Former ‘Vanderpump Rules’ star Rachel Leviss continues to unload on ex Tom Sandoval following their cheating scandal, claiming he tried to distance her from her mother, called her a “sociopath,” before sharing when she realized he didn’t love her.
The Scandoval cheating drama may have technically ended, but its aftermath continues to be felt both on the newest season of Vanderpump Rules, and on Rachel Leviss’ podcast Rachel Goes Rogue, where the former cast member lays into her ex, Tom Sandoval.
As fans and pretty much everyone knows by now, Leviss and Sandoval were the cheating parts of the “Scandoval” triangle with Ariana Madix, who was in a long-term relationship with Sandoval and supposed best friends with Leviss while they were sleeping together behind her back.
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While many of his friends on VPR appear to be softening their stance toward Sandoval, leaving Madix feeilng some kind of way, Leviss hasn’t softened anything as she reacts in real time to what’s happening on the show and her own recovery from all the chaos.
On the show, Sandoval has suggested that he and Leviss had a “true love,” even as he never quite got around to breaking things off with Madix. She used to feel that way, but time and distance has given her a fresh perspective.
After the drama exploded and inexplicably became a nationwide story, leading to more public scrutiny at a tension-filled reunion special, Leviss checked herself into a mental health facility — which she says did not sit well with Sandoval.
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On the latest episode of her podcast, Leviss shared that Sandoval called her “selfish” for staying at the facility. “I shared with him that I was having really dark thoughts,” she said, which led to her extending her stay. “I said, ‘I’m scared if I come out of what might happen if I’m having these dark thoughts.'”
According to Leviss, Sandoval responded to her staying two more weeks by telling her he didn’t want to be alone and extending was “a bad idea … I’ve been having to rough it out here alone.”
It was a light bulb moment for Leviss. “That’s when I really knew that this person does not love me,” she shared with her listeners, “and this is a love bomb tactic to try to have this control over me.”
Oh my god. He is always playing the victim role. He is switching the script on me to manipulate me and to control me
While reading from a diary entry she wrote while in the trauma treatment facility, Leviss had found herself comparing her situation to Ginny Weasley being controlled and manipulated by the ghost of Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
“He has her do all of these things out of her character, out of her integrity, to please Tom,” she read from her journal. “Am I playing the victim role by saying this? Essentially Tom has manipulated me and had me under his love spell.”
She also accused Sandoval of trying to distance her from her mother, claiming her that her mom was “gaslighting” and “manipulating” her, claiming she had “ulterior motives.” He further said he doesn’t believe in “love addiction, adding, “This place is a last-ditch effort. Extending is a bad idea. You are becoming dependent on this place.”
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Another red flag that she opened up about was a moment of hypocrisy, considering that Sandoval never stopped his decade-long relationship with Madix the whole time he and Leviss were seeing one another. He and Madix even lived together in their shared house.
Despite his resistance to breaking it off with Madix, Leviss said that he wanted her to be exclusive to him. “I was seeing someone before Tom and I got involved,” she shared. “He hit me up and we hung out. And I told Tom about it and he called me a sociopath.”
Leviss said she shot back, “That’s not fair because I want to be exclusive with you. But since you’re not exclusive to me, hence being in a public relationship, that’s not fair to me. You know, like I’m in my 20s. I’m supposed to be living my life. I’m supposed to be dating other people.”
“He really threw me for a loop because then he accused me of being a sociopath,” Leviss said.
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She shared that as she reached the end of her journal writing in treatment, she came to the realization that Sandoval was always “playing the victim role.”
“This was, like, the game-changing journal entry. It’s, like, pages long of undeniable conversations,” she said, emphasizing her epiphany moment, “Oh my god. He is always playing the victim role. He is switching the script on me to manipulate me and to control me.”
Reaching back for her Harry Potter comparison, Leviss said, “I feel like I’m very thankful that I’ve had this experience to go in and get mental health care and intense trauma therapy because, without it, I would have remained under Tom’s spell.”
Sandoval’s journey with Madix and the rest of the cast continues every Tuesday night on Vanderpump Rules at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo. Leviss continues to tell her own story on Rachel Goes Rogue, available wherever podcasts are streaming. You can check out the latest episode below.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
