Rachel “Raquel” Leviss is reacting to Tom Sandoval‘s claim that she was the one who made the first move, as she also details her first hookup with him that prompted the months-long affair that ended his near-10-year relationship with Ariana Madix.
Weeks after Sandoval, 41, appeared on Two Ts in a Pod, where he slammed her for “[coming] on to a guy in a relationship,” Raquel, 29, fired back at the allegation while also explaining the main reason behind her exit from Vanderpump Rules and admitting to nearly pulling out of her new podcast.
“I could tell you the story and then you can decide who made the first move because I’m not accusing anyone,” Raquel began to listeners on the January 8 episode of Rachel Goes Rogue.
According to Raquel, the night of her initial hookup with Sandoval began at SUR, where she was filming a scene with Lisa Vanderpump, 63.
“He knew that I was at SUR filming and so he came by SUR and he got me a drink at the bar, like my special drink that I like with the strawberries and whatever and we were like, ‘Let’s go to Beaches with the group afterward,’” she recalled. “And before we left SUR, we had a little conversation on the patio, just the two of us… I was starting to feel a certain way. And the attention he would give me, it just felt like we may be digging into love bombing.”
Ultimately, rather than joining friends at Beaches, she and Sandoval ventured to The Abbey for a drink before Raquel drove Sandoval home.
“We get to his house and we’re like sitting in my car just chatting for like 20 minutes and then he’s like, ‘Do you like wanna come in for a nightcap?’ And I was like, ‘Twist my arm, why don’t ya?’ And I was like, ‘Of course I do.’ So then we go to the front door and he’s locked out,” she explained, noting that Ariana, 38, was “sleeping upstairs.”
Because they couldn’t get inside the $2 million home Sandoval still shares with Ariana, the two of them went to the backyard, where Raquel stripped down to her underwear and a corset top and Sandoval hopped in with “just his boxers.”
“He like looked at me a certain way, and then he like grabbed me, spun me, and kissed me. And I was like surprised but like happy. Ugh [this is] so bad. So embarrassing,” Raquel continued. “I knew it was wrong. Tom knew it was wrong.”
At that point, Raquel said she should go, but Sandoval encouraged her to stay and talk by the fire pit.
“He was like, ‘I just don’t know what to do right now because I really like you,’” she revealed.
Then, following the kiss, Sandoval followed Raquel to her car, where they hooked up.
“We did everything. It was very bad,” she confirmed.
As for who made the first move, Raquel wondered, “Does it even matter?”
“Because it was like I feel like I… [felt] swept off my feet,” she shared. “Like I feel so infatuated and like loved and then it’s like oh no, now I’m hanging out with Ariana and a group of people. And I’m drinking more because I’m feeling uncomfortable.”
Months after her affair with Sandoval was exposed, and after spending time at a mental health facility, Raquel opted out of production on Pump Rules season 11.
“The main reason why I didn’t want to be a part of season 11 is because I don’t want to be with Tom. And I made the decision to cut Tom out of my life,” she said of the decision. “Going back to film the show, it would force me to interact with him first of all. And I know I’m on the outskirts with all the other cast so I wouldn’t get my story across. I really believe that the girls wouldn’t give me the time of day to let me open up to them given my previous history with my interactions with them. Because I would be on the outskirts with the cast, it would put me in the same boat as Tom, and Tom has a way with his words, and he would get back in my ear, and I know I’m not in the place completely strong enough to be able to resist that.”
“The risk versus reward, like it’s too risky for me to go back, especially at the most vulnerable state I’ve ever been in my life,” she added.
Because Raquel addressed her emotional issues in treatment, she realized she needed to steer clear of Sandoval — and the show — despite being in touch with him when she entered.
“I was still in relation with Tom. We were talking on the phone almost every single day when I went in for treatment… I realized that my problem stemmed from these unhealthy relationships, and although I knew that Tom was bad for me and he had violated me and got me into this position, I was still talking to him and still making plans to see him after I got out of treatment,” she revealed. “So I knew my main focus needed to be more on like, why am I doing this.”
Also on the podcast episode, Raquel explained why she nearly pulled the plug on Rachel Goes Rogue.
“Yesterday, I almost pulled the plug on this whole operation just because I’m really scared. I’m really nervous,” she admitted. “I feel like it’s a lot of responsibility for me to put out a podcast every single week while Vanderpump Rules season 11 is airing every single week.”
Vanderpump Rules season 11 premieres Tuesday, January 30, at 8/7c on Bravo.
