UPDATE: 5/31 16:20 p.m. ET
A source denied Shay’s claims, telling Us: “Never in the history of Vanderpump Rules has a non-cast member ever stayed in the same room with a cast member during a cast trip.”
Meanwhile a second source close to production revealed that Leviss “asked to room” with Ting. “Production denied the request as they would not have her stay with someone not on the show. This was not part of a master plan,” the insider added.
Original story below:
Retracing their steps. Scheana Shay reflected on the signs from her wedding weekend that now clearly point at Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval‘s affair.
During an episode of Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright‘s “Reality Hits” podcast, which was released on Tuesday, May 30, Shay, 37, claimed that Leviss’ behavior at her nuptials didn’t age well following her scandal with Sandoval, 40.
“Raquel was supposed to share a room with [our mutual friend] Jenny Ting at the wedding. She tells Jenny Ting, ‘You can’t stay in my room after all. Production won’t let you,'” the “Good as Gold” singer, who tied the knot with Brock Davies in August 2022, recalled. “They couldn’t hook up in Tom and Ariana’s room — they needed a private room.”
According to Shay, Leviss, 28, was adamant about not letting anyone into her hotel room.
“Because Jenny was like, ‘I’ll get out of the room. I’ll clean up all my stuff [and] I’ll keep it in the closet. I’ll leave the room so it just looks like you’re staying here by yourself.’ Raquel said, ‘No, sorry. You can’t stay because production said,'” the reality star continued. “I guarantee Sandoval coached her to be like, ‘Just blame it on production. Tell Jenny it is production.'”
As episodes from Shay’s wedding aired earlier this year, viewers were focused on Leviss’ surprising hookup with Tom Schwartz amid his divorce from Katie Maloney. Off screen, however, news broke about the model’s affair with Sandoval.
Us Weekly confirmed in March that the TomTom co-owner and Ariana Madix had called it quits after nearly a decade of dating due to his infidelity. The Bravo series ultimately filmed more footage for the season finale that addressed the scandal.
In the wake of the drama, Shay broke down the interactions from her wedding that she has questioned based on the new knowledge.
“One of my girlfriends was like, ‘So I was at the pool the morning of your wedding and I was just looking back at some of my photos, and there’s literally one with Tom and Raquel in the background in a cabana just hanging out at the pool together,'” she said during an Amazon Live in March. “And my friend thought, ‘Don’t you guys need to be getting ready for the wedding? You’re actually in the wedding.'” (While Madix and Leviss were bridesmaids, Sandoval and Schwartz, 40, were both groomsmen.)
Shay claimed at the time the resurfaced photos proved that Leviss and Sandoval were secretly spending time together in public. “They knew that Ariana was occupied with me as a good friend and a good bridesmaid so they took that time to hang out,” the California native added. “It’s just so disgusting I mean I sometimes don’t even have words for it.”
The “Scheananigans” podcast host made headlines of her own in March when Leviss filed an order of protection after accusing Shay of a physical altercation following their joint appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in March.
Shay’s attorney, Neama Rahmani, denied that his client harmed her costar. “This case is a fabrication by a known liar and a cheat who has betrayed everyone close to her. Scheana never punched Raquel, period,” the attorney told Us that same month. “The supposed dark markings around her left eye have been there for months.. … Scheana is obviously upset. [She] and Raquel were friends for years. She actually invited Raquel into her home where she lived for six months. So, for her to betray her like this, she’s devastated.”
Leviss announced her plans to drop the restraining order one day after filming the season 10 reunion in March. (The former beauty queen and Shay taped their scenes separately.)
After the temporary restraining order was officially dropped, Shay opened up about what went down between her and Leviss after she learned about the affair.
“There’s barkers and there’s biters in this group. And that night, I was a biter. I had no words because nothing was getting through to her,” she claimed on a March episode of her podcast. “When she touched me, I was just so enraged. I was just like, ‘Get off me! Get out of my space.’ I just needed her away from me in that moment.”
Earlier this month, Shay revealed whether she plans to film with Sandoval and Leviss in season 11. “I can picture [us filming together] because I’ve had to picture it. That’s the name of the game. But I can’t envision what type of event that would be at. It would have to be something Lisa Vanderpump hosts,” she exclusively told Us. “[Because] they’re not getting invited to any birthday parties, that’s for sure.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Leviss and Sandoval’s reps for comment.
