Lala Kent's Ex-Assistant Jessica Walter Details 'Heartbreaking' Decision to Leave Podcast
Lala Kent's former assistant, Jessica Walter, is breaking her silence and revealing what led to the end of her time working with the Vanderpump Rules alum. During the debut of her Date My podcast on Tuesday, Walter kicked things off by sharing the reason for her shocking disappearance from Kent's own podcast. "I want to address who I think are a majority of the people tuning in right now, who I'm very grateful for. And those are my loves. Those are my friends who know me from the last podcast I was on," she said of Kent’s Give Them Lala podcast. "I want to take this moment to address you guys because I seemingly disappeared off that last podcast." As for the why, Walter admitted that she was not "expecting to leave" at all. "That wasn't the plan. If I'm gonna be honest, I thought I'd be at that last job forever. I was like ready to be a lifer," Walter shared. "Maybe not in the role I was in, but I'll say within the company I was in." While looking back on her time with Kent, Walter noted that she "invested everything" she had professionally and personally into her job. "I was investing in a future that I thought we were all on the same page about," she continued. "Basically, what happened is I said how I felt about the way some things were being handled, and the response I got to that was, in my opinion, not good. The responses I got, honestly, I was taken aback." While she didn't elaborate further, Walter said she felt "heartbroken" by the reaction, saying, "I found myself in a position where I felt like I had no other option than to choose to leave." Walters comments come after Kent revealed that that Walter was no longer working with her during a November episode of the Give Them Lala podcast. After fans questioned whether the pair were now at odds, Kent elaborated on the divide that led to Walter leaving during her appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast late last month. "It's so wild because it's like, 'Where were you when she was on the podcast?' Nowhere to be found. All I heard was, 'Get her off.' At the end of the day, she was my employee," Kent said. "She wanted to go and move on with her life. And I would be like a crazy person to not say, 'Go and achieve everything you want to achieve.' I don't know how to break this down." Kent also clarified she had no plans to have Walter share her side of the story on the Give Them Lala podcast. "At the end of the day, she was employed by Lala Kent. You're no longer employed. I wish you the best. Have a great life," she added. "I've learned a lot in many relationships in my life, from my ex-fiancé, to certain friends that I've had, to employees that I've had. Every single thing that I've experienced in the past two to three years, I have learned something from. I don't regret anything, but I know how to make things different." Walter, meanwhile, has embarked on her podcast in an effort to spearhead her own platform. "I think sometimes we invest all of ourselves into a relationship and we give it our all," she explained during Tuesday's inaugural episode. "And at the end of the day, maybe we don't get in return what we feel we deserve. What we feel we deserve can be as small as you don't have my back. And it can be confusing for people who are like me and frustrating because all these times I've made you feel safe and I've had your back, and in these moments where I should feel the same, I don't." Despite the heartbreaking exit, Walter said she was proud of how she handled the situation. "We can choose to stay on a path in life in this relationship with this person, with these people who maybe it's not going the way we hope, but we're like, 'Let's see where it takes us.' And that's OK. That's your choice because that's your life," she shared. "Other people may choose to take a step back and say, 'Nothing here is going to change no matter how hard I try.' Or, 'Nothing here is going to veer this way, or get on this path, or whatever. No matter how hard I try, it's not going to.'" Walter continued, "I'm a firm believer that if you're making decisions based on goodness and purpose and future and the betterment of yourself and others and the world, you can only be rewarded in the end. And you may be rewarded immediately or further down the road." She also expressed her gratitude to her listeners and those who have supported her along the way, adding, "That's not all nothing because of how it ended. … I worked hard to be in a lot of those positions and I won't take that away from myself. Because I am a hard worker and I will always be a hard worker. That is very important to me. But I'm very grateful for all of that."
"First thing I'll say is no, I was not at all expecting to leave. That wasn't the plan. If I'm gonna be honest, I thought I'd be at that last job forever. I was like ready to be a lifer," Walter said before sharing what led to her abrupt exit from Kent's camp.
Lala Kent's former assistant, Jessica Walter, is breaking her silence and revealing what led to the end of her time working with the Vanderpump Rules alum.
During the debut of her Date My podcast on Tuesday, Walter kicked things off by sharing the reason for her shocking disappearance from Kent's own podcast.
"I want to address who I think are a majority of the people tuning in right now, who I'm very grateful for. And those are my loves. Those are my friends who know me from the last podcast I was on," she said of Kent’s Give Them Lala podcast. "I want to take this moment to address you guys because I seemingly disappeared off that last podcast."
As for the why, Walter admitted that she was not "expecting to leave" at all.
"That wasn't the plan. If I'm gonna be honest, I thought I'd be at that last job forever. I was like ready to be a lifer," Walter shared. "Maybe not in the role I was in, but I'll say within the company I was in."
While looking back on her time with Kent, Walter noted that she "invested everything" she had professionally and personally into her job.
"I was investing in a future that I thought we were all on the same page about," she continued. "Basically, what happened is I said how I felt about the way some things were being handled, and the response I got to that was, in my opinion, not good. The responses I got, honestly, I was taken aback."
While she didn't elaborate further, Walter said she felt "heartbroken" by the reaction, saying, "I found myself in a position where I felt like I had no other option than to choose to leave."
Walters comments come after Kent revealed that that Walter was no longer working with her during a November episode of the Give Them Lala podcast.
After fans questioned whether the pair were now at odds, Kent elaborated on the divide that led to Walter leaving during her appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast late last month.
"It's so wild because it's like, 'Where were you when she was on the podcast?' Nowhere to be found. All I heard was, 'Get her off.' At the end of the day, she was my employee," Kent said. "She wanted to go and move on with her life. And I would be like a crazy person to not say, 'Go and achieve everything you want to achieve.' I don't know how to break this down."
Kent also clarified she had no plans to have Walter share her side of the story on the Give Them Lala podcast.
"At the end of the day, she was employed by Lala Kent. You're no longer employed. I wish you the best. Have a great life," she added. "I've learned a lot in many relationships in my life, from my ex-fiancé, to certain friends that I've had, to employees that I've had. Every single thing that I've experienced in the past two to three years, I have learned something from. I don't regret anything, but I know how to make things different."
Walter, meanwhile, has embarked on her podcast in an effort to spearhead her own platform.
"I think sometimes we invest all of ourselves into a relationship and we give it our all," she explained during Tuesday's inaugural episode. "And at the end of the day, maybe we don't get in return what we feel we deserve. What we feel we deserve can be as small as you don't have my back. And it can be confusing for people who are like me and frustrating because all these times I've made you feel safe and I've had your back, and in these moments where I should feel the same, I don't."
Despite the heartbreaking exit, Walter said she was proud of how she handled the situation.
"We can choose to stay on a path in life in this relationship with this person, with these people who maybe it's not going the way we hope, but we're like, 'Let's see where it takes us.' And that's OK. That's your choice because that's your life," she shared. "Other people may choose to take a step back and say, 'Nothing here is going to change no matter how hard I try.' Or, 'Nothing here is going to veer this way, or get on this path, or whatever. No matter how hard I try, it's not going to.'"
Walter continued, "I'm a firm believer that if you're making decisions based on goodness and purpose and future and the betterment of yourself and others and the world, you can only be rewarded in the end. And you may be rewarded immediately or further down the road."
She also expressed her gratitude to her listeners and those who have supported her along the way, adding, "That's not all nothing because of how it ended. … I worked hard to be in a lot of those positions and I won't take that away from myself. Because I am a hard worker and I will always be a hard worker. That is very important to me. But I'm very grateful for all of that."