We won’t see Rachel Leviss back on our TV screens when the highly anticipated Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules returns tomorrow. However, she’s not fading into the background, and she no longer has Tom Sandoval in her ear to coach what story she gets to tell about Scandoval.
Rachel took to the latest episode of her podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue, to share that she’s gained a lot of insight regarding Tom’s manipulative behavior both during and after their very messy, very public affair.
Rachel says manipulation is a pattern for Tom
Rachel opened up during a Q&A session on last week’s episode of Rachel Goes Rogue. She first addressed the perception that she was “emotionless” at the Season 10 reunion, explaining that Tom instructed her to “stick to the story” he created about the affair they were having behind Ariana Madix’s back.
Rachel says she struggled to contain her emotions during her solo interview in the last segment of the three-part VPR reunion. This was because she thought saying too much would hurt Tom. “The last five minutes of season 10, you see me break down because I want to come clean and I’m still holding things back because I don’t want to betray Tom,” she admitted.
Following the reunion, Rachel found clarity about the situation while attending a mental health treatment facility. She once told her therapist, “I betrayed Tom by telling this truth,” to which her therapist clarified that it was actually Tom who betrayed her first. This helped things start to click.
Rachel said staying loyal to Tom jeopardized her friendships and reputation. She also revisited the beginning of their relationship, noting Sandoval’s interest in her during her vulnerable phase post-breakup with James Kennedy.
“He knew I was going through this heartbreak, and I’ve heard him say on his interviews ‘Oh, Raquel really was coming into her own.’ And that’s what attracted him to me,” she says. But now, “I’m like, ‘You asshole. You could have just let me be. Like, let me live. Why can’t you cheer me on as a friend?'”
Rachel thinks Tom also used Ariana’s mental health against her throughout their nine years together, which was “manipulative and messed up.”
Rachel revealed what she views as Tom’s biggest betrayal
According to Rachel, Tom’s most despicable act toward her was him allegedly “filming [her] without [her] consent,” referring to the incident where Ariana found an intimate video on his phone, leading to their split.
Rachel wrapped it all up. “I can see the impact the show had on my decisions, the impact that my trauma and my connection with Tom had on those decisions, and my trust in him and betraying myself in that process. I’ve been able to see a lot clearer now. That’s what I needed. I needed that space to gain that clarity.”
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules premieres January 30 at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – DOES HEARING HOW TOM MANIPULATED RACHEL MAKE IT EASIER TO UNDERSTAND HER STATE OF MIND DURING THE AFFAIR?
