Vanderpump Rules Season 11: Katie Maloney's Bisexual Era and the Show's New Moves

# The Vanderpump Rule: Katie Maloney's Bisexual Era & More

This week, with the return of all the unwell Bravo Dykes (me) in the house, hot on the heels of last season's shocking Scandoval saga, we're ready for the chaotic aftermath of this group of narcissistic ex-restaurant staff friends. The season 11 premiere of Vanderpump Rules featured a number of noteworthy debuts: bisexual cast member Ariana Maddix debuted her new boyfriend, Dan; Tom Schwartz made his first unfortunate impression on Bill Clinton; Scheana Shay debuted a new mental health diagnosis; and Katie Maloney debuted a very bisexual new haircut and styling.

There's been an ongoing discussion about Katie Maloney's possible bisexuality in the Bravosphere (which really means IG and TikTok accounts, not actual blogs) as well as in my various Cool Kids Bravo group chats. The trailer for this season hints at a possible love - or at least make-out - triangle between her and her ex-husband and an unidentified new girl. I hope the trailer doesn't play this up or exaggerate, because a bisexual love triangle is exactly what I want to see on this show. Apparently, Katie's major look in the premiere caught the attention of some lesbians and gays.

Wearing black overalls, her new shorts, a sleek backside, and an almost Corky-like haircut that I initially thought was a seatbelt situation (gay) but was actually a mesh shrug (wow, it's still gay), Katie rolled into the main part of the episode arm-in-arm with her bisexual best friend, Ariana, for the event. Apparently, this led many viewers to Google "Is Katie Maloney a lesbian" (no, really, that was a popular search after the episode!) And wow, apparently all you have to do is cut your hair to mark it as cool and wear overalls (okay ...... where's the lie).

If you ask me, the purse sling on the mesh sleeve does help to create a bisexual atmosphere.

**UPDATE:** In the April 9 episode of the current season of Vanderpump Law, Katie does make out with a girl, appears as some sort of cool kid, and opts out of specific labels. You can read all about the episode and how Katie describes her sexuality in our recap of the episode.

Overalls aside, the episode itself was interesting if irrelevant. Both Scheiner and Lara are desperate for Scandoval to tell them in some way. Lisa Vanderpump is essentially the walking embodiment of motherhood. Ariana is still in a state of limbo after being cheated on, and she's a little too hostile to anyone associated with her ex. The premiere does beg the question: does Sandoval need to be here?

I've considered watching this series as my annual anthropological study of heterosexuals, and while much of its storyline remains true at times, it would be nice for Ariana to no longer reserve it for bisexuals alone. I'd love to be able to call the sandwich store that Ariana and Katie are making - inexplicably named Something About Her - the Los Angeles Bisexual Sandwich Shop in Los Angeles. As the self-appointed President of Bravo Dykes, I will be keeping a close eye on these developments.

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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle magazine and a lesbian writer living in Orlando who specializes in essays, short fiction, and pop culture criticism. She is an assistant managing editor at TriQuarterly, and her short fiction appears or is forthcoming in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, and other magazines. Some of her pop culture work can be found on The AV Club, Vulture, The Cut, and more. You can follow her [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kaylakumari) or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 837 articles for us.