Bravo has fired up the cameras again on Vanderpump Rules in the wake of Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘s headline-making cheating scandal. On March 6, the network shared a behind-the-scenes photo of Raquel’s ex, James Kennedy, filming an interview for the reality series. The clapperboard in front of James’ face revealed that the scene was named “#Scandoval,” and will be included in Season 10 which is currently airing. “We have resumed filming on #PumpRules and this story will be unfolding on camera,” Bravo captioned the post.
While Vanderpump Rules season 10 wrapped filming last year, the cast has briefly resumed production to capture the fallout of Tom, 39, cheating on his longtime girlfriend, Ariana Madix, 37, with Raquel, 28. James, 31, who was previously engaged to Raquel, and now has a new girlfriend, has gone on social media to express his support for Ariana. Remember, James took heat from Raquel for cheating on her at the start of their relationship with Lala Kent, so he understandably feels strongly about Raquel’s scandal with Tom.
Before Bravo shared the behind-the-scenes picture of James, Andy Cohen confirmed that the cast was filming again. “The cameras have been up on everyone getting reactions and filming,” he stated on the March 6 episode of his Sirius XM show, Radio Andy. “You will see this play out in a sense this season of Vanderpump Rules, before the reunion.” Andy also revealed that the Season 10 Reunion is supposed to film in about two weeks.
Fans were stunned this past weekend when news broke that Ariana and Tom broke up after nine years of dating due to his alleged cheating with Raquel. The affair had allegedly been going on since the middle of 2022, but Ariana reportedly didn’t find out about it until March 1, 2023, when she found a sexual selfie video from Raquel and a “history of inappropriate texts” on Tom’s phone. Ariana deleted her Instagram after learning of Tom’s cheating, while Tom made a statement about the scandal to urge fans not to take their anger out on his co-star/best friend/business partner Tom Schwartz, 40, and their Schwartz & Sandy’s bar and restaurant.
“Hey, I fully understand and deserve ur anger and disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz my friends and family out of this situation…,” Tom said in his March 5 post. “Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions. This was a very personal thing,” he continued. “Also, Schwartz & Sandy’s might have my name on it, but also there are 3 other partners and 20 employees, who especially rely on the restaurant for income for them and their families. … Please direct ur anger towards me and not them. They did nothing wrong.”
Since the scandal, Ariana has reportedly been leaning on her gal pals Lala Kent, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay, and former VPR star Kristen Doute for support. A person close to production revealed to Page Six that Ariana and Tom discussed the affair on-camera at their house, but Ariana “walked away from the conversation feeling like she was gaslit by Tom.” The insider also revealed that Tom used Ariana’s mental health as an “excuse” for why he didn’t come clean about his relationship with Raquel.