show's run, she was open about why she signed on to "Pump Rules:" she wanted to be a pop star. "It's not just a reality show, it's a career-based driven reality show," she insisted. "You're going to see me in the recording studio." Moreover, Shay wanted to be the next Britney Spears, and she expected that "Vanderpump" would help make it happen. "I've always hoped to be at that level. I've always loved that type of music and her dancing," she said. "That is what I'm trying to do now."
Fans of "Vanderpump Rules" did indeed see Shay in the recording studio, including launching her undeniably catchy single "Good as Gold." Unfortunately for her world-domination aspirations, though, it was more novelty track than chart-topper. She sang it endlessly on one episode set at a Pride parade in West Hollywood, frustrating her co-stars to no end. In a blog for Bravo, she talked about how she didn't mind. "I expected the girls to get annoyed that we were playing my song throughout the parade, and I don't care because I had so much fun that day," she wrote.
Her divorce from Mike Shay
Mike Shay and Scheana Shay got married on Season 3 of "Vanderpump Rules," hitching the wagon in a drama-filled ceremony to which Scheana famously wore a crop-top wedding dress. According to Us Weekly, who reported on the wedding before it aired on television, the gown was designed by Scheana's aunt. "Her dress, without a doubt, was uniquely Scheana," her wedding planner told The Knot. Is that some shade we detect? Regardless, the marriage — which featured much buildup on the show — was not a happy one. In fact, Scheana's wedded bliss barely lasted to the end of the episode, which saw her tearfully rushing to Lisa Vanderpump's side to share that her husband struggled with addiction.
After a few more seasons and attempts at sobriety, the two finalized their divorce in 2017. Scheana discussed the details of the divorce on "The Tomorrow Show," admitting that she had to give her ex a significant chunk of change in the settlement, and she had reservations about that move. "I didn't want to give $50,000 to a person with a drug problem," she said. However, she allowed, "I felt like he deserved it for just being a part of the show for so long and my life and my story." In conclusion, she wished, "I just hope he's doing something useful with this."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Scheana Shay's candid fertility journey
Scheana Shay has always wanted to have kids, but her dating mishaps are well-documented on "Vanderpump Rules," and she hadn't found the man she wanted to raise children with by the time she decided to freeze her eggs in early 2019. She went into detail about the situation on Instagram, writing that certain hormone levels were low and she decided that now was the right time to undergo the fertility procedure. "I'm not trying to have a baby right now, so this was an easy decision for me to make and thankfully I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford it," she wrote. "My heart goes out to all of the women struggling with infertility."
Shay told ET in June 2019 that to get ready for the procedure, she'd put her sex life on pause and wasn't drinking. She announced on Twitter that she had gone through a second round a few months later. The following year, while preparing for a third round, Shay got pregnant with Brock Davies; she had a miscarriage, according to People, but then they got pregnant again and had a baby.
Though her co-star Ariana Madix got a storyline about freezing her eggs on "Vanderpump Rules," Shay's situation wasn't shown in detail. According to Instagram screencaps shared on Reddit, her mother pointed this out as an example of fans only seeing a certain part of her daughter's life. Thank goodness for social media, then.
She starred in a Las Vegas play
In 2018, Scheana Shay returned to her acting roots when she starred in a Las Vegas production of hit off-Broadway play "Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man." She stepped into the role recently vacated by former Playmate Kendra Wilkinson after meeting her and her co-star, former "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" star Jai Rodriguez, out at dinner. Rodriguez evidently called her the next day. "He said one of the producers was at the show the night I was there and asked about me," Shay told Life & Style. "And then they sent me the sides, I put it on tape, and I booked it right away!"
Speaking with E! News about prepping for the part, Shay said, "I'm just gonna spend a lot of time just reading and memorizing and keeping my abs tight, because there's a part of the show where I'm wearing a lot of clothes and a part of the show where I'm not." Shay was a success, and as her mother shared on Instagram (via Reddit), the reality star stayed for six months. She even offered her own sex tips to Us Weekly, presumably thanks to the expertise she garnered from the gig.
However, her acting job wasn't shown on "VPR." "Production came to vegas to see my show but there wasn't even a cell phone video or MENTION of vegas the following season," Shay complained on Twitter. "Like it never happened...."
She used to be friends with Chrishell Stause
Further proving our suspicion that all famous people do in fact know each other, Scheana Shay revealed in 2020 that she used to be friends with "Selling Sunset" breakout Chrishell Stause. On an episode of her podcast "Scheananigans," Scheana revealed to Stause's arch-nemesis Christine Quinn that the two had gotten close while Scheana was divorcing her ex-husband Mike Shay, but apparently a text to the "All My Children" actor's ex-husband Justin Hartley was taken the wrong way. Scheana reached out to the "This Is Us" star when she heard Stause's dog had died, but his wife apparently didn't appreciate the gesture. "She then twists this conversation to [mutual friend] Jamie and was like, 'Oh, my god. How embarrassing. Scheana texted?' ... I don't remember what it was she said exactly," Scheana spilled to Quinn, "but it was just, like, 'How embarrassing' with a bunch of, like, monkey-with-the-hands-over-the-face [emojis]." She also added that she suspected Stause was jealous of her husband's skyrocketing level of fame compared to the reality star's own career.
In a statement to Us Weekly, Stause's representatives said she simply didn't have the time to respond to the allegations of friendship fallout. "Chrishell has had a lot on her plate with what she has been through in the past year. Her focus is on the positive and about how women should uplift each other rather than tear each other down." Can't argue with that.
Scheana Shay's legendary enchiladas
Scheana Shay is a multi-hyphenate: she acts, she sings, she dances, she hosts a podcast, she fights with her reality-TV co-stars, and... she's a chef. Shay frequently brags about her enchiladas on "Vanderpump Rules," including one memorable Season 9 episode where she brought them to a party where co-star Charli Burnett tried a number of new dishes for the first time. The "VPR" editors got a little creative with their editing, remixing a clip of Burnett talking about "Scheana's Enchiladas" into a can't-get-it-out-of-your-head jingle. Unfortunately, her "famous enchiladas" didn't go over very well with her friends; Burnett politely demurred that she wasn't a fan of the "texture."
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, with "Vanderpump" production shut down, Shay finally revealed her enchilada recipe online in a YouTube video about moving out of Los Angeles to quarantine. "Pump Rules" viewers on Reddit were surprised by the recipe after all the buildup, with one noting, "LMAOOOO that's like literally the recipe from the can of chiles." Another, referencing items like "rotisserie chicken" and "shredded cheese" on the ingredients list, marveled, "She doesn't even cook the chicken or shred the cheese herself!" Okay, perhaps us calling her a "chef" was too generous.
She's lived all over Southern California
While Scheana Shay has been one of the main cast members on "Vanderpump Rules" since its inception, not all of the important developments in her life have been chronicled by the show. As her mother noted on Instagram (via Reddit), Shay was the second "VPR" roster member to buy her own home. Part of the reason why that didn't land on television, while most of her castmates' Valley Village homes formed a central through line on Season 8, might be that Shay purchased a place outside of the Los Angeles area: In 2019, she scooped up a home in Palm Springs. That same year, she started renting in Marina del Rey, a beachfront neighborhood about 15 miles away from SUR.
In 2020, Shay and Brock Davies landed a rental in San Diego. They also had an apartment in the heart of Hollywood that they opened up to Raquel Leviss following her split from James Kennedy. According to Bravo, Shay and Davies moved out of the apartment in the summer of 2022 and teased on social media that they were getting settled in another home.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Shay's worth around $500,000, and given her career trajectory and various investments, we only assume that number will keep on climbing. When it comes to making residential moves, it does indeed, to paraphrase Shay's forearm tattoo, seem to all be happening.
The Stassi Schroeder sex tape scandal
The details are a bit fuzzy because Stassi Schroeder's sex tape drama wasn't explicitly aired on "Vanderpump Rules." That said, some speculated Scheana Shay may have had a hand in making sure all of their SUR co-workers knew that Schroeder was being blackmailed. A former flame, apparently, got his hands on a private video of Schroeder, and when Shay found out about the situation, rumor had it she allegedly showed the revenge porn to other people at work.
The situation was brought up on one of the "Vanderpump Rules" reunions, as the cast members tried to awkwardly talk around why Schroeder and Shay had a falling-out. "You guys all f***ing know why she f***ing hates Scheana!" since-fired cast member Kristen Doute exclaimed (via E! News). "You're the one who f***ing told me about it at SUR in the middle of work, laughing about it!" Shay denied the specifics of the accusation, insisting that she wasn't in possession of the tape and therefore couldn't have shown it to anyone. In a Bravo blog post, Shay wrote, "I just hope Stassi knows that I never wanted to hurt her no matter what our issues were. I never wanted this to come out, and I did whatever I could to stop it."
Years later, a number of "VPR" devotees shared on Reddit that they were surprised Shay didn't get more heat. "That 100% should have been a way bigger deal than it was," one viewer wrote. "So f***ed up."
Scheana Shay clashed with a Vanderpump Rules editor
In early May 2020, Bravo world was rocked by comments made by Bri Dellinger, an editor on "Vanderpump Rules," who admitted on a since-deleted podcast that she had it out for Scheana Shay. "If Scheana knows what's good for her, she'd befriend me because my favorite game is finding all the embarrassing things that Scheana does and putting them all in," she reportedly said, according to Page Six.
The editor was fired from the show after her admission went mega-viral, and she posted a lengthy since-deleted letter addressing the cast and viewers. "To any cast members who wanted me out: I'm out! But right behind me is another editor who does the same kind of work as me," reported People, based on widely-circulated screenshots.
Shay was glad to see the editor go, as she was "livid" when she found out what had been going on. In an interview on the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast, Shay said she managed to restrain herself from going off on social media. "I don't even need to comment on it because she literally spelled it all out," she said.
So, who was at Scheana Shay's wedding?
Scheana Shay and Brock Davies tied the knot in August 2022 after announcing their Cancun wedding to Us Weekly the month before. Davies joked that their daughter, Summer Moon, would be their flower girl... if she figured out how to do it right. "She's a flower girl in training. We bought off Amazon this little basket and then petals, and we're teaching her to throw the petals. She's gotta dial it in," he said. "So, we've got sessions every day." While Shay told Us Weekly that the whole "Pump Rules" crew would be at the wedding — including former castmates like Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright — the "Shake That" songstress allowed that there might be drama in the month between the interview and the ceremony.
According to People, the wedding day guest list did indeed include "Pump Rules" alums Taylor, Cartwright, and Kristen Doute, as well as Ariana Madix, James Kennedy, Tom Schwartz, Tom Sandoval, and Raquel Leviss. Eagle-eyed viewers on Reddit noted fellow "Pump Rules" star Katie Maloney was on vacation somewhere warm and sunny the week of the nuptials, but she does not appear to have been in attendance at any of the pre-wedding festivities. Shay and Maloney also do not appear to follow each other on Instagram any longer. Guess we'll just have to wait for the next season of "Vanderpump Rules" to see why.