We’ve finally reached September on Vanderpump Rules, which means it’ll be another six months before Tom Sandoval‘s affair with Raquel Leviss is exposed. But in the April 25 episode, cast members already started becoming suspicious of Sandoval’s new close relationship with James Kennedy‘s ex. In fact, after Ally Lewber saw Sandoval and Raquel dancing together at The Abbey, Katie Maloney may or may not have questioned whether Sandoval and Ariana Madix were an open relationship. Confused? Let us explain.
#WWHL host @Andy counts down the TOP 5 #PumpRules moments from this week's episode that left us cringing in retrospect. pic.twitter.com/6JHxyytF0T
— WWHL (@BravoWWHL) April 27, 2023
After Ally saw Sandoval and Raquel at The Abbey — without Ariana — she told Lala Kent, Katie and Kristina Kelly about it. Ally then went back to boyfriend James and told him that Katie said something about Sandoval and Ariana not having any “rules” for each other. James and Ally both suspected that that could’ve meant they’re in an open relationship, but they weren’t one hundred percent sure, so James told Ally to take the information to Scheana Shay. Not only is Scheana good friends with both Ariana and Raquel, but she “loves gossip”, James said.
So that’s what Ally did, but unfortunately for her, Scheana clapped back at any sort of assumption that Sandoval and Ariana would be in an “open relationship”. And she further defended Raquel, saying Raquel would never hook up with Sandoval behind Ariana’s back. Ally then asked Scheana if she’d trust her husband, Brock Davies, with Raquel or if she’d be okay with them dancing alone together at The Abbey at 1am, and Scheana said she’s trust Brock to be in the same bed with Raquel — even if she wasn’t present. (WHAT?! Watch those cringeworthy moments in the Twitter video above.)
The next day, James planned a beach day for everyone, and that’s where Scheana decided to tell Sandoval what the group’s been saying about him. Ariana wasn’t present because her grandmother passed away, and she left LA to be with family. We’re not quite sure why Sandoval didn’t go with her, but he spent most of the episode talking about how he and Ariana have been having issues, so maybe that’s why.
Anyway, Scheana told Sandoval that people — specifically, Katie — were insinuating that he and Ariana were in an “open relationship”. He denied it, but then joked that if it were true, he’d want Scheana and Brock to come over to his house for some fun. Way to deflect, buddy! Then, after everyone got pretty drunk, Scheana and Sandoval asked Katie to explain herself and why she made up the rumor about an “open relationship”. But she was super confused because she said she never claimed such a thing. She only said that Sandoval and Ariana don’t put leashes on each other — she didn’t mean Sandoval and Ariana were in an open relationship. Still, Sandoval was pissed and he told Katie that she never takes accountability for anything. But instead of focusing on the rumor at hand that stemmed from his private hangout with Raquel, he started jabbing Katie about her split from Tom Schwartz. Again, major deflecting. But what was interesting when producers asked Sandoval, point blank, if he and Raquel had been “physical” with each other, he said “no”. He then said “nothing” has ever happened between him and Raquel.
#VanderpumpRules Season 10, Episode 12 SNEAK PEEK 2. All new, Tonight 9/8c on @Bravotv. (Source @Bravotv @NBCUniversal) #PumpRules pic.twitter.com/cIISX2fUrR
— OMFGRealityTV (@OMFGRealityTV) April 26, 2023
It’s not clear when Tom’s confessional was filmed, but this week’s episode took place in the beginning of September since that’s when Ariana’s grandmother passed away. Either way, we already know Sandoval and Raquel hooked up before Scheana’s wedding, so if we’re being honest, it doesn’t really matter when the confessional was filmed — Sandoval was lying either way.
Want more? New episodes of Vanderpump Rules air Wednesdays at 9pm on Bravo.