Vanderpump Rules: Raquel Leviss' Real Name Isn't What We All Thought
"Vanderpump Rules" fans have long known Raquel Leviss as a SUR waitress and beauty pageant queen, but they're starting to find that they didn't really know her — at all. More than a year after ending her engagement to James Kennedy, Leviss was already making headlines on the 10th season of the Bravo reality show due to her tipsy kissing sessions with multiple male co-stars. But no one saw her affair with Tom Sandoval coming –- and no one could imagine the domino effect the scandal would have.
Leviss has been called a fake friend — Sandoval's betrayed ex, Ariana Madix, was one of her closest besties — and her background is now being scrutinized. On Instagram, Madix's brother Jeremy wrote, "Raquel has faked her way to the top trying to make something of her life willing to step on whoever to get there."
So perhaps it's not a total shock that viewers never really knew who Leviss was from the jump — even down to her name.
Raquel Leviss' real name is Rachel
Raquel Leviss' glamorous first name was a perfect fit for her years as a beauty pageant competitor. In 2016, she was crowned Miss Sonoma County, and she later competed in the Miss California and Miss Malibu USA pageants, as noted in her bio for Us Weekly. When she joined "Vanderpump Rules" in 2016 as James Kennedy's girlfriend, she was also introduced as Raquel. It's the only name we've ever known her by.
But following her volatile "Vanderpump Rules" scandal, Leviss was hit with a lot of hate from furious fans and former friends. She went so far as to file a restraining order against co-star Scheana Shay, and the court paperwork is under her real name, which is Rachel Leviss, according to Page Six. In a video uploaded to TikTok, Leviss' high school yearbook photo was also shown with the name Rachel Leviss underneath it. "Her name is even fake," the TikTok user exclaimed. "When you find out Raquel went to your husband's high school and her real name is actually Rachel," read the original caption of the clip.
Fans may have missed a bit of a clue to Leviss' real name, though. On the ninth season of "Vanderpump Rules," Kennedy proposed to his girlfriend of five years with a "Rachella" themed festival in Palm Springs, California. Rachella, not Raquella. Ironically, Leviss' future lover, Tom Sandoval, helped foot the bill for the pricey party.
Raquel Leviss is not the only Vanderpump Rules star to use a 'fake' name
Raquel Leviss is not the only "Vanderpump Rules" alum who goes by a different name than the one they were born with. Series OG Jax Taylor's real name is actually Jason Cauchi. In an interview with The Daily Dish, Taylor said he changed his name when he was 21 due to his modeling career and that it just "stuck."
In addition, cast member Lala Kent's real name is actually Lauren Burningham. She changed her name to "Lauryn Kent" for her acting career, per Entertainment Tonight, but on "Vanderpump Rules," she goes by her childhood nickname, Lala.
During an Amazon Live that dropped days after Leviss' cheating scandal broke, Kent debated how she would address the former beauty queen should they come face-to-face at the "Vanderpump Rules " reunion. After noting that all of the fans who've sent her questions about the scandal have referred to Leviss as "Rachel," Kent added, "Here's why I feel like I can't do that. Because my name is Lauren, and I go by Lala. But someone pointed out that I didn't, like, change my name, though. Like, Lala is just a nickname." Kent then asked fans if she should call Leviss "Rachel" at the reunion taping "to be shady." Guess we'll have to wait and see.