‘The Valley’ Star Zack Wickham Knows He Was Built For Reality TV: “I’m A Walking One-Liner”

When The Valley star Zack Wickham decided to leave Kentucky, he knew he was going to move to one of two places: New York City or Los Angeles. As fate would have it, his best friend, Brittany Cartwright, met a man who would make the decision easy: Vanderpump Rules star Jax Taylor. As Cartwright made the move to follow the man who would later become her husband to the City of Angels, Wickham had to follow. “Obviously, Vanderpump Rules became my world,” said Wickham. “Some of my The Valley cast members and I used to call ourselves, The Adjacents.” Wickham explained: “If you look closely, you can spot us in the background at parties and other gatherings because these are our friends.”

When The Valley came about, the move in front of the cameras felt “almost natural” for Wickham. “Cameras have been around me for eight years,” he explained. However, he admits that to have the focus now be on him and his friendships feels a “bit surreal.” The strained relationship between Wickham and former friend Janet Caperna has been the source of drama for most of the season, both on and off screen. The distressing claims Caperna has made against Wickham and co-star Kristen Doute have shocked fans. However, anyone who has spent more than 30 seconds with Wickham has to know that the allegations are false. “Janet and I definitely need to have a conversation when the time is right,” said Wickham. “I hope our relationship will be peeled back in Season 2.”

Wickham’s friendship with Cartwright has never been stronger. After her very public separation from Taylor, Wickham has been right by her side. “Ever since Brittany and Jax separated, I’ve never seen her be so herself, maybe even a better version of herself,” said Wickham. “She finally put her foot down.” Fans especially have rallied around Cartwright after Taylor accused her of drinking herself sick while on Caperna’s baby moon in Big Bear. “I’ve been here through it all,” said Wickham. “I’ve never been happier for her, and I’ve never seen her happier.”

DECIDER spoke with Wickham over Zoom to discuss the season so far, his plans for merch (“The first thing has to be ‘petty with a purpose'”) and his genius prank that sent Caperna spiraling.

DECIDER: How does it feel to relive all the messy events of The Valley Season 1 as it airs?

ZACK WICKHAM: It’s crazy to relive everything almost a year later. It is. I never knew what other people were filming. So, I would take them at their word and talk about whatever it is on-camera. All of a sudden, I see what they filmed and I am thinking, “That’s not exactly what you told me you said, so now I’m confused.” It’s been wild to dig things up that were resolved to a point and relive them. I never thought I would be so affected, but I just have to roll with it.

As Brittany’s bestie, I imagine you’ve always been around the Vanderpump Rules brouhaha. What’s it like to be on the other side of the camera?

Before Brittany met Jax, I already knew that I was going to move to either New York or LA. I was deciding which I location I wanted when Brittany suddenly announced, “Oh my God, I met this guy and I’m moving to LA.” I thought, “Great, I’ll just move to LA then.” Six months later I followed her.

Brittany is my best friend, and so obviously Vanderpump Rules became my world. It’s funny because some of my Valley cast members and I used to call ourselves, The Adjacents. I coined the term, the “Vanderpump Rules Adjacents.” If you look closely, you can spot us in the background at parties and other gatherings because these are our friends. The focus was never on us, so for me to now be the focus of things has been a bit surreal. However, cameras have been around me for eight years, so it felt almost natural.

You and Jasmine Goode might be the best “friends of” on Bravo right now. What makes you two such a dynamic duo?

Because we’re real friends. The sparkle that made Vanderpump Rules shine is that the people on the show were a real friend group. Bravo stumbled upon it because of Lisa Vanderpump and magic was made because the relationships were already there. It is the same with our friend group on The Valley. Janet lived in my building. Jasmine was my roommate for two years. We went through COVID together. I’ve known Brittany for I’m not even going to tell you how long. If I told you, that would reveal my age, which I never do [laughs]. I’m 25. We have such deep roots. Jasmine and I are two peas in a pod. It just works.

Janet sending Jax to tell you and Kristen you weren’t invited to the baby moon was not great, but Janet asking her friend Simon to report back on your reactions was truly wild. Were you shocked when Jasmine caught him eavesdropping?

I did not clock it because I was so upset. Jasmine and Brittany were talking me down as I was trying to process my emotions. This is why I love Jasmine, though. She will never, ever let something like that slip by. She saw him listening in and she immediately called it out. I thank her so much because I wasn’t even paying attention. I was in my own little world. It’s good to have friends like Jasmine.

A further betrayal was Janet calling you about the baby moon slight with her friends—including Simon, the pink booted eavesdropper—there to gas her up. Did you know anyone else was listening?

No. Though, it was a very human thing. Do we often have our best friends in the room when we make difficult phone calls? Absolutely. I wouldn’t automatically say, “How dare you?” But, in this case, I am like, “How dare you?” [laughs] Janet had not one, but two, people in the room while I was trying to have a serious conversation with her. As I am pouring my heart out, they were making all these gestures and telling her to hang on up me. It was intense. I felt a certain way, and all I wanted to do was relay my emotions as a friend. I feel like Janet didn’t allow for that. Watching it all back, I was very thrown off.

Which merch are you making first: “Petty with a Purpose” t-shirts or “I Don’t Appreciate your Pink-booted Friend” t-shirts?

No joking. I do plan to launch a merch line. When I first started on the show, people thought I had scripted those lines, but no. This is how I talk. This stuff just flows. I can’t help it. I’m a walking one-liner. My friends have told me that my entire life. “Petty with a Purpose” has to be first. I can’t give Pink Boots that much life. However, I will have a shirt with “Pink Boots” emblazoned on it. I am going to call a section of my website “Shit Zach Says.” Listen, if we’ve learned anything from the Send It to Darrell craze, it’s that you’ve got to capitalize yourself. You should be making the coin. This is my first season. I’m still poor [laughs]. Please buy my cameos. Please buy my merch when it launches.

Your IG story playfully trolling Janet’s baby moon was pretty hilarious, and it seemed like the rest of the crew had your back that it was just a joke. Were you shocked that Janet took it as seriously as she did?

She took it way further than I intended. It was mind-blowing for me to watch. Janet knows me. She knew I meant to be playful. She also knew that I can be petty. If you don’t know that, then you don’t know me. Again, it’s petty with a purpose. If you give me a reason to be petty, then I’m going to be petty. Just don’t give me a purpose.

After watching the Big Bear trip, are you glad you and Kristen were in LA having yourself a petty spa day?

I can’t lie. One of my main quotes on dating apps is, “If you use the word outdoors, please swipe left” because I don’t do the outdoors. I’m from Kentucky. I had enough of outdoors growing up. My parents were part of the NFLCC, which is the National Fishing Lure Collectors Club. It has 20,000 plus members worldwide. My parents hosted the national show in Louisville. I could fish better than any of those motherfuckers that went on that trip, but they didn’t want me there and I probably didn’t want to be there anyway [laughs].

After the kind of claim Janet made about you and Kristen, it feels like there’s no going back for the friendship.

There’s a lot more to the situation than just her social post. Janet and I definitely need to have a conversation when the time is right. I hope our relationship will be peeled back in Season 2.

Do you think your friendship is mendable?

My friendship with Janet has always had ups and downs. I think it is mendable, but that is a two-way street. So, I can mend my side of the road, but can she mend hers?

Brittany seems to be thriving with a little space. Have you been able to support her during her separation?

There are two versions of Brittany: the Brittany I’ve known my whole life, and the Brittany she’s been for the past eight years with Jax. When I moved here, I saw the old version of Brittany fade away as her relationship with Jax intensified. When somebody you love is in a relationship or marriage, you just support the person. I learned that lesson early on. There were times when I wanted to say something, but I knew she needed me to step back and say, “Whatever your decision is, I’m here to support you.” Ever since Brittany and Jax separated, I’ve never seen her be so herself, maybe even a better version of herself. I’ve never seen her stand her ground before when it came to Jax. She’s thriving. She’s already grown so much.

It was tough to watch Jax and Brittany’s argument in Big Bear when Jax claimed that Brittany was sick because she was drinking.

She’s not the person Jax thought she was. In this episode when the boys are sitting around the fire pit and someone brings up his marriage, he brags: “Oh, my wife would never leave me. She would never do that, blah, blah. Divorce isn’t even in our vocabulary.” He knew how loyal and good Brittany is. But guess what? She didn’t owe him anything when he didn’t treat her right. She finally put her foot down, and I’m just so happy for her, and I’ve never seen her happier.

The Valley airs Tuesday nights on Bravo at 9/8c.