Cashing in. Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘ cheating scandal came with an unexpected paycheck for several Vanderpump Rules stars.
When the Bravo series kicked off season 10 in February 2023, the topic on everyone’s mind was Tom Schwartz‘s hookup with Leviss amid his divorce from Katie Maloney. However, things quickly took a turn on and off screen as the former beauty queen’s connection with Sandoval was questioned.
Us Weekly confirmed in March 2023 that Sandoval and Ariana Madix had called it quits after nearly a decade of dating due to his infidelity. As a result, cameras captured more footage for a new season finale, which included details about the affair.
One month after his personal life made headlines, the TomTom cofounder put his coworkers on blast for benefiting from the drama. “Using this to make it seem like everything I have done for them — they make it out like I am a narcissist,” he said during an April 2023 episode of the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast. “You are taking what I did with this affair, and you are erasing the last 15 years of our friendship.”
Sandoval continued: “Using all these things as content for their podcast. Fellow cast members are asking me all these questions, but you don’t want to know because you care about Ariana. You want to know so you have more content for your podcast. It is f—king disgusting to me. It is so gross. You are not someone who gives a flying f—k about Ariana. You are doing this for your own personal gain.”
Madix, for her part, originally remained tight-lipped about the scandal. After a brief social media break, the Florida native returned to Instagram to share her involvement in various sponsored ads that poked fun at the situation surrounding Sandoval and Leviss.
Ahead of the season 10 reunion, Madix praised her Vanderpump Rules costars for being in her corner during the taping.
“I was angry. At times, I was sad. But I honestly think that the biggest thing that I felt … I was so grateful for my friends. Both the friends that were there that day and otherwise, and I honestly [think] a lot of it felt numb in a way,” she said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in May 2023. “[During the reunion I made a rule for myself]. I was like, ‘I’m not looking at either of them. I will communicate with Andy [Cohen] or Lisa [Vanderpump] … otherwise I will speak to the sound stage.’”
Meanwhile, Leviss publicly issued an apology to Madix before facing her former friend at the reunion. Us later confirmed that Leviss entered a mental health facility days after the March 2023 taping.
Three months later, a source told Us that the California native is still in treatment. ”Upon the completion of filming the reunion, Raquel entered a voluntary inpatient behavioral health and trauma facility and remains there to date — 68 days and counting,” an insider exclusively told Us in June 2023. “Her treatment is helping her learn the basis of her decisions and to grow from her mistakes with the hope of making better choices and becoming a better person.”
The source also defended Leviss amid the backlash, adding, “She is a young woman that is and has been remorseful for her actions and has apologized repeatedly. Raquel looks forward to sharing her story with the unfiltered truth when she comes out.”
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Scroll on for a breakdown of each Vanderpump Rules cast member’s success post-Sandoval:
