Even More Cheating Rumors Tested Yet Another ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Couple

Relationships on Vanderpump Rules wax and wane like the moon. One day, they’re here, and the other, one member of the couple is actively making out with a stranger in full view of his or her ex. It happens. It has happened. Spoilers for the April 2 episode. Kristen Doute has been happy with beau Carter for a while now, but rumors of a hookup with her ex, James Kennedy, may derail the good times. Are Kristen and Carter still dating in 2018? The Vanderpump Rules star dealt with some damaging gossip in the latest episode.

Viewers met Kristen when she was dating Tom Sandoval, and after a few years of cheating allegations and low-key obsession, Kristen started dated James. In another volatile relationship, James weathered Kristen’s obsession with Sandoval even through the time that Kristen flew a girl who said she hooked up with Sandoval (Sandoval always denied these claims) to Los Angeles in order to confront him. It was a lot. But after Kristen and James broke up, she took some time for herself, and then she met Carter. And it was all good! They truly seemed happy, and Carter has a great beard. But in the April 2 episode of Vanderpump Rules, everything got complicated, as Kristen and James spent the night in Mexico drinking together, and that got misconstrued into everyone thinking they had sex in the hot tub.

Jax, bless his heart, loves to stir up trouble, so he of course told everyone that there were pillows next to the pool and Kristen and James used them. I don’t know, maybe they just wanted to not sit on that hard concrete? In any case, when pressed, James told Sandoval, Jax, and the boys that he and Kristen “hung out a little bit,” and Sandoval told everyone James claimed he and Kristen “hooked up a little bit.” (Go back to the tape, as the episode does. James did not admit to "hooking up" with anyone.) This is why people shouldn’t drink and argue, because no one knew what they were saying because everyone was hammered.

I feel for James and Kristen, as they were both happy in relationships at the time and didn’t need to be accused of this nonsense. Previews for the next episode show Carter saying that he is unhappy with the rumors of what’s going on, and hopefully, this fight doesn’t last long. Because Kristen seems happy, and she seems to have put away whatever demons she dealt with in her past relationships, crediting talk therapy for the change. “Everyone knows I’m a huge therapy advocate, so I’ve been in therapy for three years, which is awesome, because now I’m not taking it out on my boyfriend, everything that’s going on in my life,” she told Bustle. “I can take it out on my therapist.” Kristen and Carter are obviously still together, the evidence is there, if you feeling like taking a deep dive down into either party's Instagram. If they're documenting a fake relationship, they're doing a pretty incredible job of it.

So, what did the crew learn today? Well, hopefully they learned that real relationships shouldn’t get bogged down in petty rumors. But they also learned that Sandoval should get his ears checked and that Jax, an almost-40-year-old man, should mind his business and keep out of his friends’ relationships. It’s a mark of maturity to be able to move on and be friends with an ex if that’s the relationship both parties want to have. Jax isn't in a position to understand that. He and Sandoval should focus on their own relationships and stop meddling with everyone else's.