Bethenny Frankel recently insinuated that Raquel Leviss didn’t earn much money for season 10 of Vanderpump Rules, but Lisa Vanderpump claimed that is not the case.
Lisa, 62, told TMZ on Wednesday, August 16, that Raquel, 28, made $361,000 for her work on the Bravo series. The outlet previously reported that Raquel earned $350,000 for the show’s most recent season, amounting to about $20,000 per episode.
Earlier this week, Raquel sat down with Bethenny, 52, for her first interview since leaving the mental health facility where she had been receiving treatment since her affair with Tom Sandoval broke the internet. At one point, Raquel lamented the fact that her involvement in reality TV’s biggest scandal ever didn’t net her any extra profits.
“I just heard what you were saying on TikTok and using my example as using my case as an example of exploitation,” she told Bethenny. “And the way that the network is running to the bank with this scandal and I haven’t seen a single penny. So, in that way, I feel it’s not fair and I feel like a toddler saying, ‘It’s not fair.’ But it really isn’t.”
Bethenny, for her part, claimed to know what Raquel was paid for season 10 — and she hinted that it wasn’t much. “It’s my understanding that you get paid in a year less than my interns get paid,” Bethenny said, alleging that Raquel “can’t even afford to pay” for the mental health treatment she just received.
It remains to be seen whether Raquel will appear in season 11 of Pump Rules, but she hinted that she won’t. Sandoval, 41, however, has been spotted filming with ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix, who has said that she has no plans to reconcile with her former partner or Raquel.
“I have nothing to say to either of them,” Ariana, 38, told The New York Times in May when asked whether she would film with Sandoval or Raquel. “Our show is very real and follows a real group of friends, and neither of them are in the group of friends, so, good luck.”
Raquel, meanwhile, told Bethenny that she realizes now she was never “in love” with Sandoval. “I also don’t believe that he truly was in love with me either,” Raquel said on part 1 of the podcast episode. “I felt seen and heard by him. I haven’t really had that connection with other people in the cast, nor people in my real life.”
While Raquel’s interview made plenty of headlines, some of her costars were not impressed. Katie Maloney, who has made no secret of her dislike for Raquel, shared her thoughts in the comments section of an Instagram post promoting the podcast. “What in the hot garbage is this?” Katie, 36, wrote on Wednesday.
In an Instagram Story, she further implied that Raquel wasn’t telling the truth during the interview. “You know that trending sound or song … that was like, ‘Why the f–k you lying?’” Katie said, referring to the viral video by Vine star Nicholas Fraser. “That’s been stuck in my head, like, all morning for some reason.”
