Scheana Shay unveils her personal journey in her new memoir, My Good Side, available starting today. In the book, the Vanderpump Rules original cast member reflects on her childhood, her experiences on the Emmy-nominated Bravo show, and various parts of her life, including her marriage to Michael Shay.
Viewers witnessed Scheana and Michael Shay tying the knot in a grand ceremony during Season 3 of Vanderpump Rules. Sadly, their union ended two years later when Scheana initiated divorce proceedings in 2016. In her book, Scheana discloses that their split resulted from several issues, such as Shay’s pill addiction and his emotional affair with another woman unknown to Scheana.
Scheana shares that Shay’s preferred party mix was Vicodin and beer. Although she recognized some warning signs earlier in their relationship, she didn’t seriously question if he had a substance problem until their wedding day in 2014. She recalls asking Shay to avoid alcohol that night for them to cherish the memories instead of becoming “wasted” or “pass-out drunk.” He initially complied, but she started noticing him “acting weird” as the night progressed.
Shay was supposed to perform a song he wrote for Scheana at the wedding, but when it didn’t happen, Tom Sandoval suggested that he sing the song when the bridal party went back to their casita following the reception. But something was off.
“Back at the casita, as Shay was doing his thing, his eyes were completely glazed over, and he was unsteady on his feet, like he was about to fall down at any moment,” Scheana writes, noting that she was “confused” and “didn’t know if he had been drinking” in secret at that point. It wasn’t until a few weeks after the wedding that she finally got her answer.
“We were at Tom’s house, and he offered us these little blue pills, which he said were Ecstasy. I’d never done Ecstasy before and immediately said I wasn’t interested,” Scheana says. “Shay, appearing perplexed, said, ‘Wait, that looks like the pill you gave me at the wedding. I thought it was Adderall.’ We were both in shock.”
“Shay didn’t intend to get fucked-up that night. He just wanted an Adderall to stay up later,” she continues. “Of course, I couldn’t help but wonder why Shay had to take anything at all, even Adderall.”
Despite their dramatic end, which was documented in the Season 5 finale, Scheana says she’s in a “good place” with her ex-husband, and even reached out to him when his mom passed away in 2023. “He is an incredible person with a huge heart and love for his family, and I know he’ll make the right girl very happy one day,” she writes.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
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