Laura-Leigh is finally breaking her silence about how Stassi Schroeder allegedly bullied her on Vanderpump Rules over a decade ago.
She reflected on her time on the hit Bravo series during its first season and recalled how their feud began when she started dating Jax Taylor, 45, following his split from Schroeder.
While making an appearance on Thursday’s episode of the Vanderpump Rules Party podcast, the actress, now 33, claimed that Schroeder, 36, would ‘berate’ and bully her off the cameras.
‘I would have shifts where Stassi and her little crew would come in and spill drinks on me or send me hate letters through the cooks or [say], “Come sit in my section,” just to berate me during my shifts,’ she recalled.
She said that ‘these things that were so wrong’ would continue when they weren’t filming too.
This comes months after Schroeder opened up about one of the most ‘twisted and cruel’ things she has done to her husband.
Laura-Leigh is finally breaking her silence about how Stassi Schroeder allegedly bullied her on Vanderpump Rules over a decade ago
She reflected on her time on the hit Bravo series during its first season and recalled how her rift with Schroeder began; pictured November 2024 in Hollywood
And looking back now, the We’re The Millers actress believes her former co-stars were ‘doing that for the show’ but said that ‘everything felt very real’ to her back then.
Laura-Leigh also recalled how Schroeder allegedly accused her of ‘stealing her medication’ during her sobriety journey at one point.
However, it was Taylor who had allegedly taken it and let her take the fall for it.
During the same podcast episode, she also claimed that she was only paid $500 for the entire season.
‘We were all working at SUR. I was a new hire. All of that was true,’ she recalled.
‘I was not going to do the show because my agency said they would drop me if I did a reality show.’
She said she ‘wouldn’t sign the rights’ to be filmed believing that the show would not air without it.
‘By [that] time, they had shot so much. They couldn’t release the show without my signature, and I honestly thought — because I was naive — that this will never see the light of day. That’s what I thought.’
Looking back now, the We’re The Millers actress believes her former co-stars were ‘doing that for the show’ but said that ‘everything felt very real’ to her back then
She said it began when she started dating Jax Taylor, 45, following his split from Schroeder back then; pictured in Vanderpump Rules season one still
She said she ultimately agreed to be on the show because she needed the money. ‘I couldn’t pay my rent. I’m a single woman doing it all on my own. I had my own apartment and my own car. No parental help, financially. Working endless jobs and auditioning and testing. Completely depleted,’ she said.
‘So I signed it so I could get $500 to pay the rest of my rent for that month. And that’s what I made off of the show.’
She said that she has not received any additional payments despite the show’s success.
‘No residuals. Nothing. And I had to go after them to get that $500. The cast all got paid, I think it was $8,000 for the first season. Jax and everyone else got, like, $8,000. The only reason I know that is because that’s all the money Jax had to his name. And I was like, “Well, if they’re getting money, why can’t I get money?”
‘They were like, “OK, we’ll give you $500.”‘
In the first season, the love triangle ultimately ended when Taylor broke up with Laura-Leigh after he accompanied her to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
She told Lisa Vanderpump in the finale that she was quitting her job at SUR because she had booked a role alongside Jennifer Aniston in We’re the Millers.
While making an appearance on Thursday’s episode of the Vanderpump Rules Party Podcast, the actress, now 33, claimed that Schroeder, 36, would ‘berate’ and bully her off the cameras; pictured in Vanderpump Rules season one portrait
Laura-Leigh also recalled how Schroeder allegedly accused her of ‘stealing her medication’ during her sobriety journey at one point. However, it was Taylor who had allegedly taken it and let her take the fall for it; pictured in Vanderpump Rules season one still
Laura-Leigh has since appeared in The Client List, Blue Bloods, Under the Silver Lake and multiple short films.
She opted not to return to fully pursue her acting career as well as, according to the podcast, stay on her sobriety journey.
Schroeder went on to star on the show for eight seasons until she was fired in 2020.
Nearly half a decade ago, she and co-star Kristen Doute were accused of making racially insensitive remarks allegedly and calling the police on Faith Stowers, the only black cast member to appear on Vanderpump Rules.
Schroeder and Doute faced backlash for accusing Stowers of a crime she did not commit.
She said it began when she started dating Jax Taylor, 45, following his split from Schroeder back then; pictured in Vanderpump Rules season one portrait
Even though they apologized for their actions, they were fired amid the fallout and called out for their ‘racist’ behaviors.
Taylor exited the series that same year alongside his then-wife Brittany Cartwright.
The pair — who have since separated and filed for divorce — went on to star in The Valley.
The spinoff series debuted in March 2024, and its second season is set to premiere later this year.
Vanderpump Rules will soon be returning as well but with a brand new cast for its upcoming 12th season.
