‘Vanderpump Rules’ Stars Natalie Maguire And Marcus Johnson Share The Biggest Difference Between The New Cast And The OGs: “No True Scumbags In Our Group”

The dawn of a new era is upon us. The 12th season of Vanderpump Rules, featuring an entirely new cast, premiered on Tuesday night (Dec. 2), and fans were taken back to where it all started: SUR Restaurant & Lounge.

Like the early seasons of the Emmy-nominated show, Season 12 follows the tight-knit employees at Lisa Vanderpump‘s West Hollywood restaurant, all of whom are good-looking, aspiring actresses, singers, and models, and are not afraid to showcase their messy friendships and relationships. Natalie Maguire and Marcus Johnson are two of those new cast members who certainly made a splash in the premiere episode.

“As soon as they said that they were going to start a new show with a new cast at SUR, I just knew it was never going to happen without me,” Johnson told DECIDER when asked for his initial reaction to hearing about the reboot, to which Maguire added, “We really are friends, so I don’t know how I would be able to stay out of conversations happening at work.”

It goes without saying that the new cast is going to have some big shoes to fill, and while their larger-than-life personalities do feel reminiscent of the OG days of Vanderpump Rules, there is one big difference between the two casts, according to Maguire and Johnson.

“There’s no true, true scumbags in our group,” Johnson said, while Maguire chimed in, “We’re mouthy, we’re bitchy and irresponsible and whatever at times. But we love each other.”

When DECIDER caught up with the duo via Zoom, they dished on some of the drama fans saw in the Season 12 premiere, what they think about former SUR-vers who have “beef” with Vanderpump, and why they’re grateful to have Tom Schwartz‘s seal of approval. Check out the full interview below.

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DECIDER: When Lisa came to you about joining a reboot of Vanderpump Rules, what was your initial reaction? Did you have to think much about it before saying yes?

MARCUS JOHNSON: As soon as they said that they were going to start a new show with a new cast at SUR, I just knew it was never going to happen without me. I already knew I was a shoo-in, really. I didn’t really have to think too much about it. 

NATALIE MAGUIRE: I just was like, “Why not?” I didn’t really know if I believed that there would be a reboot until it was officially out there. But why would we say no? It’s going to happen at SUR regardless. I mean, we really are friends, so I don’t know how I would be able to stay out of conversations happening at work. 

Natalie, you’re introduced after this blowout situation with your ex-boyfriend at SUR, and you are the first person to get a talking to by Lisa Vanderpump. What was going through your mind during a conversation like that with the boss?

NATALIE: I was so wanting her to know why I did it. People are going to say I’m defensive or dramatic or whatever. I’m so used to it at this point. But I really did want her to know where I was coming from. I’m learning. I’m growing, I’m in therapy, on Lexapro. I’m figuring my life out. But I just wanted her to know, like, “There’s a reason I’m really upset.”

In the trailer, you’re referred to as crazy. What do you think of that assessment? Would you consider yourself the Crazy Kristen 2.0?

NATALIE:  I think we’re all crazy and I’m just the only one embracing it. 

Whenever there’s a show getting rebooted with a completely new cast, there’s some skepticism. I think some of the worry with this show is that new stars will try to replicate the OGs. Was this something in the backs of your minds as you guys were filming? 

NATALIE: No, we don’t have to replicate anything. We’ve been at SUR for years now. It really is something different every day, week.

MARCUS: I think once people watch the show, they’ll see how way different everybody is that works here now than before. You’ll really get a chance to know us for who we are, and you probably won’t even be thinking about what happened before. 

NATALIE: Like, I’m biased, but it really is so organic. 

It definitely felt that way. It’s hard to forget about the OGs, but I did very quickly find myself looking at it like a completely new and different show.

MARCUS: Yeah. For sure. They started in the restaurant and it kind of moved a little bit away from it. Now, we all work there and that’s our main paycheck. We all see each other more than a lot of our families and stuff. So you’ll definitely see that restaurant vibe more so with us. 

Marcus, it seems like we’re going to see a lot of ups and downs in your relationship with Kim this season. What is it going to be like for the two of you to relive all of that?

MARCUS: It might suck, actually. It might really suck, now that I think about it. No, I think we’re going to try to navigate it. Our relationship has come with so many challenges already, so this is just another challenge. At the end of the day, we love each other. We went through some hard times and you’re going to see that. But it’s just our relationship.

Are there any updates you can share about the current state of yours and Kim’s relationship? Would you say the show has helped or hurt things?

MARCUS: I think it has definitely brought us closer together, for sure. When you go through so much and it’s such a unique experience. Obviously, we still go at it and we still have our moments, but at the end of the day, we love each other and we want it to work. That’s our goal. We want it to work. 

Natalie, Kim suggested that you are not above going after someone else’s man, and pointed to the situation with Demy as evidence. What’s your response to that?

NATALIE: I’m completely shook because that story is a little bit inaccurate. They say there’s three sides to every story. My side, your side and the truth. But I tell my side and the truth. I would never get involved with someone’s boyfriend. I had no idea when I started my involvement with my now ex that he was testing the waters with maybe someone else at SUR, if you know what I mean. But that never really morphed into anything serious. I think he didn’t handle it perfectly. But I’m not going to go after someone’s man. 

There seemed to be a lot of questions about the relationship between you two in this premiere episode. I know you two have known each other since before Kim was ever in the picture. Has anything romantic ever happened between you two to make Kim question your friendship?

MARCUS: Hell, no. 

NATALIE: Never! Never. We really had such a great friendship. Through this experience, it got a little complicated. I feel like we maybe used to have an even closer friendship. I’ve kind of kept my distance now because I don’t want to be accused of not being a girls’ girl. We had a great friendship. [It was] stronger back then. But I love Marcus as a friend and I’ll always be his friend. 

Natalie wasn’t the only one who got in a little bit of trouble with Lisa in the premiere. Marcus, you were sent home after you were caught drinking on the security cameras. You claimed that everyone sneaks drinks, so do you think it was fair that you were the one called out?

MARCUS: I totally got caught. While everyone does sneak drinks here and there, I kind of really do whatever I want there. At some point, I was going to get caught. This was my time. 

NATALIE: You were a bad influence that day.

MARCUS: Yeah. SUR is a party. I’m not going to just, like, party sober. I had a couple drinks. I think I was training that day and I was showing my secrets. I think that’s what really got me in trouble. Usually, I just get my drinks from her and she just gives it to me.

NATALIE: Not true.

MARCUS: But this day she was acting like she couldn’t.

NATALIE: He begs so many times. I just want him to go away. And I think, “Don’t make me regret this.”

MARCUS: I deserved it that day. I’m not mad at it.

I’d love to ask you two for a Peter update since I know he’s still working at SUR. How is he doing? What’s your relationship like with him? Will we see him this season?

NATALIE: He has a million things going on all the time. He’s been in the reality TV game for a minute. He’s kind of on his own journey. I think we’ll see him around. He’s at SUR, sometimes. If you’re in on a busy night, you might run into him. But yeah, he’s doing his thing. 

Tom Schwartz told me a while ago that he got to meet up with a handful of you guys and offer wisdom. He also told me that this reboot is its own lightning in a bottle. What’s it like to have his seal of approval?

MARCUS:  I think Schwartz is just freaking awesome. He’s not hating on it. He’s not thinking this shouldn’t happen, or we got a lot of big shoes to fill, all that type of stuff. He’s just super cool and supporting us, giving us advice. I saw him the other day at a party. He was buying me shots. 

NATALIE: Oh, you did?

MARCUS: Yeah, it was at Israel’s thing. Yeah. We were chilling together. 

NATALIE: I wasn’t invited to this.

MARCUS: Oh, yeah. I was. Not everyone can get the invite. I saw him there, and he was giving me some good advice. He was just like saying that he thinks it’s going to be good and he’s gotten to know all of us. Schwartz definitely is my No. 1 guy, for sure. 

NATALIE: We’re at TomTom a lot, and he’s always a smiling face. He’s a sweetheart. So I’m not surprised that he had something positive to say. I love that because it makes the people who love him and love the show excited to give it a chance. It’s like him telling the world, “It’s okay guys. I like it so you can like it.”

Are you guys friendly with any of the other OGs?

NATALIE: They’re all kind of living their adult lives, and we’re living our younger adult lives. So there’s not much correlation. 

What’s it like to have Lisa Vanderpump as a boss? So many people love her, and then you have others who have left working for her and don’t have the nicest things to say. What’s your experience with her?

NATALIE: Anyone wanting to have any beef with Lisa I don’t understand. I love her so much. She really is invested in us and cares about us. On Thanksgiving, I texted her. I’m always just thanking her for being there for us. She tells us, like, “If you need something, call me.” And she means it. I’m just grateful to have developed such a close relationship with her. She really makes me believe in myself. She’s like a mirror. She sees our potential and it makes us want to be better because we do really respect her. We work for her. She’s an amazing woman. So, I’m just grateful that she even cares about me at all. 

MARCUS: I think if anybody has something negative to say about Lisa, it’s just because you’re mad that you can’t benefit off of having that relationship anymore. 

NATALIE: She’s big on loyalty, as well. If you do wrong by her, it’s hard to come back from that. 

MARCUS: She’s my hero. She’s my role model. I would love to be Lisa when I grow up. Who wouldn’t?

NATALIE: She’s an icon. When she comes into the room, you feel her presence

If anyone on your cast is capable of causing a Scandoval-level scandal, who would it be and why?

NATALIE: I think we’re way smarter than that. I mean, I’m not saying we don’t fight. But that was a big mess up. 

MARCUS: I think that situation was so specific and weird. 

NATALIE: The truth always comes out. We can’t hide anything from each other for very long, so I don’t think it would ever get to that level. We really do love each other. I don’t know what that was, but that wasn’t real love. That wasn’t real friendship. That was some fake you know what.I don’t think anything like that would ever happen. 

MARCUS: There’s no true, true scumbags in our group. 

NATALIE: We’re mouthy, we’re bitchy and irresponsible and whatever at times.

MARCUS: But not scumbags. 

NATALIE: But we love each other. 

I’ve only seen one episode and I know what you mean. Especially with the guys, since we’ve seen so much inherently bad behavior in the past, it seems like no one is truly a bad person.

MARCUS: They’re just a bunch of a bunch of players, a bunch of dudes that are just like playing a field hardcore. They’re ladies men over there. I’m just in my happy little relationship. A bunch of charmers. 

Is there anything else you can tease about what fans will see this season? 

MARCUS: I think you’re going to see a group of people that are really a family that work together, that love each other sometimes and hate each other sometimes. And there’s just a lot that comes along with that. You’ll follow on a fun journey.

NATALIE: I also think there’s a bunch of us that are really talented at something. We are in LA to pursue our dreams. I’ve seen people say “Why is the show not in Vegas?” I think it’s really hard to film in casinos. That’s not happening, guys. I mean, we’re good at things. There’s a lot of actors, there’s a lot of models, singing. I was saying earlier, “Marcus, you’re a great singer.” And he was like, “Wow, thank you.” Kimberly’s a great singer, also an actress. I sing and act. Venus is a model, he’s a writer, he’s a painter. We’re all very multifaceted and good at things.

Outside of SUR, what are your dream jobs?

MARCUS: Well, Natalie roasted me earlier, but I guess I am another 30-year-old DJ. Whether or not she thinks I suck or I don’t, I think I’m pretty damn good. I’m getting better and better and I’m learning, so I think that you could see your boy in front of some crowds of people pumping it up.

NATALIE: I hope you prove me wrong.

Every cast needs a DJ.

NATALIE: I don’t know about that. I think we need less DJs. But whatever. It’s just my opinion. Apparently, I live in my own world, so my world isn’t going to have DJs.

MARCUS: She’s a singer. I’m not playing your music then. Who’s going to play your music? Exactly.

NATALIE: Anyways, I got a degree in acting. I moved to LA during the strike, so that’s really why my focus became singing the last few years. Movie musicals are so big these days. I would love to take some of the Broadway shows I grew up obsessed with and see them become films. That’s such a thing nowadays. I would love to do that, or I would love to do a Gossip Girl, or have an EP or an album come out. The world is all of our oyster. It’s not just us on the show. For us, coming to LA from other states and working in the service industry as a survival job and kind of having this opportunity, it could happen for anyone. You just have to be brave and put yourself out there. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Vanderpump Rules airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.