Lala Kent changed her attitude toward Raquel Leviss after watching her scandal-scarred co-star cry and tell the truth about her affair with Tom Sandoval on “Vanderpump Rules.”
“When she finally had the breakdown, just as a human for me, it’s like, it’s a reality TV show,” Kent told TMZ at LAX airport Thursday.
“When I watched that, I was like, ‘Oh, we may be dealing with someone who maybe shouldn’t be on this type of platform.’”
When asked whether she had become “more empathetic, less angry” at Leviss, the “Give Them Lala” author sarcastically replied, “Am I empathetic? Shocker!
“I don’t know how other people feel about the last five minutes [of Wednesday’s episode], but I did sit there and go, ‘She needs some real help, and I pray she got it,’” Kent added, referring to Leviss seeking treatment for her mental health.
The podcast host, 32, acknowledged that reality TV can be “rough” on a person’s mental health, and it only got worse for Leviss, 28, due to her “bad decisions.”
“These are the kind of things that happen — especially when you’re throwing daggers while you’re doing something like that. You’re gonna get the smoke,” she said of the months-long affair.
Kent shared that she feels enough “time has passed” for Leviss to “come back from this” if the former beauty pageant queen takes the time to “really reflect on what she wants out of life.”
“I just want her to do what’s best for her, whether it’s on the show or not on the show,” she said.
As for the future of the Bravo reality series and filming with Leviss, Kent said that she would do it “if it made sense,” but noted she was “never really friends” with Leviss even before Scandoval.
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“If she were come into the mix again, I would most certainly — I wouldn’t ice her out,” she concluded.
Previously, Kent had been one of the most outspoken “Pump Rules” cast members who repeatedly condemned Leviss and Sandoval’s dalliance by comparing the bar owner, 40, to cult leader Charles Manson, doing a robotic, emotionless impression of Leviss and calling the lovers “sick.”
Kent’s change of heart came the same day that Sandoval’s ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix also changed her tune and agreed with a paparazzo who said Leviss “seems really hurt by her own actions.”
Leviss surprised many fans when she turned against Sandoval and became emotional while exposing the lies he told about their relationship at the show’s reunion.
Leviss has been in treatment for nearly 70 days, and a source revealed Thursday that she is looking forward to telling the “unfiltered truth” once she returns home.