In an explosive podcast interview, Vanderpump Rules’ Raquel Leviss has claimed that her co-star Tom Sandoval recorded a sexually explicit FaceTime video of her without her consent. She made the claim during a podcast interview with US TV personality Bethenny Frankel.
Her affair with Tom – which has become known as Scandoval – has been described by the New York Times as the ‘cheating scandal that broke the Internet’ – and the waves of aftershock are continuing to hit.
During her first interview since the cheating scandal was announced on the show, Raquel revealed that a video of her masturbating – which incidentally revealed the affair to Tom’s partner of nine years, Ariana Madix – was recorded without her permission.
‘So you’re FaceTiming Tom – you’re in New York and Tom is in LA – you’re masturbating, and he’s recording you, and you don’t know that you’re being recorded?’ Bethenny said, and Raquel replied: ‘Correct.’
She continued: ‘I decided to be adventurous and look at the adult section on the TV, and Tom and I FaceTime a lot, so it turned into something more of an intimate FaceTime. I expected to have privacy in that moment, so that happened.’
Raquel explained that she was unaware that Tom had screen-recorded the call, and Ariana found these videos later that evening. Ariana sent a text to Raquel that read: ‘You’re dead to me’.
This is how she found out two things – that Ariana had discovered Raquel and Tom’s eight-month long affair and that she’d been recorded doing sexual acts without her consent.
‘Of course, all of these emotions came flooding over me,’ she explained, opening up about how scared she’d felt that the video would be leaked, and the pressure she felt to tell Ariana the truth about her affair with Tom.
According to Raquel, her lawyers then warned the cast of Vanderpump Rules against sharing the video, due to the fact it was ‘illegally without [her] knowledge or consent’, citing a Californian law against revenge porn and sharing ‘nonconsensual pornography’.
‘I feel like I’ve been portrayed as the ultimate villain. My mistake I made on camera lives on forever,’ she said, adding that she hadn’t received compensation following the critical success of Vanderpump Rules.
‘The network is running to the bank with this scandal, and I haven’t seen a single penny,’ she said.
Raquel has previously apologised for the hurt she caused Ariana by having an affair with Tom, but dug a little deeper about her reasoning behind embarking on a relationship with him during her conversation with Bethenny.
‘I would not be involved in this affair, secrecy type of situation if I thought that there was longevity in this relationship between Tom and Ariana,’ she said. ‘The people closest to them could see that their relationship hasn’t been what they portray on camera.’
This interview is apparently part of a multi-part conversation with Bethenny, so watch this space for updates.
Grazia has reached out to Tom Sandoval for comment.
Is Racquel Leviss returning for the new season of Vanderpump Rules?
Raquel also confirmed during the podcast interview that she wouldn’t be returning for the eleventh season of Vanderpump Rules, which began filming in late June.
Who is Bethenny Frankel?
She entered the celeb world after appearing on The Real Housewives of New York, and is now a prominent US TV personality. She’s currently campaigning to unionise reality TV stars.
Why is this scandal called Scandoval?
It’s a fun play on Tom Sandoval’s surname, coupled with the fact that the affair him and Raquel had caused some serious scandal.
Are Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval still together?
According to reports, Raquel and Tom parted ways two months after news broke of their affair. A source also told People that they were ‘never a couple’ and had never put a label on their relationship.