James Kennedy Says It Would 'Suck' to End Friendship with Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz 'Over a Silly Mistake' (Exclusive)

James Kennedy has plans to mend the broken bridge between him and the Toms.

While exclusively speaking to PEOPLE at the Vanderpump Rules season 11 premiere, the Bravo show's new No. 1 guy reveals that he's "working" on repairing his friendships with Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz post-Scandoval.

"It would suck to, like, I don't know, throw it all the way over a silly mistake," he explains before adding that their future depends on "how they act" going forward.

"It's definitely a work in progress. It always is," Kennedy shrugs. "I mean, one minute we're up, like the next minute we'll be down, we'll see how this season pans out."

Vanderpump Rules returns nearly 11 months after Ariana Madix split from Sandoval, her boyfriend of nine years, after she discovered his affair with their VPR costar and friend, Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. 

Leviss was previously engaged to Kennedy, and his relationships with both Schwartz and Sandoval soured following the news of the scandal.

In the upcoming season of the hit Bravo show, viewers will see Madix and Sandoval navigate this next chapter of their lives. Despite their busy schedules, the former couple are still cohabitating in the same Los Angeles home. And though they are not speaking, the situation appears to drive a lot of the drama in the new season.

"Why are they living together anyway?" asks boss Lisa Vanderpump in the trailer for season 11. "It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen!"

As for Leviss, she stepped away from the Bravo reality show and entered into months-long treatment for mental health (she previously stated it was for love addiction treatment.) One of Leviss’ last public appearances before that was at the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion, where she faced her costars — including Madix — for the first time since the cheating scandal. 

Since then, she has returned to the red carpet and launched a podcast called Rachel Goes Rogue.

“I look back at season 10. Oh God, it was a really difficult season to watch back because I'm just cringing at all of the things and all of the moments that they caught on camera," she said in the debut episode. "It's really embarrassing."

"But I see a girl that is going through pain and doesn't have the right tools to tackle it and she's coping and the way that she feels like her needs are being met is by someone who's giving her adoration and attention," Leviss added. "I really did not prioritize my friendships when I got involved with Tom and I regret that a lot."

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Vanderpump Rules premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.