Raquel Leviss is feeling like her old self again — literally. According to a July 14 report by TMZ, the embattled Vanderpump Rules star, 28, has chosen to reclaim her birth name, Rachel. Sources with “direct knowledge” reportedly told the outlet that after being “very upset” by trolls resurrecting and weaponizing her birth name in the wake of Scandoval, she decided to own it. “Her therapists explained to her, her detractors had weaponized the name ‘Rachel’ to hurt her,” the outlet reported. “She came to realize, with the help of the therapists, that by taking the name back and embracing it … she neutralized the people who used it as a weapon,” sources for the outlet claimed.
The big move comes after the star ducked out of public life to receive treatment for two months at a mental health facility called The Meadows in Wickenberg, Arizona, per another July 14 TMZ report. According to them, she’s been out of the treatment facility for a week and has been staying at a friend’s place.
While the bill for the stay was reportedly “staggering,” hitting $200,000, an insider told the outlet after recently spending time with her that, “She is like a totally different person” after the transformative stay. The two months was apparently for “mental health and trauma therapy,” as opposed to rehab.
The reality personality’s stay in Arizona follows her shocking affair with Tom Sandoval literally rocked the cast of the Bravo hit. Dubbed “Scandoval,” the fallout included Tom’s breakup with longtime love Ariana Madix, a temporary restraining order against Scheana Shay, and a generally obsessive malcontent among the cast that culminated with the volatile three-part season 10 finale.
Raquel and Tom’s illicit relationship was exposed back in March, when Ariana discovered an explicit video on Tom’s phone. By April, things had seemingly come to head for Raquel, as a rep for the star confirmed to People that she was seeking treatment. “Raquel and her family decided before the relationship was discovered that she would enter a voluntary facility for mental health counseling,” the rep said at the time.