Answering fan questions on her podcast, Leviss also explained she she appeared “emotionless” at the Vanderpump Rules reunion.
As Vanderpump Rules gets ready to plate up its Season 11 return after a tumultuous and scandalous Season 10, Rachel Leviss has come to the realization that ex-lover Tom Sandoval is an “a–hole.”
The former reality star opened up about what she learned from her months-long affair with Sandoval while in therapy on the latest episode of her iHeartRadio podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue. The 29-year-old answered fan questions during the episode, addressing claims she was “emotionless” during the Season 10 reunion — saying she was coached by Sandoval about “sticking to the story.”
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Rachel Leviss Reveals Why Tom Sandoval Was ‘Not Happy’ with Schwartz During Reunion
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“The last five minutes of Season 10, you see me break down because I want to come clean and I’m still holding things back because I don’t want to betray Tom because he is the one person I have left,” she said. “In my world, it seemed like he was the only person. He got me. He understood me. He was there for me in all of this time — or so I believed.”
“[Sandoval] asked me to lie when he knew that I wasn’t a good liar and I expressed to him that I don’t like lying,” she continued. “He put me in a really bad position with my friendships, and this placement of being on this international reality TV show … my reputation was on the line.”
Leviss and Sandoval had a secret relationship behind the backs of their fellow costars — including Sandoval’s longtime girlfriend/Leviss friend Ariana Madix — and it all came crashing down toward the end of the season after the affair was exposed by TMZ.
Following the explosive reunion where the pair’s cast mates had the opportunity to berate Sandoval and Leviss for their actions, the former pageant queen entered a mental health treatment facility.
She said told her therapist about her feelings of betraying Sandoval during her one-on-one interviews, where she was able to share her side of the story more freely. “And my therapist was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa — but didn’t Tom betray you first?'” she revealed.
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Rachel Leviss Swears Off Dating for a Year Following Scandoval Drama
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She said she came to the realization that Sandoval was manipulating her while she was still in a vulnerable position following her split from fiancé James Kennedy — before saying the elements of his personality that initially created an attraction to him are now what Leviss despises.
“He knew I was going through this heartbreak, and I’ve heard him say on his interviews ‘Oh, Raquel really was coming into her own.’ And that’s what attracted him to me,” she says. “[Now] I’m like, ‘You a–hole. You could have just let me be. Like, let me live. Why can’t you cheer me on as a friend?'”
As for whether Leviss believes Madix is to blame for Sandoval’s wondering eyes, Leviss said she believes Tom used Madix’s “mental health against her and it’s very manipulative and messed up I think he could have gone about it in a much more mature way.”
While she will not be returning to the show, Leviss has been using her new podcast to tell her side of the story following what she called her “hardest” year yet.
Stay tuned — the new season of Vanderpump Rules starts next week.
