Why Stassi Schroeder Feels Her Dynamic with Lisa Vanderpump Is ‘Way Less Stressful’ Since Leaving Vanderpump Rules

Stassi Schroeder is joining Lisa Vanderpump in season 2 of ‘Vanderpump Villa,’ which premieres on Thursday, April 24 on Hulu

Stassi Schroeder and Lisa Vanderpump are back together again!

Five years after Schroeder, 36, exited Vanderpump Rules, she and the businesswoman, 64, reunited for season 2 of its spinoff series, Vanderpump Villa. Reflecting on their relationship over the years, Vanderpump tells PEOPLE that fans will get to see a newfound dynamic between the two of them.

“I thought that there was also a different energy between us because prior to that, I mean it’s many years ago, I was always her boss and chastising her,” Vanderpump explains. “So to actually come into a reality television with a different equation, it felt kind of like we could be this close together.”

“Yeah, way less stressful,” Schroeder agrees. “But there is always that element of, Lisa will always be somebody who I hope to impress — who I hope is proud of me and my choices.”

Poking fun at her former employee, Vanderpump jokes that she “never” saw Schroeder try to impress her when she worked at her restaurant SUR.

“Even when you think I wasn’t,” Schroeder insists, noting: “I started working for her when I was 21, and so she’s just been a part of my whole adult life, at least in her own way.”

“I was married when I was 21,” Vanderpump chimes in. “If that was you trying to impress me, I don’t want to see you when you don’t give a damn.”

A lot has changed since Schroeder and co-star Kristen Doute were fired from VPR in June 2020 over racially insensitive actions regarding cast member Faith Stowers, which they have since acknowledged and apologized for. Getting back into the swing of things, however, was not hard for the now mom-of-two.

“Honestly, it really just felt normal,” she admits. “I know I’ve been away for so long, but I feel like I’ve been doing reality TV since I was 16 years old, that it feels more right to me when I’m shooting something.”

“And to have Lisa there just made it — I don’t know how I would’ve felt if she wasn’t there,” she continues. “It’s like I feel safe with her. It’s someone that I’ve known for half of my life, and so it just felt like riding a bike. We’re back in it.”

This season, Schroeder is watching over the staff of the 12th-century French chateau and reporting back to Vanderpump as they welcome high-profile guests each week. After sharing so much of her life during her 10 seasons on VPR, she says she had some advice to offer the Vanderpump Villa cast, although they didn’t always take it to heart.

“I became really close with the staff, and there were a few of them that I’m like, I see you doing and making the same mistakes that I used to make,” she shares. “And I’m like, I don’t want to talk down to you, but f—— listen to me right now.”

“I was talking about in terms of relationships and working while also dating somebody, because there were so many issues that went on with the couples in the castle that I’m like, I’ve been there,” she adds.

Vanderpump Villa season 2 premieres Thursday, April 24 on Hulu.