The only thing Vanderpump Rules’ Scheana Shay (née Marie, or possibly née Shay, who knows anymore) is more infamous for than her relationship thirst is her ability to say the wrong, most awkward thing in any given social situation. Turns out, that’s not completely her fault: according to Page Six, Bri Dellinger, an editor on Vanderpump Rules, went on now-deleted episodes of the Twisted Plot Podcast with Evelyn Marley and joked that she routinely works to make Scheana come off as a bit mortifying.
“If Scheana knows what’s good for her, she’d befriend me because my favorite game is finding all the embarrassing things that Scheana does and putting them all in,” Dellinger (sort of) joked on the podcast, adding that Shay’s memoir should be titled Death by a Million Embarrassments. She also gave an example: at Stassi Schroeder’s engagement party in Season 8, Dellinger admitted to manipulating a scene to make it seem like Scheana was flirting with Stassi’s teenage brother Nikolai. “It was so funny. We were watching the scene and were like, ‘Okay, this is over the top, I realize that, but how can we resist?’… Yes, I set it to funny music, and I added a funny [sound] bite, ut she did that,” Dellinger explained. “We asked her in the interview, ‘How young would you go?’ and we didn’t tell her it was for the Nikolai scene, of course.”
While that may sound vindictive, it is good editing—the team behind Bravo (as well as the sick minds at The Bachelor) are masters at sadistic producing, creating over-the-top drama and hilariously improbable scenes meant to read as sardonic. Of course, it’s unlikely that Scheana begins every new conversation by mentioning that she’s freezing her eggs, but chopping up her stream of consciousness to make it appear as though she does is funny as hell. All’s fair in love and Bravo.
An “insider” offered Page Six Scheana’s opinion on the unflattering edits:“Scheana’s definitely frustrated with how she’s been portrayed. She’s not the type to pop off when she feels slighted by an unflattering edit. She signed on to be a part of a reality show, which requires her to share her life highs and lows; she just wishes audiences got to see a bit of a more balanced view of her life, not just the most cringe-worthy moments. She’s been assured by the network and production that she’s part of the charade. She’s going to be absolutely crushed by hearing that she’s actually the butt of the joke.”
Crushed? I’d say it’s much more likely that she’ll film a vlog about it for her nascent YouTube channel and record a song a la Lindsay Lohan’s “Rumors,” ideally spawning more cringe-worthy moments in the next season of Vanderpump Rules. Even if she’s the comedic center of the show, she’s getting valuable screen time.