Are Kristen Doute & Brian Carter Still Together After A Rocky Season Of Vanderpump Rules?

Jax Taylor & Brittany Cartwright and Tom Schwartz & Katie Maloney are certainly more prominent in the Vanderpump Rules universe, but Kristen Doute and Brian Carter are one of the longest lasting duos on the Bravo show. In season 7, however, they're suspiciously absent. We've barely seen the two together, and when we do appear, they don't seem all that in sync (Kristen turned to the bottle, not Carter, when she was disinvited from TomTom's Daily Mail party in last week's episode). Do these two make it through season 7 together? Let's investigate.

In the upcoming episode of Vanderpump Rules, the women board Lala Kent's private jet and head to Santa Barbara wine country for a fun- (and drama-) filled weekend. The preview clip doesn't give away too much, but it does give viewers this juicy tidbit: "Crazy Kristen" is back in full-swing. As the wine flows, so do her thoughts (she tells one pourer that "Merlot is the basic bitch of wine"), which is bound to get her into some trouble. It's a known fact that Doute gets a bit, well, mouthy when she's had a few (just ask James Kennedy or anyone else who works at SUR), and based on comments she made to Daily Mail Australia last fall, it seems like Kristen and Carter are headed towards some tense times.

"He and I definitely have a little bit of a bumpy season," she told the publication while vacationing in Sydney. "This is what I signed up for, and we have to be honest. We're not perfect."

Yikes, sounds like trouble. Things get so uncomfortable, in fact, that Doute said she wasn't sure she'd even watch this season. "It's really hard to watch things back, and I think we're both a little nervous," she added. Doute clarified that "it's nothing awful... not like a big cheating scandal" and said they "got over it."

In the months since, Doute and Carter have posted photos of with one other celebrating New Year's Eve at the end of 2018, jet-setting to Vegas in January, and reminiscing about their time in Sydney, making it safe to assume that that the pair are still holding strong. Plus, the couple that agrees to sweat together in a workout class, usually stays together, evidenced by this group shot from December 2018 (above).

But since these happier photos were posted online, Doute made a visit to Watch What Happens Live on February 18, following the Vanderpump episode in which her fights with Carter and her claims that he didn't pay rent at their apartment came to light. And apparently, things aren't quite as they seem on Instagram, especially in light of the episode bringing the drama back into their lives. When a caller asked for an update, Doute explained the latest with a bit of a downer expression on her face.

"Honestly, I bleed out for the show, like I show every second of everything. So for this, I'm just going to have to say we're working, we're figuring it out. Especially if you want to talk about what's happening today, with the show airing, and what's been going on in our relationship in the past year or more, we're figuring it out. We'll let you all know when we get to that place," she said.

Doute also sent out a cryptic tweet on February 25 after Vanderpump Rules aired, asking fans to hold their judgements of Stassi (who told the Vanderpump crew about Kristen's troubles with Carter) and Carter himself: "Tonight’s episode was heavy. I want to reiterate that @stassi was only repeating what I had told her. I love her & all of my girls for wanting the best for me. Carter is a really wonderful man and people go through things. Please just be kind because man, we’re all human."

After that, Kristen spent her birthday with her Vanderpump pals on a girls trip in Nashville — no men from the cast in sight.

And her requisite "it's my birthday" Instagram (something any self-respecting Vanderpump Rules star must do on the anniversary of their birth) is of Kristen and Tom Schwartz paired with the (again) cryptic caption: "don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring. ??"

Kristen hasn't confirmed any changes to her relationship publicly, but Andy Cohen's reaction says what so many fans are thinking right about now: We love you, Kristen, but that sounds like a pretty tough road.