Following the explosive “Scandoval” season of Vanderpump Rules, the hit Bravo reality series recently finished filming its forthcoming 11th season — with Tom Sandoval and without Raquel Leviss — and Sandoval is speaking out on returning to the show after becoming its biggest villain.
Sandoval and Leviss caught the world’s attention when it was revealed they had been having a months-long affair behind the back of Sandoval’s longtime partner, and Leviss’ close friend, Ariana Madix. After a heated reunion sit-down, Leviss went to a treatment facility and left the show, while Sandoval opted to return and also take part in the second season of Fox competition series Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
At a Los Angeles premiere event for Special Forces on Tuesday, Sandoval told The Hollywood Reporter that he “did actually really go back and forth about” coming back to Vanderpump Rules, but in the end decided to do so “because it was hard.”
“[Raquel] went away to a facility and I really wish I could have done that, but I’m really glad that I was able to stay here, face it on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “I had to go on tour to make money, so I had to go out and actively be working on things, actively be talking to fans and reconnecting with people. Being in therapy is one thing when you’re away in a facility, but being in therapy and then going out into the real world and actually using what you learned in therapy to practice in real time, then going back to therapy and being like, ‘This worked, this didn’t work,’ I felt worked out the best for me.”
Of going back to filming, Sandoval admitted, “It sucked! Oh my God, it was not fun. It was very isolating and hard. It’s going to be a very unique season. It wasn’t easy for a lot of people because there’s a lot of pressure from the public, not just on me but on other people, so it’s like if anyone is seen talking to me they get backlash. So, it’s tough.”
In the trailer for Special Forces, which follows celebrities as they go through real military training, Sandoval can be seen saying, “The whole country’s pissed off at me. I had an affair and want to take a beating.”
Coming out of the experience, the reality star said he felt “a sense of liberation, pride. I definitely at times struggled with being in a dark place; I’m sure people have dealt with self-loathing and wanted to take a beating at times. I had some of that happening and definitely got my fair share.”
Sandoval also explained the impact the experience had on him before returning home to shoot the next season of the Bravo series (which doesn’t yet have a premiere date), noting, “meeting all of these people, seeing the things that they’ve gone through and their struggles in their lives, really put things in perspective for me. It also was very helpful to see what I was capable of and then again, going right into filming Vanderpump Rules, it can be very empowering when you face things that seem just so monumental.”
Special Forces, which also stars JoJo Siwa, Tyler Cameron, Brian Austin Green, Tara Reid and Nick Viall, premieres Sept. 25 on Fox.
