The 'Vanderpump Rules' star is opening up about her ex.
Lala Kent choked back tears while discussing her custody battle with ex Randall Emmett over their 2-year-old daughter, Ocean, saying she's fearful that being so outspoken about the family court system could come back to bite her.
In her Tuesday night interview with Nightline, the Vanderpump Rules star says there are real concerns that "making noise" about the challenges mothers go through in custody battles could potentially mean Ocean will be the one paying the ultimate price.
"I have that fear every time I go to talk about this. Every time I post something," says Kent as she begins to cry. "It’s one of my greatest fears, like, if I talk about this and I end up in court one day, is Ocean going to pay for me being outspoken? It’s a battle that I constantly am in with myself. But I can’t stop. I’m just gonna keep giving them Lala. I’m going to keep making noise in the family court system and keep loving on my kid."
Kent and Emmett welcomed their first child together in March 2021. Nine months later, they called off their three-year engagement. The relationship imploded shortly after an alleged physical fight, and Kent said the alleged cheating had been repeated behavior.
Kent told the Los Angeles Times that an argument in October 2021 allegedly turned violent when she claims Emmet violently knocked her to the ground after she confronted him about allegedly cheating on her. The fight allegedly came after photos surfaced showing Emmett with two women in Nashville. According to the L.A. Times, Emmett rushed back home to L.A., where Kent demanded to see his phone. She claimed he refused, so she grabbed it from him.
In that same L.A. Times exposé, Emmett's accused of inappropriate behavior with women, including offering acting jobs in exchange for sexual favors. Emmett has vehemently denied the accusations. An upcoming ABC News Studios and L.A. Times Studios documentary, The Randall Scandal: Love, Loathing and Vanderpump, takes a closer look at the allegations in a 90-minute exposé. Kent is not a part of the forthcoming documentary (drops May 22), and neither is Emmett.
With Nightline, the reality TV star opens about using her platform (she has two million Instagram followers) to protest against a controversial method that's sometimes used for children in the middle of a custody battle called reunification therapy, which, among other things, aims to get to the root of the reason why they don't want to spend time with the visiting parent. There are also reunification camps, which remove children from their preferred parent.
Kent admits her daughter is too young to be part of reunification therapy, but still feels the need to speak out.
"I’m going to continue making noise," she says. "I will not stop."
As for the accusations surrounding Emmett following the L.A. Times exposé, Kent essentially says hindsight is 20/20.
"I really didn’t realize who I was sleeping next to and who I had a child with," she says. "I think if I would have known who he was, who he is, I never would have gotten involved with him and I most certainly wouldn’t have brought an innocent little baby into the world. I do know she’s here because she was supposed to be here. Now I’m in a custody battle. I can’t focus on the past. I have to focus on now."
She also gushes over her "little human."
"Oh, she has a personality that is unmatched," Kent says. "She’s pure magic. I don’t even know how else to describe her. Many times I look up at the sky and go, 'What did I do right to deserve this little human?'"
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