Katie Schwartz Is Shocked At How Well She's Getting Along With Lala Kent

A reconciliation Vanderpump Rules fans never thought they'd see is apparently still going strong. Katie Maloney-Schwartz and Lala Kent squashed their long-running beef at the Season 5 reunion in April, and according to Schwartz the white flags are up for good. After mysteriously disappearing for the majority of Season 5, Lala will return for Season 6, and Katie welcomed her with open arms. Even she's shocked at how well the two are still getting along.

"Since [the reunion] we’ve been friends so her coming back was more of a welcome than it would’ve been on my end," Katie tells Bustle about Lala's return. Apparently, fans will see exactly how Katie and Lala bounced back from the drama even after they made up at the reunion. "You’ll see how Lala and my relationship has developed to where we are," she says. Katie's just as surprised as fans are about the unpredictable turn of events. "I can say I never thought we would be as friends or that I’d like her as much as I do now," she admits.

Katie explains why she decided to leave the drama behind and end their friction for good. "I made the decision because I genuinely wanted to — it doesn’t help or hurt the show whether we have beef or not," she says. "It was just how I felt, there’s never any of that pressure." Their tumultuous history on Pump Rules goes way back, even before the two actually met.

Katie and Lala got off on the wrong foot as soon as Lala joined in Season 4. Katie told Andy Cohen that it all started when Lala acted like a "drunken assh*le" at her engagement party and then talked about her weight, relationship, and wanting to have sex with Tom behind her back. Lala argued that Katie was calling her names to other people before even meeting her. It eventually snowballed into Lala calling Katie the "mean girl" at the reunion, after feeling ganged up on by her and the other Pump women.

Katie eventually gave Lala a heartfelt apology, saying, "I don’t like to sling insults... I 100 percent apologize... I was very stubborn this summer, especially toward you." Lala tearfully replied, "That means the world to me." A few months later in July, Katie posted a photo of the two with the caption, "This is a first... but hey, chemistry is chemistry."

Another reconciliation teased in the Season 6 trailer is between Jax Taylor and James Kennedy. But is it for real? Katie and her husband Tom weigh in, saying even they were shocked by how well the two got along at the reunion. "I think they’ve embraced their similarities and their likeness towards one another," Katie says. Tom chimes in, saying, "I think they’ve still had a few moments over the past year, but they don’t want to rip each other’s heads off every second they’re around each other anymore, so that’s progress." While Tom says both James and Jax took part in some "self-reflection and realization," Katie ensures fans that "they still are who they are" and there could be more fighting ahead.

Because after all, this is Pump Rules, and fans shouldn't set their expectations too high when it comes to reconciliations. "Be pumped [about them]," Katie says, "But I’m always cautious. It’s always kind of fleeting with our group." Her husband remains optimistic. "[There are] ebbs and flows... But we’re all still friends, so I’d like to think we’re gonna go the distance as a group of friends," he says.

An optimist, indeed.