Tom Sandoval Said That the Message to Rachel Leviss on Her Birthday Was “Not Calculated”
On the October 5 edition of "Everybody Loves Tom," Tom Sandoval discussed his former co-star on "Vanderpump Rules," Rachel "Raquel" Leviss, with Jerry O'Connell. Sandoval pondered on his actions while recording the podcast episode and said he had an affair with Leviss during his engagement with his now ex-girlfriend, Ariana Madix. He said that when he wished Leviss a happy 29th birthday on Instagram, she promptly blocked him. In September of 2023, he claimed to have contacted the then-29-year-old because he was missing her. He said that he'd want the "Vanderpump Rules" audience to "go back to thinking of him a little bit more glass half full and less calculated."
Rachel was locked up in a facility so she could focus on finding herself. She quit all forms of social media and stopped talking to anybody in the Pump Rules cast. After a few months, she was back in the public eye and on social media. Tom was quick to respond in the first post she made to wish her a happy birthday. Despite widespread speculation that Tom was acting in a "calculated" manner to get publicity, he maintains that this was not the case. He confessed on the podcast, "I’m not a very like…wishing Rachel a happy birthday was not calculated. I f—ing miss her, you know? Like, I’m not that. I’m not a schemer like that. I don’t do that. I do like when it comes to like surprise parties and things like that, but, like, that’s not the way I spend my time and that’s not the way I choose to spend my time. Like, I like to live in the moment with people and experience awesome times and bond and f***** hug and, like, love."
According to E! News, after viewing Tom's message, Leviss posted to her Instagram Story to let her followers know that she had blocked him. The ex-reality star thanked her fans for their birthday greetings by posting a photo to her Instagram Story and writing, "Thank you for the bday wishes." Then she shared another Instagram Story in which she revealed that she blocked Sandoval on Instagram and said "Ok bye!" Sandoval expressed his disagreement with Leviss' Instagram Story in an interview aired on Extra TV. He said, "I think the power move is to mute people. That way, it's not like a thing… She posted on her Story… Doesn’t that seem petty? When you go away to a place where you are supposed to be working on yourself, bettering yourself, doesn’t that seem sort of like a step backward?"
This exchange represented a watershed point in Leviss and Sandoval's difficult history together. While shooting season 10 of Vanderpump Rules, the controversy broke, setting off a chain reaction of feelings and repercussions for those involved. It was announced in March that Sandoval and his girlfriend of nine years, Ariana Madix, had broken up when his clandestine affair with Leviss was exposed. After the incident occurred, both Leviss and Sandoval issued public apologies, and their misdeeds became a focal point of the season 10 three-part reunion special, which was recorded soon after 'Scandoval' broke.
