Rachel Leviss is ready to tell her full side of the story when it comes to Scandoval — just not on Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules. And for fans disappointed she won’t be returning to the show, you apparently can blame Ariana Madix for that!
During a sneak peek of her new podcast Rachel Goes Rogue, the 29-year-old reality star opened up about her decision not to come back to Vanderpump Rules. Before the whole cheating scandal, looking back, Rachel said her first “mistake” was returning for Season 10!
Related: Ariana Is Really The One Who Won’t Let Sandoval Buy Her Out Of House?!
Let’s rewind. The former pageant contestant ended her engagement to fellow co-star James Kennedy in December 2021 — then spent all of Season 10 the following year watching him with his new girlfriend, Ally Lewber. Witnessing the couple together so soon after they broke up, Rachel shared on the podcast, really “hurt” her:
“I already made a mistake by returning to Season 10. Looking back at that season, I was at my lowest of lows. Filming Vanderpump Rules after breaking off an engagement with James, that was my first mistake, because I should’ve taken the time to heal and find a therapist. And I did the right thing by having a no-contact policy with James, but when we’re working together and filming together and he’s flaunting his new girlfriend that he met three weeks after I ended the engagement, that hurt.”
We guess she’s saying she drowned her sorrows in the cool waters of Tom Sandoval? Well, not just him… Rachel went on to explain that the breakup put her in a bad “mental space,” and she began to drink a lot more during Season 10:
“There were so many questions running through my mind like: Did he ever really love me? How is it possible to love someone and then get over them so quickly? I was drinking a ton Season 10. And this is not an excuse. I’m just, point blank, I was not in a good mental space. In knowing that, I’m learning from my mistakes.”
Hmm. When it came time to decide if she would return to VPR for Season 11, Rachel says she realized she couldn’t put Ariana through the same “pain” she went through working with James and Ally. So she refused to join the cast on the show again:
“Looking back and seeing how much pain I was in interacting with James on camera and seeing his new girlfriend. I could only imagine the pain I would cause by filming [Season 11] in the same environment with Ariana.”
Noting how the affair with Sandoval was “a huge betrayal,” Rachel said she knew it would be “painful” for Ariana to still work with your former friend. Not to mention having to witness her interacting with “the person that you loved so much and you thought they loved you just as much as you loved them.” In the end, the ex-SUR waitress thought “it would just be so catastrophic”:
“I didn’t want to do that to Ariana. I didn’t want to put her in that position.”
Well, she never would have potentially been in “that position” if you hadn’t betrayed her by secretly hooking up with her longtime boyfriend for months in the first place. Just saying! This compassion she stumbled across is a good thing now, but she missed the off-ramp onto the high road several months back.
So what about the future? Season 12? Nope. When Rachel says she’s done with Vanderpump Rules, she means it! Ever since deciding to “completely remove” herself from the show, Rachel hasn’t heard from any of her former cast members. However, she isn’t upset about it! The television personality pointed out that she doesn’t “necessarily want to hear from any of them.” But the one person who has reached out to her, as we all witnessed? Sandoval.
Rachel addressed the public birthday message he left on her Instagram back in September. At the time, she wasn’t too thrilled about seeing her ex-lover reach out to her, so much so that she blocked him on the platform. When talking about the situation, Rachel revealed Sandy was not able to reach out to her over text since she blocked him the second she got out of treatment at the mental health facility. However, she noted he could have — and should have — sent her a DM instead of writing a public comment:
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot, and I think, for him, because I’m just trying to put myself in his shoes, was he doing this to be spiteful, or was he doing this to be like, ‘I want the best for you,’ It seems like it could go either way.”
And Rachel has zero regrets about blocking him now! While it was “a hard process” to cut him out of her life, the Bravolebrity said she feels so much better about her decision now. Rachel even shared that “taking a step back and removing myself from the chaos has allowed me to gain some clarity — actually a lot of clarity — on the situation,” explaining:
“The story I would tell myself about our relationship that we had, it seemed so special and it seemed so real, but when you look at the cold, hard facts and write them down on a piece of paper and see all of those red flags clear as day, that will break you out of your denial. Once I was broken out of denial and realized how manipulative he is. I couldn’t put myself in a situation where, at my most vulnerable state, it would probably get me back to those old patterns that I’m trying to break free from.”
She continued:
“I look back at Season 10, oh God, as a really difficult season to watch back, because I’m just cringing at all of the things and all of the moments that they caught on camera. It’s really embarrassing. But I see a girl that is going through pain and doesn’t have the right tools to tackle it, and she’s coping in the way that she feels like her needs are being met by someone who’s giving her adoration and attention. I really did not prioritize my friendships when I got involved with Tom, and I regret that a lot.”
She “did not prioritize” her friendships? Well, that’s one way of putting it, we guess…
Still, we have to hand it to someone who can look at their past mistakes, see them for what they are, and move forward in growth. Rachel is clearly growing, as is evident by her decision to turn down more reality TV fame in exchange for healing.
Viewers may hate not seeing Rachel on the next season of VPR. But it looks like we’re still in for a drama-filled season without her! Reactions to the podcast teaser? Sound OFF in the comments below.
[Image via Rachel Goes Rogue/Instagram, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen/YouTube]