The Queen Bee’s Gambit: Why Stassi’s ‘Reunion’ with Ariana is a Masterclass in Manipulation
Let’s get one thing straight. The photos of Stassi Schroeder and Ariana Madix all smiles and sunshine are not a sign of healing or friendship or any of that Kumbaya nonsense their publicists are peddling. This is a chess move. A cold, calculated, and frankly, brilliant play by the original queen of SUR, Stassi Schroeder, to claw her way back into the very kingdom that exiled her. Don’t be fooled by the pearly whites. This is about power, optics, and a desperate rebranding effort that has been years in the making, and Ariana Madix, the current reigning sweetheart of reality television, is the most valuable pawn on the board. The whole thing stinks of strategy. And I’m here for it.
You have to remember the history here, because the casual viewer might just see two former co-stars burying the hatchet. But we, the dedicated scholars of the Vanderpump University of Dramatic Arts, know the truth. We have the receipts. For years, Stassi despised Ariana. Hated her. She saw Ariana as everything she wasn’t: effortlessly cool, intellectual, and completely unimpressed by Stassi’s particular brand of tyrannical leadership. Ariana was the anti-Stassi, a bartender who dared to read books and not perform for the cameras, and that drove Stassi insane. The OG cast was a carefully constructed hierarchy with Stassi at the top, and Ariana’s arrival was a direct threat to that throne. She called Ariana boring, condescending, and a buzzkill. She mocked her relationship with Tom Sandoval—oh, the irony—and made it her mission to freeze her out. This wasn’t a petty squabble. It was a foundational conflict of the show’s golden era. A war.
Scandal as a Stepladder
So what changed? Everything. Stassi got the boot from Bravo in 2020 for her past racially insensitive actions, a swift and brutal fall from grace that sent her into reality TV purgatory. She was cancelled. Deplatformed. Her podcast was dropped, her endorsements vanished. She was radioactive. Meanwhile, Ariana was just… there. Minding her own business, making fancy cocktails, and dealing with Sandoval’s man-child tendencies. Then Scandoval happened. A pop culture nuclear bomb that vaporized Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’s careers and, in the fallout, turned Ariana Madix into a national hero. An icon. A symbol of every woman ever scorned. She got the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ gig, a Broadway role, brand deals galore, and the unwavering sympathy of the entire world. She ascended. Ariana became bigger than Vanderpump Rules itself. She became untouchable.
And Stassi, watching from the sidelines, surely saw her opening. You don’t spend a decade as the Machiavellian mastermind of a hit reality show without learning a thing or two about narrative. Stassi needed a path back, not just to relevance, but to a different kind of relevance. She couldn’t be the ‘dark passenger’ mean girl anymore. That brand was dead. She had to be the reformed, wiser, self-aware mom who has ‘done the work.’ But how do you prove that? You can write a book, you can do a podcast tour, but nothing screams ‘I’m changed’ louder than getting the seal of approval from the very person you used to terrorize, especially when that person is now Stassi 2.0: America’s Sweetheart. It’s a public absolution. A baptism in the cleansing waters of Ariana’s post-Scandoval glow. By standing next to a smiling Ariana, Stassi is non-verbally communicating, ‘See? The woman you all love and defend has forgiven me. You can, too.’ It’s genius. It’s diabolical. And it’s working.
The ‘Mormon Wives’ Connection Isn’t a Coincidence
And let’s not pretend her new hosting gig for Hulu’s ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ reunion is some random fluke. Oh, no. This is part of the same calculated campaign. Hulu is a Disney-owned entity. It’s mainstream. It’s a step away from the messy, often toxic Bravo-sphere into something with a veneer of corporate legitimacy. But look at the content: a show about influencers, drama, and social dynamics. It’s Bravo-adjacent. It allows Stassi to flex her well-honed skills of dissecting drama and calling people out, but in a ‘host’ capacity, which puts her above the fray. She’s not the one throwing the drink; she’s the one asking why the drink was thrown. This positions her as an authority, a veteran of the reality TV wars who now serves as a commentator. It’s a promotion.
Hosting this specific reunion is particularly savvy. The MomTok world is its own universe of scandal, not unlike early VPR. By hosting their reunion, Stassi becomes the crossover star, bridging two worlds of female-led drama. She is demonstrating her value. She’s showing potential employers, *ahem, Bravo*, that she can still draw an audience and handle high-conflict situations with a producer’s mind. She is making herself indispensable again. The photo op with Ariana wasn’t just a personal moment; it was professional. It was a networking event played out in front of the paparazzi. It signals to the industry that she is no longer a liability. She’s back in the club. And Ariana, willingly or not, just stamped her VIP pass.
What Does Ariana Get Out of This?
The bigger question is, why would Ariana agree to this? She holds all the cards. She doesn’t need Stassi. At all. So what’s her angle? Option one: she’s genuinely a kind, forgiving person who is so secure in her new life that old feuds feel pointless. It’s a testament to her growth. She’s taking the high road, proving she is above the petty drama that defined her past. It’s a good look for her brand, which is now built on empowerment and resilience. Option two: she’s playing the same game as Stassi. By publicly forgiving her former nemesis, she solidifies her position as the gracious queen. She appears magnanimous and untouchable. It costs her nothing and reinforces her image as the one who rose above it all. It’s a power move. She’s not just a participant in the drama anymore; she’s the one who grants clemency. She lets Stassi kiss the ring, and in doing so, reminds everyone who’s really in charge now. It’s a beautiful, symbiotic PR relationship. Stassi gets her redemption arc, and Ariana gets to add ‘benevolent ruler’ to her resume. Everybody wins. Except for us, the audience, if we’re naive enough to believe it’s real friendship. It’s a transaction. A well-executed piece of performance art for the Instagram age. And we should applaud the artistry, even as we see right through it.
