Ariana, Tom Hit Back At Rachel Leviss Lawsuit, ‘Grooming’ Allegations On Vanderpump Rules Reunion

During Part 1 of the three-part Vanderpump Rules reunion, host Andy Cohen grilled the pair on all things Rachel, including the revenge porn lawsuit she filed against them and comments made about them and the show in general on her podcast — this after Leviss chose not to return to the Bravo series.

“I always encouraged her to take some time away from everybody, including myself, and come to her decision that way,” Sandoval, who reportedly split from Rachel last May, said of her exit, before labeling her a “f–king coward.”

“Looking back, I think she’s a f–king coward. Like, I’m sorry to say it,” he said. “And I think her sitting here preaching to everybody that she’s moving on but still talking relentlessly about me and everybody [on her podcast] is just f–king ridiculous.”

Cohen then specifically asked about Leviss saying on her podcast that she felt “groomed” by Sandoval, because she was in “a very vulnerable state of mind” after splitting from James Kennedy.

“Which is beyond f–king slander, considering she is not underage. That implies pedophilia,” Sandoval said.

“No it doesn’t,” Lala Kent interjected. “It’s taking someone who is younger than you and more impressionable than you and someone who is at a higher level of power than the other person.”

Sandoval hit back, exclaiming, “I was very impressionable when she took all her clothes off and jumped in my f–king pool.” With that comment, Madix dropped her head into her hands.

Katie Maloney said that it didn’t seem like Rachel was “taking a lot of responsibility” for her actions, while Tom Schwartz said Leviss was “conniving,” “ruthless in her pursuit of pleasure” and “not a victim.” Added Sandoval: “She pursued this, as did I.”

Talk then shifted to the revenge porn lawsuit Leviss filed against both Sandoval and Madix. While neither Tom or Ariana could comment directly on the ongoing litigation, Scheana Shay jumped in to defend her friend.

“They can’t answer it, it’s ridiculous,” said Shay. “Ariana didn’t send that video to anyone, she did not distribute it, it is so ridiculous she is being put through this s–t again, as if Rachel didn’t put her through enough last year.”

Ariana simply said she didn’t understand why she was being targeted, as she had “never done anything” to Leviss.” Sandoval agreed, saying, “It’s one thing to come after me, but to come after Ariana, I’m questioning if she has a f–king soul, it’s like insane.”

“She doesn’t [have a soul],” Katie said, before James added he was just “over it” all. Of course, as Andy pointed out, Kennedy was the one who brought Rachel into the group in the first place — a comment which made him apologize to the rest of the cast.

Both Tom and Ariana addressed some other lingering issues between them, starting with their living situation. While they couldn’t comment on the ongoing legal drama over their shared home, Madix did confirm she’s been living in an Airbnb in New York.

Cohen then brought up how Sandoval was accused of “weaponizing” Ariana’s suicidal ideation on the show, after he claimed he couldn’t break up with Madix because she threatened to kill herself. He didn’t think he weaponized anything, defending himself by saying, “I brought it up because I felt that it was used against me in a very textbook, manipulation tactic.” He also said he “didn’t believe it.”

Lisa Vanderpump explained it was seen as a dirty move because while he put his own suicidal ideation onto the show, Madix hadn’t done the same — and Tom was the one who mentioned it on camera.

After Tom said he didn’t believe the threats of suicide, Scheana said that if he really wanted to “call bulls–t” on Madix, he could have “walked out the f–king door,” instead of cheating on Ariana with Rachel.

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress.

As the reunion went on, Tom attempted to explain his comments comparing his situation to that of George Floyd and O.J. Simpson — saying he was simply “talking about the absurdity” regarding the media attention Scandoval was getting. “I thought of big things in news,” he added, “Obviously, they’re way bigger, they’re parts of movements.”

“I’m seeing the scandal sandwiched between the f–king war in Ukraine … this is stupid,” he added. “Why is CNN talking about a cheating scandal on a guilty pleasure reality show?”

The two exes then spoke about their new relationships, Ariana’s with Daniel Wai and Tom’s with model Victoria Lee.

Madix said she and Daniel still aren’t living together and she has her own place when she goes to NYC, where he lives full time. It doesn’t seem like they’re planning to move in together anytime soon, as she said, “It would be nice to be bi-coastal.”

She was also asked whether getting into a new relationship helped her get over everything with Tom.

“I think it’s going to be a very long time before I’m gonna be fully processed through all those things and I don’t want to put my life on hold for some day I might be ‘fully healed,'” said Ariana.

Tom, meanwhile, said his dating life with Victoria was “going great,” adding that she “doesn’t watch the show,” and has her own successful career and house. He also acknowledged that she dated Leonardo DiCaprio “a while ago,” before James brought up how Tom and Ariana have wallpaper in their home showing Leo leaving the Chateau Marmont with a model.

The final segment of the reunion focused on Ariana’s relationships with some of her costars, namely Lala and Katie, throughout the season.

When asked whether seeing Lala interact with Sandoval made her “want to take a step back” from Kent, Ariana admitted she didn’t actually watch any of the season.

“Previous seasons, I would watch everything. This one, I felt like I did not want to get dragged back to this time in my life when I felt like I was really trying to live in the present and focus on the future,” she explained.

That being said, she added that Lala was very upfront with her in person about wanting to work through some things involving Sandoval.

Kent then threw everyone for a loop when she called out Katie for apparently venting her frustrations with Ariana to her in private, but not doing the same on camera. According to Lala, Katie said Ariana “had basically abandoned you and the sandwich shop,” and claimed Maloney said Madix “wasn’t caught up on her rent with the sandwich shop.”

Katie did admit to feeling a little slighted when Ariana took off to Broadway to star in Chicago without them really talking about it, but otherwise didn’t cop to any smack talk behind Madix’s back.

“Why when the cameras go up am I suddenly the enemy when I’m talking about the same s– we’ve talked about on the phone?” exclaimed Lala. “There were a few people sitting up here who were living in the comments section,” she added, accusing Katie, Scheana and James specifically for not wanting to ruffle any feathers with Ariana, after seeing she was the new “fan favorite.”

“You wanted me to throw her under the bus about how mad I was. I’m not doing that,” said Katie, defending herself, before the episode ended without them really solving anything.

The 3-part reunion will continue next Tuesday on Bravo.