Tom Sandoval shocked his fellow Vanderpump Rules cast mates by conducting a months-long affair with Raquel Leviss. It’s next-level stuff that both alums and current stars have condemned.
Let’s face it. This is not a morally superior crew. Few of the VPR cast have not cheated on someone in some form or another. Raquel was cheated on by James Kennedy. Sandoval first hooked up with Ariana Madix when he was dating Kristen Doute. Kristen has now returned with a vengeance to tear into him for his deceit.
VPR alum Jax Taylor also has a lot to say about Sandoval. This is interesting considering he made a reality TV career out of cheating. One of his unfortunate ex-girlfriends was Stassi Schroeder. Jax hooked up with Kristen while dating Stassi.
So her experience with a Pump Rules cheater is bringing up a lot of feelings for Stassi. Us Weekly reported that she shared her thoughts while on the #NoFilter with Zack Peter podcast.
Stassi said, “I mean it’s kind of terrifying. Honestly, I’ve talked a little bit about this on my own podcast, it’s a little triggering. I know we overuse the word triggering nowadays, it kind of drives me nuts, but I can’t think of a better word to describe than triggering for right now,” she added.
The expectant mom was a VPR cast member from 2013 to 2020 before getting fired for alleged racist behavior. She recalled being filmed for Season 2 when she found out Jax was cheating on her. Stassi dissed Sandoval and Raquel for their “painful and horrible” behavior that put Ariana in the same situation.
“When that happened to me with Kristen [Doute] and Jax [Taylor], that was nothing compared to what’s happening to Ariana [Madix],” she said. “That’s nothing compared to what’s happening to her!”
Stassi continued, “I know what it did to me, and it made me not trust people. It made me crazy. It made me not a good girlfriend. Not a good partner. That’s not a healthy way to think.”
Sandoval pushed the narrative that he and Ariana were having problems for a while when he appeared on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast. “They were having problems for a while,” a source previously told Us Weekly. Scandoval ignited when Ariana found an inappropriate video of Raquel on Tom’s phone.
Raquel was struck with some level of remorse, or PR strategy, and issued a public apology via Instagram. She wrote, “I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships. There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana.”
It’s been a full six weeks of endless drama. Despite the triggering aspect for Stassi, she also managed to add some humor to the situation joking that her unborn child is fully briefed on Scandoval. The author also shares a two-year-old daughter, Hartford Clark with her husband, Beau Clark.
“Listen, it feels weird for me to even talk about all of the ‘Scandoval’ drama because it was such a big part of my life for all of my adult life for, like, 10 years and now it’s not a part of my life at all yet it’s everywhere I turn,” Stassi told Us Weekly last month. “It’s on my ‘For You’ page [on TikTok and] it’s all people are talking about. I can’t escape it. It’s taken over my life.”
Stassi also made her allegiance clear in that interview. “I mean, if you’re not Team Ariana, get the f—k outta here,” she quipped. “Like, it shouldn’t even be a question. Is there somebody out there who’s like, ‘I’m Team Tom?’ Like, show me that person.”
Meanwhile, Sandoval’s attempt at damage control this week failed miserably. While on the podcast, he tried to pin the blame for his affair on Ariana.
“Obviously, she was very upset. She freaking punched me and all this s–t,” Sandoval claimed. “A couple days later, I sit down and talk with her again, and she’s like, ‘I’m not letting you leave me. You’re gonna have to me force me out of this relationship.’”
Not once in those discussions did Sandoval mention Raquel. Ariana had the misfortune of finding out about that on her own. “I was seeing Raquel as often as I could. I know that sounds horrible,” Tom added. “And FaceTiming her all the time. And Ariana didn’t even notice because that’s just how separate our lives were. I had to actually tell her, ‘How have you not noticed how distant I’ve been lately?’”
Bravo executives were unaware that Sandoval scheduled this interview. They wanted tight control over what was revealed and are suggesting he may be fired.
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT STASSI’S COMMENTS? DO YOU EMPATHIZE WITH HER BEING TRIGGERED BY SCANDOVAL? WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO TOM’S INTERVIEW?
[Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo]