Heavy/Getty Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval threw fans off in interviews.
Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ cheating scandal was not something that “Vanderpump Rules” fans saw coming—and it’s no wonder. The Bravo stars seemingly went to great lengths to cover their secret romance, going so far as to place a focus on Leviss’ pursuit of co-star Tom Schwartz.
Days after TMZ reported that Sandoval cheated on his longtime live-in girlfriend, Ariana Madix, with Leviss, Andy Cohen spoke out on Sirius XM’s “Andy Cohen Live,” to say viewers need to rewatch Sandoval and Leviss’ recent guest appearances on “Watch What Happens Live” like they’re watching “the Zapruder tape.”
But while fans wait for Bravo to rerun the episodes, there’s plenty of other interview footage floating around that shows the secret duo trying to cover their tracks amid their months-long affair.
1. Tom Sandoval Said He Shipped a Romance Between Raquel Leviss & Tom Schwartz
Sandoval’s fling with Leviss has reportedly been going on for more than six months, a source told People in March 2023, which means it started late last summer. But during BravoCon in October 2022, the two went along with the narrative that Leviss was interested in dating Schwartz.
In an interview with E! News during the fanfest, Schwartz talked about his “connection” with the pageant queen while Sandoval awkwardly stood by and nervously smiled. At one point, E! interviewer Erin Lim Rhodes asked Sandoval if he “ships” a relationship between his bestie and Leviss. “Yeah, sure,” he said with a slight smirk.
2. Raquel Leviss Said She Was a Fan of Both the Toms
Schwartz and Sandoval are partners in Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood bar, Tom Tom, and Leviss had been seen hanging out there a lot, as well as at the besties’ spinoff bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s.
At BravoCon, Leviss caused a frenzy when she wore a TomTom hoodie and posted a photo of it on social media. Schwartz’s ex-wife, Katie Maloney, slammed the pic and called her a “fan girl,” but Leviss went on record as saying she was a fan of “both” of the Toms and simply wanted to promote the merch for their bar business.
On the February 8, 2023, episode of “Watch What Happens Live,” Schwartz said Leviss was one of the Toms’ “hype girls,” before Sandoval added that Scheana Shay and Ariana Madix also both wore Tom Tom merch.
Leviss explained it herself on the March 1, 2023, episode of “Watch What Happens Live,” telling Cohen she had no regrets about wearing TomTom swag, even if Maloney felt hurt by it. “No, because I’m just trying to live my life and I’m sorry if that offends people but it’s not going to stop me from doing what I want to do,” she said.
She then proceeded to gift Cohen with the same type of glittery Tom Tom hoodie she wore at BravoCon, making sure to later tell him that it was from her and both of the Toms.
“Wow do you have ownership of Tom Tom swag?” Cohen asked.
In hindsight, some Reddit users noted that Leviss was giving serious “mistress energy” by aggressively promoting Sandoval’s swag.
3. Raquel Leviss Said Tom Sandoval Was One of Her Best Friends
GettyRaquel Leviss Tom Sandoval of “Vanderpump Rules.”
Early on, Leviss explained how her relationship with Sandoval had gotten closer. In an interview with E! News in July 2022, she said she’d gotten “really close” with Sandoval.
“I feel like he’s become one of my best friends lately,” Leviss said, before gushing about what a “great” guy the Tom Sandoval and the Extras frontman is.
“He just is so in touch with himself and is fully accepting of who he is and is so confident,” Leviss said of the bar owner. “I don’t know. I feel like he looks at me like a little sister and he’s supporting me in a very kind way. He’s a really great guy.”
4. Tom Sandoval Gloated About His Long Relationship With Ariana Madix
GettyAriana Madix and Tom Sandoval.
Just before his affair with Leviss was discovered, Sandoval talked about how his nearly 10-year relationship with Madix was still going strong. In an interview with Page Six, in March 2023, Sandoval acknowledged that he and Madix had their “ups and downs,” but said they’ve always had “each other’s backs.”
“I think we’ve been really good about respecting each other,” he added. “I think it’s just worked, ya know?”
5. Raquel Leviss Called Ariana Madix One of Her ‘True Friends’ Hours Before the Cheating Scandal Broke
Leviss also did some gushing about Madix. In an interview on the “Chicks in the office” podcast on March 3, Leviss said, “Ariana and Scheana [Shay] were really the ones that embraced me into this group and have been there for me since day one, so like, I know who my true friends are.”
According to Us Weekly, Leviss’ “Vanderpump Rules” co-star Lala Kent shared the interview clip on her Instagram story and slammed the SUR waitress for pretending to care about Madix. “I tried to tell y’all. She is sick. Someone call her mama,” Kent wrote of Leviss.
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