The 28-year-old star shares that her months-long affair with Tom, which sparked a major controversy earlier this year, could have actually saved the long-running reality series.
- August 18, 2023
AceShowbiz - Raquel Leviss thinks the Tom Sandoval cheating scandal has breathed new life into "Vanderpump Rules". The 28-year-old star's months-long affair with Tom sparked a major controversy earlier this year, and Raquel thinks it could've actually saved the long-running reality series.
During an interview on the "Just B With Bethenny Frankel" podcast, Raquel said, "The show was going to be cancelled after season ten, and if it wasn't for Scandoval, there wouldn't be another season."
Alex Baskin, the executive producer of "Vanderpump Rules", recently described the timing of the cheating scandal as "perfect". He told Deadline, "The story of 'Vanderpump' is one of survival more than anything. We were coming off a really tough ninth season and we had the cast firings before the season and there was a low energy season during the pandemic. To the network's credit, they gave us another run at it and we had a resurgence anyway."
Raquel and Tom's affair prompted his split from Ariana Madix, and in May, Ariana admitted to being "glad" that she found out about the situation. The reality star claimed that Tom was planning to portray himself as a "victim" in their relationship, but his plan changed when news of the affair emerged.
During an appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, Ariana explained, "The plan was to end the relationship without any sort of mention of an affair or cheating. Whether that was pre-reunion or not or pre-going to film Winter House or not. And then they would just start dating. The narrative that he was the victim in our relationship or [that] I just suck would have already been planted."
