Rachel Leviss is revealing it all in her first one-on-one sit-down interview regarding her affair with Tom Sandoval when he was dating Ariana Madix. She previously spoke about the affair on Vanderpump Rules reunion was taped in March.
Leviss spilled the latest update regarding her relationship with the reality show Bethenny Frankel's ReWives podcast. Leviss who is no longer returning for season 11 of the Bravo reality show said that she “almost went back” because she wanted to share her side of the story.
“And I feel like a toddler saying, ‘It's not fair!' But it really isn't. And I feel like I've been portrayed as the ultimate villain. My mistakes that I've made on-camera live on forever,” she explained.
After the drama that followed last season, Leviss voluntarily checked herself into a mental health rehabilitation center which she admitted her parents footed the bill due to her alleged low salary from the reality show.
“And one of the things that producers also told me is you get paid based off of your performance from the season prior, so that already set me up to want to perform well,” Leviss explained of her mindset last year. “‘If this could be my season, I could really stand out.'” She quipped: “I took direction well.”
Frankel added, “It's my understanding that you get paid in a year less than my interns get paid.”
“Really?” Leviss asked Frankel.
“Yeah,” Frankel responded.
One of the misconceptions that Leviss wants to clear up is that she was “best friends” with Madix before the affair with Sandoval.
“We were acquaintances who became friends through the show,” she explained, calling Madix “sweet.” “We never had a deep conversation that I would have with a best friend.”
However, Leviss still felt bad for how everything went down. “It's painful to think that I hurt her in this way because that wasn't my intention,” she said. “I wasn't trying to be a malicious person, I just got wrapped up in this and wasn't thinking clearly, but we were not best friends.”
“Part of me says, good for you, because take advantage of these opportunities while they come your way,” Leviss said. “But it is hurtful to me just to think that — my nature is very kind and forgiving and understanding of other people, so the concept of me being the ultimate reality TV villain just blows my mind.”
Leviss also claimed that how Sandoval and Madix were portrayed as a loving “authentic” couple was false.
“I would not be involved in this affair, secrecy-type of situation if I thought there was longevity in this relationship between Tom and Ariana,” she claimed. “The people closest to them can see their relationship hasn't been what they portray on camera. Tom always told me, like, they're a brand, they're an image, they work together to make brand deals and they're business partners.”
Leviss added, “They're a duo on the show and they utilize that for the success of their brand or image”
“I don't know their situations, but I do know it isn't really that surprising that they're living together in my eyes because it's been this way. They haven't been an authentic couple, romantic, intimate [couple],” she said.