Heavy/NBCUniversal Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss went to St. Louis together.
Tom Sandoval’s attempt to introduce his mistress to his family didn’t go as planned. In March 2023, the “Vanderpump Rules” star was embroiled in a shocking cheating scandal with his co-star Raquel Leviss while he was still living with his longtime girlfriend, Ariana Madix.
And while Sandoval’s best friend, Tom Schwartz, has claimed that he didn’t know about the affair until January 2023, a new report claims that Sandoval was bold about his relationship with Leviss over the Christmas holidays — and even tried to introduce her to his family.
Here’s what you need to know:
Tom Sandoval’s Family Had No Interest in Meeting Raquel Leviss
Raquel Leviss spent Christmas with her family in Arizona, as seen in an Instagram video she posted on December 24, 2022. “Second Annual Christmas hike in Tucson Arizona 🎅🏻🌵Merry Christmas!!” she captioned the clip of her hiking with her parents and their dogs on Christmas Eve.
But days later, the former pageant queen was in St. Louis, Missouri, which is the hometown of Sandoval. In a photo sent to TMZ, Sandoval and Leviss were seen posing together in front of the Apotheosis of Saint Louis statue which is located in front of the Saint Louis Art Museum.
The report claims that not only did Sandoval spend time with Leviss in his hometown, but that he tried to introduce her to his family and friends, but was rejected. A source told TMZ that Sandoval’s family had “no interest” in meeting Leviss and felt her presence in town was “inappropriate” because he was still technically in a relationship with Madix.
During an April 5, 2023 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live,” Tom Schwartz claimed that Sandoval had “fed [him] a narrative” that he had “attempted” to break up with Madix multiple times before his affair with Leviss was made public. He also said Sandoval began getting “brazen” about his infidelity.
In his first interview about the affair, Sandoval told the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast that at the height of the affair he spent as much time as he could with Leviss while fearing it could be the last time they’d be together.
After the affair was uncovered, Sandoval posted to Instagram to say he regretted the way that he dishonored Madix and “never meant to disappoint so many people, including our loving families and friends.”
Some of Tom Sandoval’s & Raquel Leviss’ Family Members Have Been on “Vanderpump Rules”
It is unclear if Sandoval and Leviss have met any of each other’s family members, but both of their families made cameos on “Vanderpump Rules.” During the 9th season of the Bravo reality show, Leviss’ dad and her mom Laura appeared in an episode that featured a weekend at a winery when she was engaged to James Kennedy. Leviss’ sister, Kate Moncure, was also seen on-camera at the event that included Sandoval on the guest list.
And in a season 10 episode, Sandoval’s mom, Terri Green, was in attendance at a preview party for his bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s. According to BravoTV.com, Sandoval even revealed that his mom and stepdad invested $250,000 into his bar business.
“My mom is a retired firefighter. She’s five-foot-one. Always had to bust her a** and work hard to get to where she wanted to be,” Sandoval said in a confessional. “It’s really important for me to show her that I can do this, that I can make things like this happen and follow through with what I’ve planned.”
Later in the episode, Sandoval’s mom said she was “so proud” of him.