Tom Sandoval Says He Is Ready to Take the Public’s Hatred for the “Long Haul”

Since it was discovered that Tom Sandoval cheated on his long-term girlfriend Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss , who he co-stars with on “Vanderpump Rules,” Sandoval and Leviss have been at the heart of one of reality television’s largest scandals. The declared scandal resulted in unprecedented viewership for the Bravo series and the show’s first Emmy nominations. While promoting the second season of Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, Sandoval tells People about all the backlash he still faces due to the scandal.

He said, “I would say that it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better, and don’t think for a second, ‘Oh, give it a week, give it a couple weeks, whatever. No, this stuff stays with you for a while. I’m in this for the long haul. I know it.” He also addressed the upcoming 11th season and commented, “This season for Vanderpump Rules will definitely be very hard [to watch] and was really hard to film.” He further added, “I’m really excited about this show because I feel like you’re going to see a different side to everyone. One thing that was really great about doing this show that I didn’t see coming was the inspiration and stuff that I got from just hearing people’s stories and the hardships that they’ve gone through in their own lives. That really puts things in perspective and sometimes it can help rearrange your priorities in life and what’s really important.”

Raquel’s absence from the upcoming eleventh season of Vanderpump Rules seems to be official at this point. According to Entertainment Tonight , the reality star also admitted herself to a mental health institution for a period of one hundred days. The insider confirmed to the outlet, “Rachel will not be returning for season 11 of Vanderpump Rules . There was a possibility up until recently she’d be returning for the new season, but ultimately decided against it. Rachel is focused on her mental health journey and knew going back to the show would open her up to trauma she’s been working on healing. Rachel is looking forward to what the future holds for her.” She discussed her name change and what it was like to be a “punching bag” during the firestorm of season 10 on the Just B with Bethenny Frankel podcast. She confessed to Bethenny, “I haven’t seen a single penny, It’s not fair. 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.” Leviss was referring to not taking any more compensation from the network after the publicity surrounding her infidelity incident with Tom and Ariana Madix.

Tom Sandoval recently fully embraced his villain persona by calling his ex “thirsty and immature” for barring him on social media. According to Sandoval’s statement to Variety , he was “just wish[ing] her a happy birthday” and that Leviss’ decision to announce on her Instagram stories that she had blocked him was “immature” and “thirsty.” He said, “I just wished her a happy birthday. I didn’t think she had a lot of people reach out to her, so I wanted to. I mean, if she’s working on herself, I think it’s a little immature — it’s a little thirsty — to post that.”