The Sketchiest Things About Raquel Leviss
In Mach 2023, Raquel Leviss became one of the most controversial women on Bravo, thanks to her shocking admitted affair with "Vanderpump Rules" co-star Tom Sandoval. From her close friendship with Sandoval's longtime love, Ariana Madix, to her own entanglements and relationships with some of Sandoval's closest friends, there's a lot to unwrap with this "Vanderpump Rules" betrayal ... which is likely why it has captivated the entertainment world in its wake.
Leviss, whose real name is actually Rachel, joined the cast during Season 5 of the popular Bravo series, after getting into a relationship with star DJ James Kennedy. She's been a fixture on the show since that point, with viewers watching her relationship with Kennedy progress to the point of an onscreen engagement before revealing they were going their separate ways during the Season 9 reunion. And while simply having an affair with her best friend's man would arguably be enough, there is surprisingly a host of other apparent sketchy facts about this former beauty queen.
Let's unpack some of these seemingly shady things that even diehard "Vanderpump Rules" stans may not have known about Raquel Leviss until now.
Was Raquel Leviss a VPR fan before joining the show?
Since its debut in 2013, "Vanderpump Rules" has taken the Bravo world by storm. The show, originally a spinoff of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," had its fair share of fans by the time Raquel Leviss joined the cast in 2016 ... and one of them may have been Leviss herself. Yep, although she got into the mix quickly, showing off her relationship with James Kennedy and going head-to-head with Lala Kent, if some of her co-stars are to be believed, Leviss was a fan of the show prior to her first appearance.
Katie Maloney raised the allegation on Instagram in October 2022, writing in a comment on a post slamming Leviss: "She a fan girl. Started as a fan of the show and now a fan of the Tom's." Further backing up that claim? Ariana Madix's brother, Jeremy Madix, who later took to his since-turned-private Instagram page in March 2023 to allege in part, "Raquel has faked her way to the top trying to make something of her life willing to step on whoever to get there starting with James. Sell out type lame s***. Let's all remember that Raquel was a fan of the show before all of this."
For her part, Leviss had previously denied these allegations during a 2020 appearance on the "Popternative" podcast, stating, "No. I never watched 'Vanderpump Rules' before I met James, actually."
She also had a surprising fling with Tom Schwartz
When the Season 10 trailer for "Vanderpump Rules" dropped in January 2023, fans were stunned to see a relationship brewing between Raquel Leviss and Tom Schwartz. The union would seem messy for a myriad of reasons, especially considering Leviss was close to Schwartz's very recent ex-wife, Katie Maloney — but that didn't stop Leviss from admitting to Maloney's face that she was interested. The trailer also revealed that the unlikely duo would eventually kiss, sending ripples through their friend group ... which also, of course, includes Leviss' former fiancé, James Kennedy.
Leviss and Schwartz's relationship seemed to continue on once filming wrapped, with Leviss sharing a snap on Instagram looking friendly with Schwartz as recently as February 2023. She also was very active on her Instagram Stories that Valentine's Day, sharing that she'd spent time with the bar owner on the romantic holiday.
Making things even more complicated (and seemingly sketchy)? Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix were also in attendance at the festivities, and the world didn't yet know that the romance was actually heating up between Leviss and Sandoval, not Schwartz. While some fans suspected Schwartz's onscreen fling with Leviss may have been an alleged cover-up for the Sandoval affair, Sandoval took to Instagram to defend his bestie, telling upset fans, "Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions."
Raquel Leviss dissed fan-favorite Peter Madrigal
Between the Tom Schwartz fling and the Tom Sandoval affair, fans might have forgotten that Season 10 of "Vanderpump Rules" kicked off with a very single Raquel Leviss, who was seemingly playing the field at her place of employment. The first episode showed the beginning of a romance with SUR manager Peter Madrigal, who has been a fixture on the series since its debut in 2013. During that episode, Leviss shared that Madrigal was the first person to ask her out on a date following the end of her engagement with James Kennedy. The romance was short-lived, however, with Leviss ending things early on in the season.
While reflecting on the brief relationship during an early March 2023 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live," Leviss had a seemingly shady answer about whether she regretted their fling, telling host Andy Cohen, "I feel like Peter is like a great starting pony to get back into the dating world." Ouch.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Madrigal had something to say about the snarky comment, appearing on the "Alison Rosen is Your Next Best Friend" podcast shortly after and sharing that there was a spark between the two originally, and that he did not appreciate Leviss' remarks. "The starter pony is gonna speak up. 'Cause ... I'm nobody's starter pony," he fired back, adding, "I always keep an even keel, but, my God, who the hell do you think you are? Who the f*** do you think you are?"
The sketchy timeline of Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval's affair
Though the world only discovered that Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval had been having an admitted affair in early March 2023 when TMZ broke the shocking news, the secret relationship had reportedly already been going on for quite a while. Sandoval and Ariana Madix's union started nearly a decade prior, and it pretty much all took place in front of the "Vanderpump Rules" cameras, with the couple revealing their longtime romance during the Season 2 reunion back in 2014.
If Sandoval's lengthy relationship with Madix wasn't bad enough within the context of the 2023 cheating scandal, Leviss had also reportedly developed an extremely close relationship with Madix over the previous year — especially in the wake of Leviss' breakup from former fiancé James Kennedy. According to sources cited by Page Six, this tawdry affair allegedly began way back in July 2022, with Madix not finding out about the betrayal until the following March. It was then that Madix allegedly discovered an inappropriate sexual video of Leviss on Sandoval's phone, as well as several texts, per People.
"She was completely blindsided by this; devastated doesn't even scratch the surface of how she feels," one insider close to Madix claimed to People, with a second source alleging, "Ariana had been there for Raquel when she went through her split with James. She thought they were friends. This isn't something you do to a friend."
She attempted to play the victim after the Scandoval shock
In the wake of the affair with Tom Sandoval coming to light, Raquel Leviss shared a lengthy apology on Instagram, writing in part, "There is no excuse. I am not a victim and must own my actions. I deeply regret hurting Ariana."
However, just a day before offering up this written apology, TMZ reported that Leviss had allegedly started pointing the fingers at some of her "Vanderpump Rules" co-stars by serving them legal papers. This all took place less than a week after the cheating scandal news broke, as Leviss seemingly shifted into a victim narrative, at least at first. The reason for the reported legal threat? Leviss claimed that the intimate FaceTime session that Ariana Madix had reportedly seen on Sandoval's phone had been recorded without her knowledge, and her attorneys personally warned her Bravo castmates that they were not allowed to share it further.
In response, Lala Kent took to her Instagram Story to blast Leviss, stating, "Raquel, tell your little Mickey Mouse lawyer that if he has stuff to send over, he can send things to my lawyer, same with the rest of my friends and cast alright?" Kent added, "I don't know if you know how this works. I know you're pretty brand new to the game — didn't last long — look what you did with your f***ing 15 minutes."
Raquel Leviss filed a restraining order against her ex-bestie
"Vanderpump Rules" viewers have seen Raquel Leviss and Scheana Shay's friendship blossom before their eyes, culminating in a very close relationship that even got Shay into trouble as she pushed Leviss to pursue Tom Schwartz early on in Season 10. So it was shocking to discover that these former besties appeared to sharply turn on one another following the news of the Tom Sandoval affair, so much so that Leviss got the courts involved.
On March 7, 2023, Leviss filed a temporary restraining order against Shay, who was very much on Ariana Madix's side, which included photographic evidence of an alleged physical altercation that took place between the two the week before. In court docs obtained by People, Leviss alleged that Shay punched her and left her with a scar on her left eyebrow, and shoved her into a brick wall. For her part, Shay denied the accusations.
However, many suspicious Bravo fans believed that Leviss' reasoning for filing the restraining order may have been to avoid attending the Season 10 reunion taping later that month. When it came time to film the much-anticipated reunion, Shay and Leviss both attended but weren't able to film together due to the stipulation they be separated by 100 yards. Leviss reportedly brought documentation to the taping, claiming she had attempted to end the restraining order so both women could film together, but wasn't able to do so. On March 24, the day after the reunion filmed, the restraining order was officially dropped.