Lala Kent attempted to contact Rachel “Raquel” Leviss while filming season 11 of Vanderpump Rules — which she now regrets.
“I would not have reached out to her had I known that the Bethenny Frankel podcast was going to happen,” Kent, 33, exclusively told Us Weekly before the season 11 premiere, which aired on Bravo Tuesday, January 30.
Kent wanted to show support because she assumed Leviss, 29, took a step back from the spotlight.
“I thought that this girl was just wanting to go and live in a small town, work in a cubicle and just fade into the background. I thought, ‘You know what? If that’s the life she wants, I want her to know that things happen and I hope that you can live peacefully and not wear this,’” she noted. “Then the podcast came out with Bethenny, and I was like, ‘I’m very grateful that you did not respond.’”
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules picked back up months after news broke about Tom Sandoval‘s affair with Leviss, which led to his split from Ariana Madix. Most of the cast returned to the Bravo series except for Leviss. She originally checked herself into a mental health facility and after a 90-day stay confirmed she wouldn’t be filming more episodes for the show.
“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.’ And that’s terrifying. So I almost went back, I know just because of that,” Leviss told Frankel, 53, on her “ReWives” podcast in August 2023.
At the time, Leviss confirmed that Kent reached out to her in the aftermath of the scandal.
“I have a no-contact policy with every single cast member. [But] Lala has reached out to me on Instagram saying that she’s willing to lend an ear,” she said, adding that she didn’t “trust” her former costars. “I know [Lala] has her own agenda. … They have ulterior motives. They don’t care about my wellbeing. They care about their narrative that they need to portray on this show.”
Vanderpump Rules has officially been renewed for season 11 — and viewers are in for a messy return in the aftermath of Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval‘s cheating scandal. Us Weekly confirmed in March 2023 that Sandoval and Ariana Madix had called it quits after nearly a decade of dating due to his infidelity. As […]
Bravo fans got details about what inspired Kent’s decision, which came after an onscreen conversation with Lisa Vanderpump.
“I’m feeling a lot of different ways about this Raquel situation. Raquel said, ‘If I go against Tom, I don’t have anybody.’ What I can relate to is feeling isolated,” Kent said on Tuesday’s episode while reflecting on her tumultuous relationship with ex Randall Emmett. “I know what it is like to have a man in front of you painting a beautiful picture and saying, ‘You’re The One for me. You’re my soulmate.’ You see what your future could be with this person and you’re willing to f—king risk it all. So much so that I ignored everyone around me.”
Vanderpump, 63, told cameras she could see Kent paving the way for others to reach out to Leviss, saying, “Out of all of them, Lala is actually the last person I would expect to have empathy for Raquel. Especially after their interactions. So maybe if there is room for forgiveness in Lala then the others will come around.”
Kent subsequently chose to record a voice message for Leviss.
“Hey Raquel, I’m sure I am the last person you expected to hear from,” she said during the season 11 premiere. “I hope that you’re doing OK. I don’t know if you are back in L.A. or not but I would like to have a conversation with you at some point if you are open to that. Hope to talk to you soon.”
In a confessional, Kent made it clear that she still had issues with how Leviss treated Madix, 38, adding, “What Raquel did, what she said and how she went about things was so f—king stupid. But as someone who knows what it is like to walk through life and see comments about being a mistress, I don’t want her to wear that forever.”
Kent came clean to Madix about her message to Leviss later in the episode. While out at dinner with Madix, Katie Maloney and Scheana Shay, Kent explained what drove her to make the first move with their former costar. Madix, however, wasn’t thrilled by Kent’s decision.
“It is kind of wild if you think about it because for maybe a year, if anyone interacted with Lala’s ex she was ready to murder them,” Madix recalled. “I just feel like if the shoe was on the other foot and I was reaching out to Randall’s mistress, I don’t think Lala would be very happy.”
Despite not being mad with Kent, Madix made it clear she had no plans to let Leviss back in her life.
“My feeling is that whatever work she’s doing, I hope the best for her over there. But she’s still doing the same stuff. She’s still in contact with him and they are still sending packages back and forth to each other,” she told Kent. “For me, I worry that there are certain people in this world that look at those types of conversations as a foot in the door. And there’s no foot to be had.”
Madix has since told Us that she didn’t find Kent’s decision “weird.” Kent, meanwhile, said she was glad Leviss didn’t respond to her voice message.
“The universe had my back again! It is wild to me. I’m so protected. We all are,” Kent shared with Us earlier this month before addressing Leviss’ podcast venture. “I have not listened to it. I heard bits and pieces through people.”
She continued: “She’s entitled to have her voice heard. We have all been able to have our voices heard on some platform. She deserves that, even if I don’t listen to it or I think it’s a stupid move and she should have come back to Vanderpump Rules. The bitch should collect the bag. The rest of us have, right?”
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
With reporting by Hannah Kahn