Ex-Vanderpump Rules Star Kristen Doute Talks Engagement to Boyfriend Alex Menache
Kristen Doute could be engaged by the end of this year. Months after being fired from Vanderpump Rules due to
Lindsay Cronin
Kristen Doute could be engaged by the end of this year.
Months after being fired from Vanderpump Rules due to allegedly racist behavior against her former co-star, Faith Stowers, Kristen dished on her future with boyfriend Alex Menache, revealed what he told her about his future proposal, and confirmed hopes for a television return.
While appearing on Sippin’ The Tea on September 22, Kristen said that she found quarantine to be quite challenging because she’s always been a social butterfly before noting that boyfriend Alex was her saving grace.
“My boyfriend, [he’s] a great thing that came out of 2020,” Kristen admitted.
As Pump Rules fans may know, Kristen began dating Alex after wrapping production on the eighth season of the Bravo reality series at the end of last year. And luckily, when it came to being stuck at their respective homes together early on in their relationship, Kristen enjoyed the quality time.
“Being with him when we hadn’t been dating that long was really interesting but for me, [was] a very positive experience,” she shared.
Before striking up her romance with Alex last November, Kristen was involved in a four-year relationship with Brian Carter, which came to an end last September after months of turmoil on the show.
While Kristen and Carter have remained on good terms with one another in the year since their breakup, things between them got pretty ugly on the show, with several of Kristen’s Vanderpump Rules cast mates accusing Carter of using Kristen for her money and failing to help her financially with the apartment they were sharing at the time.
“Before Alex, I was in an interesting place. I was like, okay, I’ve gone through all these relationships. My last one, with Carter, was a four-year relationship. I thought that was the one. So, do you give up? Do you stay single?” Kristen wondered at the time.
Doute Tried to Stay Single After Splitting From Carter
According to Kristen, her first notion was to avoid men all together and stay single for at least one year to regroup before opening herself back up to the world of dating. However, as fans can now see, that isn’t what happened.
“At first I was that person that was like, ‘I’m going to be single for a year. I have to be single to find myself.’ No, just let go and let live,” Kristen advised.
Following her split from Carter, Kristen met up with Alex and other friends for a night out on the town and right away, the two of them, who had been friendly for years, hit it off.
”With Alex, we had been friends for about four years. We didn’t know each other super well but [we were] buddies,” Kristen explained, adding that her longtime friends and former cast mates, Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz, are very good friends with Alex as well.
“It was just a random night where we were both single and somehow flirting happened and our stars aligned,” she continued.
Although Kristen immediately felt sparks with Alex, she did her best to steer clear of jumping back into a romance and attempted to maintain a “friends with benefits” dynamic because she was in the middle of a lot of things at the time.
“But that’s not how life works,” she explained.
Doute Began Dating Menache When She Was Writing Her Book
So, rather than hold off on a committed relationship with Alex, Kristen began dating him several months ago, around the time that she started writing her book, He’s Making You Crazy: How to Get the Guy, Get Even, and Get Over It, which was ultimately released in early June, just one week before she was let go from her full-time role on Vanderpump Rules.
“We started seeing each other when I was writing my book. He’s in a few chapters,” Kristen revealed.
While Kristen first began spending time with Alex at the end of last year, they didn’t make their romance official until earlier this year. Now, they’ve been together and “seriously dating” for about six months.
As for their future together, Kristen said that when it comes to her outlook on her future with Alex, she wouldn’t be dating him if she didn’t believe that he was “The One” or wasn’t confident that he could be. That said, she doesn’t want to rush into anything.
“Because all of my friends are engaged, married, pregnant, ready to have families, is there a little bit of pressure? Of course,” she admitted. “But it will happen for us when it’s right to happen.”
Although Kristen isn’t putting any pressure on Alex or their relationship, she did reveal that he has already considered getting down on one knee and has actually told her that the two of them will be getting engaged before the year’s end.
“I’m not holding Alex to the fact that he swears we’ll be engaged before 2020 is over. I would rather wait until 2021 because I’ve had enough of 2020. It will happen in its right time,” she explained.
Kristen is Leaning on the Vanderpump Rules Cast Amid Quarantine
“My friends are my family,” Kristen explained of her former Pump Rules cast mates.
According to Kristen, she and her friends were kept apart when the outbreak of COVID-19 first broke out in March but in the months since, as restrictions in their area were lifted, they began spending more and more time together.
In fact, earlier this week, when Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright revealed they are expecting their first child, Kristen was at their home for the celebration. She was also present when Lala Kent and Randall Emmett confirmed their first child is a girl during an outdoor gender reveal party last weekend.
“It was really hard because we were all separated for the safety of ourselves and others but now that we have developed these ‘quaranteams,’ it’s like, ‘You’re safe and you’re safe. We can all be together and have game nights and things like that,’” Kristen revealed. “I’m very happily and positively dependent on my friendships. I think we really all lean on each other.”
Kristen went on to say that there have been a lot of “big momentous things happening” within her friend group.
“So it’s really nice to have them around,” she continued.
As Pump Rules fans well know, Kristen bought a house last year that was just down the road from a number of other members of the show, including Jax, Brittany, Katie, Tom, Ariana Madix, and Tom Sandoval. So, not surprisingly, she spends a ton of time with them. As for Stassi Schroeder, her Hollywood Hills pad is located about 15 minutes away from Kristen’s home in The Valley.
Doute May Have a Future in Television
In addition to working with her co-author to adapt her book into a television series, Kristen is hopeful that she will eventually be able to get back in front of the cameras for a future project.
“I would love to be back on TV,” she admitted. “I’m not sure what genre or what platform that looks like right now but I’m going to be keeping my eye out for open doors.”