Vanderpump Rules has always been known to deliver the drama to its loyal Bravo audience in its decade on the air, but Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ scandal took things to a whole new level. Back in March it was revealed that Sandoval had been cheating on Ariana Madix, his partner of nine years, with castmate Raquel Leviss. Rifts were formed amongst the cast as the news went viral, and an alleged physical assault against Leviss led to her getting a restraining order against Scheana Shay. That only added to the “intense” atmosphere at the Season 10 reunion, Lisa Vanderpump said, as she compared the messy situation to the classic sitcom Friends.
Emotions have been running high in recent weeks regarding Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss' entanglement, aka Scandoval. Both members have apologized to Ariana Madix, after it was proven Sandoval had been cheating with his co-star for months. Restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump told Variety she was “basically having a bloody heart attack” when she found out, and she put the scandal into the context of another popular TV show, saying:
It was almost akin to ‘Friends,’ like [if] Chandler and Phoebe suddenly [started] shagging.
Lisa Vanderpump’s comparison shows just how unexpected the scandal was, because Phoebe and Chandler together would have been wrong on so many levels, especially with the latter married to Monica in later seasons. Another aspect that made the Vanderpump Rules stars' relationship so surprising was that it came after it was rumored that Raquel Leviss had kissed Tom Sandoval’s best friend Tom Schwartz last fall.
Filming for Vanderpump Rules Season 10 had already wrapped before the relationship was exposed, but things apparently threatened to go off the rails when the cast members reunited for the first time since the scandal broke to tape the reunion show. Lisa Vanderpump teased:
It was so intense and there were a lot of tears, a lot of heartbreak. I think everybody is so intrinsically entwined, emotionally, that everybody felt so much.
Complicating the filming of the reunion was the fact that Raquel Leviss had a restraining order against Scheana Shay for an alleged physical incident that is said to have taken place in the aftermath of Scandoval breaking. Lisa Vanderpump said she thinks Shay "kind of slapped [her] around the face,” noting that she didn't condone the reaction.
The two reality stars having to stay 100 yards from each other during the reunion's filming caused the producers to get creative with two spearate seating charts. Raquel Leviss and Scheana Shay reportedly took turns on stage with their castmates, as the other watched a live feed from their trailer, to ensure there was a 100-yard distance kept between them.
That reunion will likely be appointment viewing when it airs, but for now you can continue to watch Vanderpump Rules in its 10th season at 9 p.m. ET Wednesdays on Bravo, and you can catch up on every episode that has aired so far with a Peacock Premium subscription.
