Rachel ‘Raquel’ Leviss Reveals She’s 1 Year Sober Following Scandoval: ‘Huge Accomplishment’
Vanderpump Rules alum Rachel “Raquel” Leviss is continuing to focus on her health one year after her affair with former costar Tom Sandoval made headlines.
"I am almost a year sober. I'll be a year sober on Wednesday," Leviss, 29, told E! News at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday, April 1. "So, it's a huge accomplishment. And I'm just really proud of how far I've come."
Leviss has also been “staying really active” in an effort to keep her mind from “spinning” as she keeps her social media usage under control. The former Bravo star said she unfollowed several accounts "except for a select few that are a little bit more biased towards my side, because I like to at least know that my voice is being heard."
Her podcast, “Rachel Goes Rogue,” is another outlet for the model to take her “power back” after Scandoval led to her quitting Vanderpump Rules.
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"Just sharing what I've learned about myself through this journey," she said. "And hopefully helping other people who have been through abusive relationships, toxic friend groups, that can relate to what I'm talking about."
Leviss is looking ahead but almost came face-to-face with her past at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, as Katie Maloney also attended the event. It seems the former costars narrowly missed an awkward reunion at the awards show and they were not seen in close proximity during the Los Angeles event.
Leviss walked away from Bravo following season 10 of Pump Rules. The season was extended when news of Leviss’ affair with Sandoval, 40, made headlines in March 2023. Sandoval’s nine-year relationship with Ariana Madix ended in the wake of the scandal. Leviss and Sandoval initially remained together, but Leviss broke things off after a 90-day stint in a mental health facility.
Sandoval and Leviss have both made many comments about the situation, as did the rest of the Vanderpump Rules cast when Sandoval and Madix returned for season 11. Lala Kent accused Sandoval of manipulating Leviss during their whirlwind romance before digging into him further.
“You know what triggered me was when she said [during the final part of the season 10 reunion], ‘If I don’t fall in line with Sandoval then I have nobody,’” Kent, 33, recalled of Leviss’ statements when the cast sat down for the reunion. “You isolate. You groom. You lie. I do not want to know you. You are scary.”
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Leviss resurfaced Kent’s quotes during a March episode of her podcast.
“If I am going to be completely honest, I do feel like I have been groomed because I was in a very vulnerable state of mind,” Leviss said about her ex. “I just got out of a relationship [with James Kennedy] that I feel like was very destructive to my wellbeing. He witnessed that whole thing play out. Things started shifting when we went to Coachella and he really went out of his way to cater to me.”
