Stassi Schroeder has transformed significantly since her time on “Vanderpump Rules,” where she was known for her dramatic interactions. Today, she is a mother of two, married to Beau Clark, who is noted for his charm and patience. Schroeder has authored New York Times bestsellers and hosts a popular podcast. She is also the star and executive producer of her own reality show, “House of Stassi,” available on Hulu and Disney+.
“This is not ‘Vanderpump Rules’ and this is not ‘The Kardashians,’ this is somewhere in the middle,” Schroeder tells Variety.
The first season of “House of Stassi” showcases Schroeder’s efforts to juggle motherhood, family, and her career. This challenge leads to tensions with her husband, Clark, who feels undervalued after leaving his casting career to focus on raising their children. Complications arise with her sister, Georgi, who is recovering from a divorce and staying at their home, potentially involved with Clark’s friend Rob. Additionally, her former “Vanderpump Rules” friends, Katie Maloney and Kristina Kelly, express concern over her treatment of Beau. The household also includes Taylor Strecker and her pregnant wife Taylor Donohue, Beau’s half-sister Georgia, and Rob, who is known for dating much younger women.
Tensions peak in the season finale, “Queen Mary’s Revenge.” The group gathers for dinner on the historic Queen Mary ship in Long Beach, California, except for Donohue, who joins via iPad. Maloney proposes a plan to address Schroeder’s treatment of Clark, which leads to a confrontation. Clark and nearly everyone at the table express their grievances, resulting in a tense situation.
“I felt like Julius Caesar. Literally,” Schroeder says of the intervention. “Katie Maloney was Brutus, and Beau fell for the bait. I watched it happen and was like, ‘How are you falling for this?’ Kristina Kelly was like, ‘Poor Beau!’ and Beau was like, ‘Poor me!’ and I was like, ‘Oh my god, my life is flashing before my eyes right now.’ I did not spend over three-and-a-half years working on this for it to lead here. It was wild. I felt very hopeless and devastated in that moment.”
Schroeder reflects on how the progress she and Clark had made throughout the later part of the season, including a romantic date at the cemetery where he proposed, seemed to unravel quickly. She acknowledges that she and Maloney, who orchestrated the intervention, have some repairing to do in their relationship.
“I’ve said some things to her and we’re good, but I still have some more to say to her,” Schroeder explains. “I also think she wasn’t doing it to be cruel or to make me look bad. I think she was looking at Tom Schwartz and her marriage in terms of how resentment can build over something. I think Katie saw herself in Beau and Kristina saw herself in Beau, in the sense that they hadn’t gotten what they needed at certain times, so that was their concern. I choose to look at it like that versus friends who are out to get you.”
Beau Clark and Stassi Schroeder in the “House of Stassi” finale.
Freeform
Following the confrontation, Schroeder’s alter ego, dubbed “Dark Passenger,” emerges, leading to her emotional outburst and breakdown on the ship’s floor. Despite this, she reassures that she and Clark are strong, and though she once mentioned divorce on “Vanderpump Villa,” it is not a consideration for them now.
“As far as what it took afterwards, I feel comfortable being on a reality show with [Clark] because no matter what, we have that foundation where we do have each other,” Schroeder maintains, adding, “My parents have both been married four times each and his mom has been married a few times, and that was something we discussed. Unless someone does — you know what I mean — you can work through almost anything when you have respect and love for each other, so it makes having those fights and arguments on-camera easy to deal with because I know that we’re going to be fine. That might not make sense to someone who’s not on reality TV, but it does for me.”
Looking ahead, Schroeder expresses her desire for the “House of Stassi” cast to remain intact and hints at potential strategies for a second season renewal.
“I hope that this [cast] remains intact, but it’s going to follow the stories that are naturally happening. So, if someone isn’t talking to the rest of us then that story is going to fall off,” says Schroeder. “It’s time I let everybody else’s stories also spider out, and I would like to go to each of them and pick up where we left off.”
As for her relationship with Clark, Schroeder acknowledges the ongoing nature of their discussions, stating, “It took time after filming to have those difficult conversations again and force ourselves to refocus and see what the real issues were,” she admits. “And we still have those conversations.”
