‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Ally Lewber Explains Why Scandoval Was Written in the Stars
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On March 23, 2023, when the cast members of Vanderpump Rules filmed the show’s highly anticipated Season 10 reunion just weeks after learning about Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss’ monthslong affair, Pluto moved into Aquarius’ sky for the first time in more than two 200 years. Those familiar with astrology know this is something of a big deal; Pluto can often be associated with truth and power as well as death and rebirth, and Aquarius is affiliated with the ideas of rebellion, revolution, and collective social matters. This all makes sense to Ally Lewber, Vanderpump Rules’ newest cast member and girlfriend of James Kennedy, whose longtime interest in the subject matter recently propelled her to start a career as an astrologer.
“I told James, ‘This [reunion] is going to be so intense,’ and yeah, it’s a reunion, we’re already expecting it to be intense. But when Pluto switches signs again, it’s just so loud. We notice it — and it was intense,” Lewber tells Rolling Stone over Zoom. “Vanderpump has such a weird pattern with this Pluto in Aquarius transit that’s happening. Pluto is a very slow-moving planet, and it’s a small planet, but in astrology, it’s a massive planet that deals with things like power and war, truth-telling, and secrecy. It’s all about hidden power and having to transform and to become the best version of ourselves.”
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The 28-year-old joined the Vanderpump universe last season when she started dating Kennedy. As she continues to discuss her budding career in astrology on the show — Tuesday’s episode featured a birth-chart reading with Schwartz, which indicated that he’s a peacekeeper to a fault (because, duh) — and cements her individual relationships with the girls in the group, Lewber is quickly establishing herself in the Vanderpump world outside of her role as Kennedy’s girlfriend. In fact, she’s become a voice of reason among the cast: Not only was she one of the first people to publicly express concern over Sandoval and Leviss’ relationship when they were hiding their affair, but she’s proven to be straightforward and honest — a rarity in reality TV. But while she exudes kindness, it’s not mistaken for weakness.
Sitting in her shared home with Kennedy in Burbank, California, Lewber explains how astrology plays a role in the ever-shifting dynamics of VPR. According to Ally, Pluto left Aquarius about a month after filming the reunion and “hung out in Capricorn for the rest of the year.” But then, on Jan. 20, 2024, 10 days before the Vanderpump Rules Season 11 premiere, Pluto returned to Aquarius and will remain there for nearly 20 more years.
“You’re almost not going to recognize the show,” Lewber says of the impact the shifts in the planets will have on their group of friends. “It’s going to be different. Be ready and be prepared for that. Don’t expect it to have that same feel.”
Lewber always dreamed about moving to Los Angeles. Growing up in Ohio, she says she always had “that little performer bug” and wanted to live somewhere that inspired and embraced her creativity. Lewber’s path, like so many other young people, was nonlinear; she studied entertainment journalism in college, took some meteorology classes, dabbled in background acting, and spent some time working behind the scenes of film and TV sets as a production assistant.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do. I had a lot of things that I loved and a lot of things that I was interested in, but I never felt like I knew what my purpose was,” she says. “And for a Capricorn who wants to work really hard, that drove me insane because I just wanted to know what I was meant to do so I could give my all to it.”
She met Kennedy in 2022 when she was in the midst of figuring out the next steps in her life, and they started filming Vanderpump Rules only a few months into their relationship. With the romance still in its early stages, she was initially hesitant to hop in front of the cameras, especially considering how many Vanderpump couples have seen their downfall on the show — including Kennedy’s past two relationships with Kristen Doute and Leviss.
“It wasn’t an easy decision. We were only dating for a few months, and the show thrives on toxic friend dynamics and relationships,” Lewber says. “I was like, ‘Fuck, I really, really like James, but I don’t think this would help our relationship. I was really nervous but [James] helped me a lot. He was like, ‘Just be yourself. Let’s just be us, and it’ll be fine.’ Luckily, it all worked out how it was supposed to.”
Filming Season 10 also meant spending a lot of time with Kennedy’s ex-fiancé, Leviss. Lewber has been vocal on and off camera about how she wouldn’t be spending so much time with her new boyfriend’s ex in any ordinary situation. “Nobody wants to have to do that, and I was kind of nervous that the audience would do the whole girl vs. girl thing and compare us, and that just seemed negative.”
Lewber admits that there was a moment when she considered not joining the cast and keeping their relationship off-camera, but she quickly realized how difficult that would be given the hectic filming schedule.
“They’re filming constantly so if I didn’t film, I never would have even seen James. I was like, I’m obviously going to go to these events and not just not go out on the weekends while my boyfriend goes out with these people,” she explains. “There wasn’t really a choice, in a way. I wanted to be with James, so I knew that was part of the territory that came with it, and it ended up being fun.”
But little did Lewber know, she was unintentionally becoming a part of Vanderpump Rules and Bravo history by signing up for a season that would change the trajectory of the show — and the cast members’ lives — forever. The news of Sandoval’s affair with Leviss broke in early March 2023 as Season 10 began airing, allowing viewers a unique opportunity to watch the early stages of the secret relationship unfold. As fans will recall, Lewber caught on to Sandoval and Leviss from the start, calling them out after she spotted them alone at the Abbey, a bar in West Hollywood, without Sandoval’s then-longtime girlfriend, Ariana Madix. She raised the issue with Kennedy and later with Scheana Shay, who immediately shot down any possibility of wrongdoing between Sandoval and Leviss. But in the timeline of Scandoval, Lewber was picking up the very-real red flags that eventually exposed the affair.
The cast reunited to start shooting Season 11 in June, shortly after the reunion aired, and in the fallout of the scandal, it was a much different filming experience for the entire cast.
“It was a lot at some points, definitely at the beginning of filming, which was still at the height of Scandoval. Everywhere we would go, it felt like there were paparazzi following us. Even Sur, which is usually pretty chill for the most part, was insane and just next level,” Lewber says. “Everything was just heightened.
“They showed up at our house once, which was weird,” Lewber recalls of the paparazzi and media attention surrounding the cast at the time. “It’s kind of scary because they were like, ‘We’re allowed to be in the street,’ and then they showed up at our gym. Even James and everyone else, they’re not used to that level [of fame]. So, it was different.”
One positive thing to come from joining VPR? The start of Lewber’s career as an astrologer. The star launched her own business last year, offering people 45-minute birth-chart readings over Zoom for $195. “The universe is your ultimate hype girl and she wants you to shine. And so do I,” her website states. Though Lewber has long been passionate about astrology and studied it more intensely during Covid, the reality star says it took her a while to gain the confidence to turn the hobby into a full-blown career.
“It was kind of my own little tool that I had in my pocket, but the more that I showed up for it and learned about it, the more I was like, ‘This is so awesome,’” she says. “It was helping me with my mental health; it was helping me understand why I am the way I am and why I attract the people I attract and just things like that. I was like, ‘I could just use this to help other girls.’”
Lewber credits Kennedy as a source of support and encouragement in following her dreams and launching her business.
“The first moment that I really admitted it was on camera, I felt like I just admitted it to myself and also to the nation in a way, so no takebacks,” Lewber recalls. “I’m not going to lie and say that I felt confident. There was a part of me that felt terrified and really scared and like, ‘Holy shit, what am I doing?’ But I’m so glad I did. You should lean into what you’re scared of. I’m still learning as I go. I’m trying to start this business, and I’m so excited. It’s also overwhelming, but I know that I’m right where I am meant to be. I feel that. I’m grateful that I took the chance.”
Some of Lewber’s favorite clients, she says, are young women who recently graduated college or are entering the real world for the first time and are seeking answers about life and their future. On top of her regular clients, some of her fellow cast members, as well as entertainment journalists, have jumped at the chance to have their birth charts read by Lewber — this Rolling Stone writer included. As someone who has only had my birth chart read by friends who merely dabble in astrology (this is Los Angeles, after all), I gave Lewber my birth date, time, and location in hopes of having a better understanding of how this all works.
“This is the idea that at the moment and location you were born, this is what the planets and stars were doing in the sky. Even twins can have slightly different birth charts, so this is very unique and personal to you. It’s your story,” Lewber patiently explains to me, an astrology novice. “And all astrologers do is they just translate it. They help explain and read this map to you. It spans your whole lifetime, so there’s stuff in here from your early childhood; there’s stuff in here you have not even tapped into yet. It’s a blueprint of your life and serves as a guide.”
Without getting into the minutiae of how the stars aligned on the day I was born, Lewber explains that because I have a lot of Capricorn in my 11th house, I’m apparently building something for my life when it comes to friendship and legacy that will pay off in the long term. “It’s a very, ‘slow and steady wins the race’ kind of thing,” she says. “The birth chart is so powerful. It reminds you of your potential. It’s like having a friend there, and it helps you to know you’re not alone on this journey.”
While the stars have aligned when it comes to Lewber’s budding career and relationship with Kennedy, the future of the rest of the VPR cast — and the fallout from Scandoval — is still to be seen. As Season 11 continues to unfold every Tuesday night on Bravo, viewers will gain more insight into what these changes will actually look like.
“It’s going to be different because that’s life,” Lewber says. “We evolve, we grow.”
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