Vanderpump Rules returned to Bravo on Tuesday night, but fans who were hoping for a healthy dose of Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval may have found themselves disappointed by the premiere of VPR Season 11.
As we’ve previously reported, Raquel will not be returning to the show that made her famous.
Tom will be back eventually, but he was mostly absent from Tuesday’s installment, appearing only briefly at the end after returning from a trip to New Zealand.
(Sandoval was busy filming Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, the Fox series on which he broke down in tears while discussing his affair with Leviss.)
But while neither of them got involved in last night’s onscreen drama, both Tom and Raquel managed to make their feelings known.
In a new interview with Nick Viall, Sandoval blasted Ariana Madix for allegedly fixating on their failed relationship.
In fairness to Ariana, she and Tom still live in the same home, a fact that probably makes it pretty difficult for her to forget about him and move on.
Raquel Leviss: Tom Sandoval Used Me!
Ariana hasn’t bothered to clap back at Tom, but another former flame of Sandoval’s is speaking out against him.
In the latest episode of her “Rachel Goes Rogue” podcast, Raquel/Rachel hinted that there might be some truth to the rumors that Tom orchestrated the “Scandoval” affair in order to drum up ratings for Vanderpump Rules.
“The thought has crossed my mind, like did Tom mastermind this?” Leviss said, according to In Touch.
“He is known to self-produce and all he has is this show, and the success of this show equals longevity in his career. He’s over 40 now and this is his life, this is his main income.”
Raquel Leviss: Tom Sandoval Had a Master Plan
Raquel went on to allege that Tom had mapped out a future in which his relationship with Raquel would be a central storyline in VPR’s eleventh season.
“When we did have conversations like, ‘How is this going to play out?’ He said, ‘We can be together next season,’” Raquel said.
“I think he had his motivation behind it that really escalated the situation. Whereas if it wasn’t a reality TV show and we weren’t all filming, I wonder if it would be like this.”
This isn’t the first time that the possibility of Tom using Raquel to drum up free publicity has been suggested.
When news of the Scandoval first went public, Vanderpump Rules looked to be on its way out.
The show’s lackluster ninth season was its least watched by a wide margin, and the viewers who did tune in were quick to criticize the new VPR as a tedious husk of its former self.
Even Vanderpump Rules executive producer Alex Baskin has admitted that Tom and Raquel’s affair saved the series.
“The timing of (Scandoval) happened to have been perfect. We were coming off a really tough ninth season and we had the cast firings before the season and there was a low energy season during the pandemic,” Baskin explained in a recent interview.
“To the network’s credit, they gave us another run at it and we had a resurgence anyway.”
Yes, the timing of the Scandoval was perfect — some would say a little too perfect.
Baskin never went so far as to accuse Tom of orchestrating the affair for publicity purposes — but he seems well aware that that’s a distinct possibility.
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