VPR’s Marcus Johnson, Kim Suarez defend ‘toxic’ relationship (excluding)

new Vanderpump Rules Star Marcus Johnson and Kim Suarez Don’t mind that their on-again, off-again relationship takes center stage in the Season 12 premiere, but they believe their costars are wrong when it comes to hating “toxic” romances.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion,” Johnson, 35, told US Weekly That’s entirely ahead of the reboot’s premiere airing on Tuesday, December 2. “Some people are used to relationships and understand the ups and downs, and some people are not.”

He went on to explain, “If you don’t know what it’s like to be in love and be in a situation where everything isn’t perfect, you might have a virginal reaction to seeing someone go through something like this.”

Meanwhile, Suarez, 31, told ustheir romance was “misunderstood”.

“Everything that’s said on camera, I’ve heard off camera,” she said in response to the first episode, in which several co-stars weighed in on her relationship with Johnson.

Suarez noted that they knew the cast — including Venus Binkley, Jason Cohen, Shane Davis, Chris Hahn, Angelica Johnson, Audrey Ringel, Natalie Maguire and Demi Salem – “for a long time” because they both worked in Lisa VanderpumpWest Hollywood restaurant SURso the views on marital relationship distress all come from a place of love.

“Marcus and I’s relationship is a little misunderstood because your friends are protective of you and they don’t want to see you in toxic situations, which is understandable. But we didn’t go through toxic situations as much as people think,” she explained us.

She noted that Johnson had been “dealing with the grief of losing his parents” while also managing their relationship, which she admitted “never had a honeymoon period.” (Vanderpump Rules Fans will see more as the season progresses).

Suarez said she and Johnson were “working through real-life issues” ahead of filming.

“There’s a lot going on in terms of friendships and how they view my relationship,” she joked, adding, “It’s just constant forgiveness and compassion and trying to put yourself in their shoes.”

Everyone has a different take on their partner.

Davis, 32, the only cast member who doesn’t work at SUR but has been a longtime friend of Johnson’s, defended their relationship.

“Look, I grew up a little bit differently, so I’m used to people’s ups and downs and being maybe a little more passionate in their particular love lives,” he told us. “I wouldn’t say it was that toxic to me.”

However, Binkley, 27, Johnson and Suarez’s closest friend, admitted he didn’t like King’s reaction to Maguire, also 27, after he accused her of flirting with Marcus in the premiere episode.

“I’m very close to Kim and Marcus, so for me to see this kind of behavior, it’s really irritating to me,” he told EXCLUSIVELY us. “I think it made me and Natalie even closer because I’ve always stood up for the underdog and stood up for them whenever I felt like there was injustice, and that’s how I felt about Natalie through the whole situation. So I think it just really showed who everyone is really like.”

For her part, Maguire said she was “very surprised” by Suarez’s accusation “because there are actually people here who have a history with Marcus and she has absolutely no problem with them. So it’s very shocking.”

Johnson’s love life wasn’t the only topic that got him into trouble in the first episode of Season 12. Fans also saw him get scolded by Vanderpump for drinking on the job, an act that left the restaurant’s co-owner, Natalie Pouille-Zapata,cry.

Johnson defended his actions.

“I respect everyone’s disappointment in me,” he told us. “I’m just a guy who gets caught up in the moment. It’s always been a party. I just wasn’t diplomatic enough that day to let my party go.”

While Johnson admitted he felt “a little bit bad” about the situation, he said, “I’m not going to let it change the way I conduct myself at work.”

new episodes Vanderpump Rules Season 12 It airs every Tuesday at 9pm on Bravo and the following day on Peacock.