Scandoval just keeps getting messier and messier. On April 5, 2023, Vanderpump Rules star Tom Schwartz appeared on Watch What Happens Live. Even before the shot-ski came out, a viewer asked a question about a trip to Big Bear Lake. Apparently, Schwartz and Tom Sandoval spent a weekend at the California resort back in January. And Raquel Leviss joined them. Tellingly, the trip took place several weeks prior to Tom and Ariana Madix’s March 1, 2023, breakup. Us Weekly has the details.
In his defense, Schwartz claimed that the trip was meant to be a guy’s getaway for him and his buddy Sandoval. But he admitted to inviting his friend Jo Wenburg to join them later in the weekend. Then his Schwartz and Sandy’s partner “smuggled Raquel in.”
“What was I to do at that point?” he asked host Andy Cohen. “I knew that they were in love.” Admitting he learned in August 2022 that Sandoval and Rachel Raquel had slept together, Schwartz insisted, “I was under the impression that he was more or less broken up with Ariana.”
“The one-night stand was in August,” Schwartz continued. Naively, he believed that it was more of an “emotional affair.” While “still inappropriate,” he didn’t believe their affair was ongoing.
“[Then] in January,” Schwartz went on, “[Sandoval] came to me and told me that he was in love with Raquel.” Initially “flabbergasted” by the news, he claimed their affair became an “open secret.”
“[After that], Tom kind of got flagrant,” said Schwartz. “He was brazen after he told me he was in love. It was like a release for him.” From then on, Schwartz alleged that Sandy fed him a “narrative” and repeatedly promised he was going to end things with Ariana, his live-in girlfriend of nearly a decade.
“He did a good job of placating me,” Schwartz said. “He told me he has a game plan, he’s gonna do the right thing.” But Sandoval just kept putting off telling Ariana the truth. The affair between Sandy and Raquel continued for seven months before coming to light with devastating effects.
“[Sandoval] is a shell of himself,” Schwartz went on. “He’s not realizing the negative impact this has had on his other ventures. Businesses, bars, the band.”
“He’s addicted,” Schwartz said of his BFF. “It’s an infatuation of all infatuations . . . Raquel is Tom’s heroin.”
While Raquoval hopes to make their relationship work, Schwartz doesn’t see a future for the unlikely pair. And neither do any of their Pump Rules co-stars.
Possibly angriest of all is Ariana’s brother Jeremy Madix, who is breathing fire over the callous treatment of his sister. He aimed his wrath at Raquel, claiming she “faked her way to the top trying to make something of her life, willing to step on whoever to get there starting with James [Kennedy].” He’s not wrong. I think Wreckel is just looking for a Sugar Daddy to pay her bills and give her a cushy life.
“I think it’ll be a miracle if they make it,” Schwartz summed up on the WWHL: After Show. “Even in the short time that they’ve been ‘in love’ or whatever you want to call it, it’s become toxic. [Then] you add in, you know, the entire nation thinking you guys are scumbags. I think it’s too much, but we’ll see if love prevails.”
Schwartz admitted that he doesn’t think Tom and Raquel’s relationship is “sustainable.” I’m predicting done within six months. Stay tuned!
TELL US – DO YOU THINK TOM AND RAQUEL’S RELATIONSHIP WILL LAST? DO YOU THINK RAQUEL’S JUST LOOKING FOR A SUGAR DADDY? DO YOU THINK SHE REALLY LIKES TOM?
[Photo Credit: Ralph Bavaro/Bravo]