Tom Sandoval is determined to have the last laugh after Raquel Leviss revealed she blocked him on social media.
“When somebody said she blocked [me], I was like ‘Oh, OK, whatever. Maybe her parents were going to dock her allowance this week or something,’ but to post that on her story is pretty childish,” Sandoval, 41, told Variety on Wednesday, September 13. “I just wished her a happy birthday. I didn’t think she had a lot of people reach out to her, so I wanted to. I mean, if she’s working on herself, I think it’s a little immature — it’s a little thirsty — to post that.”
The Vanderpump Rules costars made headlines in March after news of their affair broke, resulting in the Bravo show resuming season 10 filming. Sandoval and Ariana Madix, who dated for nearly a decade, subsequently called it quits as a result of his infidelity. As the drama played out publicly, Leviss, 29, issued an apology to Madix, 38, and announced plans to check into a mental health facility.
“I have begun counseling to end my unhealthy behavioral cycle, learn to set stronger emotional boundaries and learn to protect my mental health,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “I don’t expect sympathy, understanding or forgiveness. Right now I must focus on my own health and well-being and as I strive to be a better person moving forward, I will prioritize my mental health and learn from my mistakes.”
Leviss ultimately entered a 90-day program in a treatment center as her former coworkers filmed season 11 of Vanderpump Rules without her. After she left the facility, Leviss returned to social media and Sandoval surprised Bravo viewers with his public comment to a post.
“Rachel, I really hope ur finding peace and happiness. Miss u friend,” he wrote on Tuesday, September 12, using her given name. Leviss then shared screenshots of Sandoval’s Instagram account, which she now has blocked.
Weeks before publicly cutting Sandoval out of her life, Leviss broke her silence in a three-part podcast with Bethenny Frankel.
“Part of the reason why I wanted to take some time away is just because it was so chaotic and loud and there was such vitriol online. But then the other part of the reason why I wanted to go to a treatment facility was to understand my behaviors,” she said on iHeartRadio’s “ReWives” podcast in August. “And my goal was to really get down to the bottom of, ‘OK, why am I choosing men that are unavailable? Why do I keep finding myself in unhealthy relationships? What are the things that I need to change about my behavior?’ And in knowing that I needed to make a change, I first had to know what it was that leads to those behaviors.”
She added: “It took me a while to accept, but I learned about love addiction and it’s a real thing. It’s where you confuse intensity for intimacy. And those chemical changes in the brain are the same chemical changes that happen when you take drugs. So it is addictive, and it explains why I couldn’t stop seeing this person, but it also doesn’t excuse the fact that it happened. But now I know better.”
SandovaL took a different approach in addressing the aftermath of the affair, continuing to tour with his band, Tom Sandoval and the Most Extras, and resuming filming the next season of the hit Bravo series.
The restaurant owner also attempted to make his version of amends by joining Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. “The whole country [is] pissed off at me,” he said in the season 2 trailer, which was released in August. “I had an affair and I want to take a beating.”
