Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss have reportedly broken up in the wake of their cheating scandal that shook Vanderpump Rules.
The Vanderpump Rules co-stars called it quits just two months after news broke of their months-long affair. A source told ET on Wednesday (17 May) “Tom and Raquel broke up”, while Page Six reported: “Raquel dipped out. Sandoval is not the one for her.”
Sandoval, 40, was in a relationship with fellow cast member Ariana Madix, 37, for nearly 10 years amid the cheating scandal. Last March, TMZ was first to report that Madix and Sandoval had split after she learned of his infidelity.
Following the scandal, the Tom Tom Restaurant & Bar co-owner shared multiple statements to social media apologising for the affair. In his first post, Sandoval asked fans to stop boycotting Schwartz & Sandy’s Lounge – the restaurant and bar he owns with his co-star and business partner, Tom Schwartz.
Days later, he shared a second social media statement about the scandal, this time apologising to his partner of nine years.
“I want to first and foremost apologise to everyone I’ve hurt through this process,” he wrote on Instagram. “Most of all, I want to apologise to Ariana. I made mistakes, I was selfish, and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly.”
Meanwhile, Leviss apologised to Madix “for my actions and choices” in a separate Instagram post.
“I want to apologise for my actions and my choices to Ariana, my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships. There is no excuse, I am not a victim and must own my actions. I deeply regret hurting Ariana,” the statement read, adding that she will be seeking counselling for her “patterns of codependency and addiction to being and feeling loved”.
Soon after, reports surfaced that the 28-year-old reality star had checked into a mental health facility.
Despite multiple reports that Sandoval and Leviss had split, a source told People on Wednesday that their relationship status hadn’t changed because they “were never a couple” in the first place.
“Tom and Raquel never put a label on their relationship to begin with,” the source said. “After their affair was exposed and the blowback they received, they said that before defining things, they needed to take time to address the issues in their own lives that drove them to this in the first place. And that’s where things still are.”
They added, “Raquel has been away in a mental health treatment facility, and hasn’t come home yet. Tom has been on the road, focusing on his music.”
“There’s no split because they were never a couple,” they said.
The explosive Vanderpump Rules season 10 finale, which aired Wednesday evening on Bravo, saw Madix confront Sandoval about his affair with their co-star. In their devastating final conversation, Sandoval blamed the affair on his lack of intimacy with Madix. When Sandoval revealed that he and Leviss had formed a deep, emotional bond, Ariana called his relationship with Leviss “disgusting”.
“I regret every moment that I stood up for you, defended you, supported you,” she said during the episode. “You’re worth nothing and I want you to feel that deep in your soul. I want you to hear those words coming from the mouth of the woman who f***ing stood by you and loved you and was ready to build the rest of my life around you.”
Following the episode, Madix appeared on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen where she reacted to news of Sandoval and Leviss’ rumoured break up. “I don’t buy that at all. She was sending letters to my house, like, four days ago,” Madix told Cohen, explaining that she didn’t open the letter that was addressed to Sandoval.
The first installment of the three-part Vanderpump Rules reunion will air on Wednesday 24 May. The reunion special will gather together the cast of the reality series for the first time since the aftermath of the cheating scandal.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss for comment.
