Heavy/Getty/NBCUniversal Raquel Leviss/
Raquel Leviss shared her side of how her 7-month affair with Tom Sandoval started.
In March 2023, Sandoval’s live-in girlfriend Ariana Madix uncovered the “Vanderpump Rules” co-stars’ cheating scandal. Madix found evidence on Sandoval’s phone and confronted both him and Leviss.
In January 2024, Leviss, 29, shared her full account of how the affair started, and her story is different from Sandoval’s story.
Here’s what you need to know:
Raquel Leviss Said Tom Sandoval Invited Her Over For a Late-Night Swim as Ariana Madix Slept Inside Their House
Speaking with her “iHeart family members” on the debut episode of her “Rachel Goes Rogue” podcast on January 8, 2024, Leviss recounted her first romantic encounter with Sandoval. “I can tell you the story and you can decide who made the first move, because I’m not accusing anyone,” she said.
Leviss claimed that a few days after she left a “Vanderpump Rules” girls’ trip early and crashed a boys’ night, Sandoval knew she was filming at Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant SUR and stopped by to get her a drink at the bar afterward. Leviss admitted that at that time she had been hanging out with Sandoval more and was starting “to feel a certain way” about him. So when he suggested they go for another drink at The Abbey afterward, she agreed. After The Abbey, she offered to drive Sandoval home. Leviss alleged that Sandoval invited her into his house for a nightcap, but he didn’t have his key. Sandoval’s girlfriend, Madix, was asleep inside their home.
Leviss claimed Sandoval suggested they hang out back by the firepit and the pool so they could talk. Per Leviss’ account, the two stripped down to their underwear for a late-night swim. “He grabbed me and like spun me and kissed me,” she said of Sandoval. “And I was, like, surprised but happy.”
“Oh God, so bad, so embarrassing,” Leviss said with a laugh. “I knew it was wrong, “Tom knew it was wrong,” she added, before sharing that after the kiss Sandoval sat on the side of the pool with his hands on his face.
Leviss claimed she decided she should leave, but Sandoval asked her to stay and told her he didn’t know what to do because he really liked her. Leviss admitted that she suggested they go talk in her car because she felt “weird” talking about things with Madix sleeping inside the house.
When asked if she hooked up with Sandoval in the car, Leviss confirmed, “Yeah. We did [everything]. It was very bad.”
“Does it even matter [who made the first move]?” Leviss concluded.
“Even though I knew 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 said, adding that she ultimately cut the bar owner off for good after spending two months at a mental health treatment center.
Leviss’ listeners posted comments on Instagram. Some felt Leviss sounded giddy as she told the story. “The other parts she was not giddy to tell things …But this was very off-putting,” came one comment. “This part was a harddd listen.” “Why does it sound like she is having a great time talking about this😮,” another wanted to know.
Tom Sandoval Claimed Raquel Leviss Came on To Him
BravoTom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss.
Leviss’ story is a bit different than the one told by Sandoval. In December 2023, he told the “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast that Leviss “made the first move” with him.
“She came into her own and she got this confidence and she went too far, and got herself in a position,” he said. “But she did that herself. She didn’t have to come on to a guy in a relationship like she did… I was depressed. I had no confidence. So low self-value.”
“I’m not [concerned about her podcast],” he added. “I just think it’s a really bad look on her part to just keep pushing blame on everybody else. She’s a 29-year-old woman. She’s not 16.”
On her podcast, Leviss also explained why it was “too risky” for her to return to “Vanderpump Rules” in the aftermath of the affair. “The main reason I didn’t want to be a part of season 11 was because I don’t want to be with Tom. And I made the decision to cut Tom out of my life,” she said. “Going back to film a show, it would force me to interact with him.”
Noting that she’s “on the outskirts” with the rest of the cast, Leviss felt she would be “in the same boat as Tom” and forced to interact with him. “And Tom has a way with his words and he would get back in my ear,” she added.
Leviss previously alleged that Sandoval concocted a timeline for their affair to hide the fact that he had a sleepover with Leviss after Madix’s grandmother died. “He’s going to kill me for this. He asked me to not disclose all this information,” she said on the VPR season 10 finale, per E! News. “This is the one story that we’ve agreed on getting straight. And I know the reason why Tom wanted to lie about it is because it’s a really bad look to hook up with someone’s boyfriend in their own house when they’ve gone out of town, especially for like a funeral of all things.”
READ NEXT: Veteran RHOBH Star Shares Heartbreaking News for the New Year