If you have a deep love of reality TV and social media black holes then you, like me, may have an uncanny ability to recognize specific side characters from our favorite shows. You know who I'm talking about: The characters who show up in the background at parties, the ones in hiking pics on Instagram with the main cast members, the ones who love a floppy felt hat. If that all makes sense to you, then you probably know who Rachael O'Brien is.

Rachael was in about 25 episodes of Vanderpump Rules from 2015 to 2020 yet never – and she tells me it was her decision – became a full-time cast member. These days, she's (still) a comedian, she's a podcast host (on her pod "Seven Deadly Sinners" she interviews survivors and dives deep into true crime stories), a wedding venue owner (she and her fiancé run Hunter's Ranch in Colorado and were recently featured in The Knot) and yes, she is still close friends with like 75% of the VPR cast.

Whether you know her from Team Take Down Miami Girl in Season 3 or as Kick Ass Bridesmaid at the Maloney-Schwartz wedding in Season 5, Rachael is truly the ultimate Bravo reality side character. And thankfully, she wanted to talk about it.

Rachael and I spoke about her history with the cast, the history of the show, and her real friendships with the cast today. (Spoiler: Kristen and Jax's origin story is truly wild, and involves jeans.)