Making Bravo history. The season 10 finale of Vanderpump Rules featured footage of the days after news broke about Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘ cheating scandal.
During the episode, which aired on Wednesday, May 17, Ariana Madix confronted Tom, 40, about his secret relationship with Raquel, 28.
“I wad ride or die for you and I had her back as well. The fact that she has continued to smile in my face while also smiling on FaceTime with you is one of the most God-awful disgusting things I have ever heard of,” the Florida native, 37, said. “Why [aren’t] you sorry that you did it?”
In a confessional, the Schwartz & Sandy’s co-owner claimed the former couple had issues they kept private. “Ariana and I just grew apart. We have had issues like this for five years. And we just didn’t want that out there in the world,” he told the cameras.
Us Weekly confirmed in March that the TomTom cofounder and Ariana called it quits after nearly a decade of dating due to his infidelity. As a result, cameras picked back up to capture more footage for a new season finale.
In the episode, viewers also got a glimpse at Raquel and Tom’s dynamic. The pair, who originally hooked up in August 2022, reflected on their future together. They didn’t, however, share a kiss “because there’s cameras” filming them.
While they didn’t tape together post-Sandoval, Raquel attempted to make amends with Ariana off screen with a public statement. “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,” she wrote via Instagram in March.
That same month, the model offered an update on her relationship with Tom ahead of the reunion taping. “It started off as a friendship and turned into something more,” Raquel told TMZ. “We’re just trying to get through these next through steps and make amends and hear everybody out. I know a lot of people are angry. So just getting through these next few steps and not putting a label on anything. We’re just kind of taking a break for now.”
The bar owner, however, later clarified that he and Raquel took a step back from their romance. “We’re really good friends,” he said on an April episode of the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast. “Were not putting any label on it.”
Tom, who first hooked up with Raquel in August 2022, also detailed the early stages of their affair. “I was seeing Raquel as often as I could. I know that sounds horrible,” he said, referring to the time the pair spent filming season 10. “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?’”
Amid the public backlash, Us confirmed that Raquel entered a mental health facility.
“Raquel and her family decided before the relationship was discovered that she would enter a voluntary facility for mental health counseling,” a statement from her rep read in April, which clarified that the former beauty pageant queen was in rehab, but not seeking help for substance abuse issues. “Raquel had planned to admit herself before the VPR reunion was taped on March 23. She was scheduled to go in pre-reunion but decided she wanted to finish her filming commitment. Bravo and production were aware and in support of her journey towards better mental health.”
According to Tom, Raquel has been “doing great” after choosing to seek treatment. “Raquel is in a mental facility,” he told TMZ in April. “Whether she decides to tell you where that is after the fact — that’s where Raquel is. No visitors, no friends, no family, no phone, no nothing.”
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