We Have a Major Update on James Kennedy and Max Todd's Friendship

Before Season 9 of Vanderpump Rules even officially kicked off, James Kennedy found himself at odds with another longtime member of this SUR squad.

In the Vanderpump Rules Season 9 premiere, it was revealed that James had gotten into an argument with his good friend Max Todd while out to dinner one night. After the night in question, James sent some nasty text messages to Max.

Lisa Vanderpump then brought her son and James together at Villa Rosa in an attempt to broker peace between them. However, that only made matters worse with another disagreement breaking out between the lads, ending with Max leaving his mother's home without coming to a resolution with James.

But after proposing to Raquel Leviss during the group's Palm Springs trip, James expressed to Lisa over the phone that he was sad that he couldn't share this special moment with Max. "Well, I don't know how ready Max is to re-establish your relationship," Lisa told James in the October 19 episode of Vanderpump Rules. "You know that. I mean, it's pretty tense."

Later in the episode, as James drove Raquel to her shift at SUR, the two talked about the gift that the DJ had asked his fiancée to give to Max on his behalf. "Let him know that I miss him. Obviously, I feel really bad. Just let him know that I've been thinking about him," James told Raquel. "I am done disrespecting, I am getting a hold of my anger issues, and I am trying to extend this olive branch, make things right. Until things are cleared up with Max, you know, I feel there's gonna be an elephant in my world, and I don't want it."

James then explained in an interview during the episode that he hoped this meaningful gift to Max would help get their relationship back on track. "I said sorry to Max countless times, and I don't get to say it again without a gesture of being like, 'Listen, I f--ked up,'" James shared. "So it clicked, like, I've got to get Max an Oculus 2. It's virtual reality, I mean, what's not to love about that? It's a gift that we played together back in the day, and it's just that cherry on top of the apology to let him know that I really mean it."

As James and Raquel went out to eat with their families (clip above), we saw a flashback of how things went with Max when Raquel presented him with the gift at SUR. Though Max started out by congratulating Raquel on her engagement, he followed that up with a bit of a shady comment. "You might be making a mistake," he told Raquel. "But we'll see."

Of course, Raquel wasn't happy to hear that, but she assured Max that James "really is very remorseful."

Max read James' card aloud, which said, in part, "Sorry for what I said and did. You have always been such a good friend. Love you, mate. Hope you can get back to the good times soon."

"Hopefully," Max said after reading the card.

James continued to show regret over the whole incident with Max. "I did things that I shouldn't have done, and I said things I shouldn't have said," he shared during the family brunch. "It just escalated."

It turns out that James' grand gesture for Max worked. During his appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on October 19, James not only revealed that Max "loved" the gift, but they're also back to being mates. "Max and I, we're on great terms, you know," James said. "I wish we could, like, hang out more, but he's just been so busy, and I've been so busy. But we are on good terms."

James added that he knows that he's still got some learning to do when it comes to getting into drama with his friends. "I just get myself into these sticky situations sometimes," he said. "I've got to learn."

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