Lisa Vanderpump doesn't exactly have rules when it comes to being there for this particular group of friends.
So when Tom Sandoval came to the restaurateur during the Vanderpump Rules season 10 finale fresh from his split from Ariana Madix due to his affair with Raquel Leviss coming to light, the SUR boss didn't feel the need to "pile on" to the catastrophe.
"I didn't take sides with Tom, I definitely condemned what he did," Lisa exclusively told E! News at the Vanderpump Dogs Gala on May 18. "You know, I can't write him off as a person because he had an affair. The way he handled it, yes, of course."
ICYMI, during her sit-down with Tom, Lisa didn't mince words when it came to weighing in on his months-long affair, but did attempt to comfort the musician after he became emotional.
Referring to her support during that moment, as the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum explained to E! News, she "can't keep everybody happy all the time."
"That's not what I'm not trying to do," she continued. "I'm trying to tell the truth. Also, I feel like a mother to some of these children. So, when he's been lambasted by the whole world, what am I going to do pile on? No, I'm going to try and have a modicum of—not empathy, I don't have empathy—but a modicum of hope. Maybe for the future."
And as far as the future of the Bravo series goes, though some castmates have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to filming with Tom and Raquel in the aftermath of Scandoval, Lisa is raising her glass high to the idea of making it work.
"It's going to be complicated," she shared. "But Vanderpump Rules has never been a fairy tale. Let's be honest."
—Reporting by Amanda Champagne-Meadows
(E! and Bravo are part of the NBCUniversal family.)