Tom Sandoval admitted he initially lied to Ariana Madix about Raquel Leviss spending the night while she was out of town — and in the midst of their affair — because of “optics.”
In a preview for Wednesday’s episode of “Vanderpump Rules,” several cast members had gone on a camping getaway when Madix asked them if “anything happen[ed]” while she was at her grandmother’s funeral a few days prior.
“There was a food tasting for the new menu at SUR, and I was an hour-and-thirty minutes late,” Leviss, who waits tables at the staple “VPR” restaurant, told her.
Sandoval, Tom Schwartz and Leviss then detailed that the reason the former beauty queen was late for work was because she had spent the previous night with the two Tom’s.
Sandoval, 40, explained that the three of them had gone back to the home he shares with Madix, 37, and “jumped in the jacuzzi, hung out, had some drinks, listened to music,” which the latter confirmed was “something we always do.”
Leviss added, “I stayed the night and slept on the couch.”
Scheana Shay, however, called out Sandoval for lying because he had initially told the group that Leviss hadn’t stayed the night.
“On the heels of the open relationship rumors and Raquel and Schwartz making out in Mexico, we just thought it might be better if everyone didn’t know that little detail,” he explained.
The Schwartz & Sandy’s co-owner was referring to Schwartz and Leviss sharing a smooch a few weeks prior, as well as chatter amongst the friend group that he and Madix were in an open relationship.
“And the funny thing is, [Leviss] did dip out. She passed out,” he continued to say while Schwartz and Leviss hid their laughs. “I fully was gonna tell Ariana, but like, we should’ve just told the truth, like stupid.”
The sleepover bombshell will continue to play out on Wednesday’s episode and was previously teased last week when Lisa Vanderpump called out both Sandoval and Leviss for the suspicious behavior.
“It doesn’t matter if anything happened — it’s just the fact that you were there,” Vanderpump, 62, told Leviss after confessing to sleeping over at Sandoval’s house.
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Vanderpump then called up Sandoval who changed his story from claiming she “dipped out” to then rambled, “yes, but like dude, like, I have people crash at my house.”
Despite both Sandoval and Leviss insisting that it was simply a platonic sleepover, the two were entangled in a “full-on affair” without Madix’s knowledge.
Madix discovered the dalliance upon seeing a sexually explicit video of her former friend on her boyfriend of nine years’ phone and dumped him on March 1.
She has since moved on and has been spotted making out with personal trainer Daniel Wai several times.
The affair — since dubbed Scandoval — will continue to play out on this season of “Vanderpump Rules” which airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.