Raquel Leviss hasn't "seen a single penny" from Scandoval, suggests she's done with Vanderpump Rules

Leviss broke her silence for the first time since her affair with Vanderpump Rules' Tom Sandoval rocked the Bravo universe earlier the spring

By Emma Keates | August 16, 2023 | 4:11pm

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Raquel Leviss Photo: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for CLD PR / White Fox

After briefly becoming one of the most hated women on the internet for her role in Scandoval—the Vanderpump Rules Ariana Madix/Tom Sandoval cheating fiasco that rocked the Bravo universe back in March—Raquel Leviss (who is apparently reverting back to her birth name, Rachel) has learned a whole lot. Mostly about the powers of deflection, but still—baby steps. In an interview with Real Housewives queen bee Bethenny Frankel, Leviss broke her silence for the first time since the explosive VPR reunion. And what we’ve learned, essentially, is that her months-long affair came down to a lot of factors that weren’t really her fault—at least, according to Leviss.

After checking into a mental health treatment facility to “understand my behaviors,” Leviss reportedly learned that the reason she keeps “choosing men that are unavailable” is “love addiction… where you confuse intensity for intimacy.” “Those chemical changes in the brain are the same chemical changes that happen when you take drugs. So it is addictive, and it explains why I couldn’t stop seeing this person,” she continued. “It also doesn’t excuse the fact that it happened… but now I know better” (per Us Weekly).

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Elsewhere in the interview, she also blamed “heartbreak” from the end of her past relationship with fellow cast member James Kennedy, and VPR’s many rabid fans whose “projection” and “emotions that came up” made her into “the punching bag.” “The concept of an affair hits home, hits really hard to a lot of people,” she clarified (via Today).

This apparent victimization also allowed Frankel and Leviss to use the moment to push support for Frankel’s proposed reality star union. “I said your name just as an example of what I imagined to be somebody who had been exploited… for the rest of your life, that content will be out there without compensation,” said Frankel.

“I haven’t seen a single penny… It’s not fair,” Leviss revealed in response, claiming that the network was “laughing” and “running to the bank” off her actions. Sure, she may have “brought [hurt] to a lot of people,” but she really just wants her piece of the pie. “I feel like a toddler saying, ‘It’s not fair.’ But it really isn’t,” she continued. “I feel like I’ve been portrayed as the ultimate villain. My mistakes that I’ve made on camera live on forever.”

Leviss also made comments that suggest she will not return for what will certainly be a contentious 11th season of VPR. “You mentioned something about the addiction of doing reality TV and the way that they always dangle that carrot in front of you, like, ‘Well, you need to tell your side of the story otherwise it’s gonna be written for you,’” she told Frankel. “And that’s terrifying. So I almost went back, I know just because of that.”