All the Unusual Ways The Valley Cast Knows the Vanderpump Rules Stars
“This group of people has been in my life for some time now," Jax Taylor explained of how everyone on The Valley is connected.
The Valley may be Bravo’s newest reality series, but this tight-knit group of friends already has some deep roots. The new cast dished about all the ways they know each other—and their fellow Bravolebrities on Vanderpump Rules — ahead of the series premiere on Tuesday, March 19.
“This group of people has been in my life for some time now,” Jax Taylor shared on the latest episode of the Vanderpump Rules After Show.
The Valley follows five couples including Jax and Brittany Cartwright, Kristen Doute and Luke Broderick, Danny and Nia Booko, Jesse and Michelle Lally, and Jason and Janet Caperna as they “trade bottle service in West Hollywood for baby bottles in the Valley all while they navigate bustling businesses, rocky relationships and feisty friendships.”
While some of the friendships date back decades, others are just beginning to blossom.
The group’s connections to one another are varied: They include sharing a tiny apartment together, providing some tailoring help to keep the SUR ladies looking their best, and serving as a real estate agent determined to find the perfect home in the Valley.
How do Nia and Danny Booko know The Valley Cast?
As Nia explained, she and her husband, Danny, are the “newest to the group.” The couple became part of the friend group two and a half years ago after attending a New Year’s Eve party hosted by Jax and Brittany — who are now currently separated — but their ties to Vanderpump Rules date back even further.
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Nia and her hubby, Danny, an actor and voice actor, share three children under the age of 2, but before their world turned upside down with parenting, Danny also had a Hollywood connection to actress Scheana Shay.
“Danny, I know from way back, Hollywood days,” Scheana dished, adding that she’d also known Nia “for years.”
How do Janet and Jason Caperna know the Vanderpump Rules and The Valley Cast?
Vanderpump Rules fans may recognize Janet as “the tailor” who helped Scheana, Danica Dow, and Charli Burnett alter their SUR dresses to be “tight and short” in an episode on the show around the seventh season.
“I met Sheana in 2017. She was the first person I made new friends with when I moved to L.A.,” the new mom recalled. “I met her at a pool party."
Today, Scheana’s family is “like a second family” to the former executive assistant.
“I’ve always told her mom, Erika [van Olphen], that if I get arrested, she’s gonna be the person I call,” Janet joked. “Then basically through Scheana, I met everybody else and have been pretty close to everybody, minus Tom Sandoval now, for a long time.”
Janet isn’t the only one seemingly on the outs with Sandoval after his affair made waves last year. Janet’s attorney husband, Jason, confessed he hasn’t spoken to his onetime “really good” friend in 10 months.
“I honestly don’t want to,” he said of the radio silence between the two now.
How do Jesse and Michelle Lally know the Vanderpump Rules and The Valley Cast?
Today, Jesse Lally is a luxury real estate agent in Beverly Hills who just sold Scheana her new house in the Valley, an affectionate name given to the Los Angeles suburbs and surrounding area, but his first brush with someone with ties to Vanderpump Rules came decades earlier.
He and Jax roomed together while working as models in New York City.
“Jax lived in my living room on 16th Street in New York about 22 years ago,” he revealed. “We were both with the same modeling agency at the time, he needed a place to crash, so there were two guys living in a one-bedroom and Jax living in the living room. We’ve been friends ever since.”
Jesse’s wife, Michelle, who works on a real estate team with her hubby, also “clicked immediately” with Jax’s wife, Brittany.
“We were both Hooters girls once upon a time ago,” Michelle admitted of their common tie. “I usually don’t tell people, but now everyone’s gonna know,” she added of her Hooters past.
Who is Kristen Doute’s boyfriend, Luke Broderick?
Kristen is already a familiar face in the Bravo universe after spending eight seasons on Vanderpump Rules.
As Scheana explained, The Valley is “kind of more of the parent group” among the friends. Most of them are all juggling work responsibilities with raising a family.
Kristen is “working really hard” to become part of that set and has been open about her efforts to get pregnant with boyfriend Luke.
“I’m Kristen’s boyfriend and that’s how you’ll start to get to know me,” Luke explained of his role in the new series. “I live in Colorado most of the time, but I’ve been coming out here and trying to assimilate with this Vanderpump crowd for the last couple of years now.”
While they are waiting to some day hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet, the happy couple hosts a podcast together, Sex, Love and What Else Matters with Kristen Doute.
How do Jasmine Goode and Zack Wickham know the Vanderpump Rules and The Valley cast?
Jasmine Goode and Zack Wickham will round out the cast as “friends” on the series. Many may remember Zack as Brittany’s long-time best friend from Louisville, Kentucky.
“Zack was my friend from college days,” Brittany explained. “He’s been on Vanderpump and he was my friend before I moved here.”
The frequent gym-goer, who also loves partying and dancing, has already proven he’ll show up for Brittany any time she’s in need.
“He took care of me whenever I had my boob job on Vanderpump Rules,” Brittany shared. “So, he’s literally been here that whole entire time.”
According to his Bravo bio, as the only single member of the group, Zack often serves as a “confidant and often the only mediator between different gossiping factions.”
As for Jasmine, she once worked at SUR and has been friends “forever” with Scheana.
"You might remember me from The Bachelor. I used to work at SUR, I was a host and that’s kind of how I got involved in this crazy group,” Jasmine explained.
Jasmine was also once an NFL cheerleader. Today, she’s focused on getting her real estate career going with Michelle’s help. Although she doesn’t have children herself, she is “hoping for a family some day with her girlfriend Melissa,” according to her bio.
Tom Schwartz also weighed in on the new cast, saying he knew “all of them.”
“I know all of them, pretty close friends with everybody as I think Tom is mostly too,” he said in reference to Sandoval. “I like that squad. Even before that crew was on a show, within that little squad or whatever you want to call it, there was always drama.”
Jax agreed that fans can expect plenty of drama as the group tries their hand at adulting.
“It always seems to surface. It finds a way,” he teased of the season ahead. “I didn’t really have issues with anybody, well, one person, but I think we all know who that is.”
To find out more about the new series — and who clashes with Jax — watch The Valley Tuesday, March 19 on Bravo or available streaming the next day on Peacock.
