Cohen also went into depth about the red flags he had missed about her affair with Sandoval.
It was recently revealed that Raquel Leviss, a cast member on the reality TV show “Vanderpump Rules,” has been having an affair with Ariana Madix’s then-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval. With the harm she has caused, many have been left wondering if her continued appearance on the program is in jeopardy after this revelation.
With that, Bravo executive Andy Cohen decided to address this question during his SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live” on Monday whether he’s going to fire Raquel on the hit reality show. However, he said that he hadn’t worked on the aforementioned program since Season 6 or Season 7, then added that he now just handled reunions.
“I have no plans to do anything because I am no longer involved in ‘Vanderpump Rules’ besides being a huge fan and hosting the reunions,” he explained.
Meaning to say, the decision for Raquel’s firing is not totally up to Cohen’s hands despite fans’ outrage on social media, petitioning to remove her. Just like this one social media user who tweeted, “How is @RaquelLeviss going to continue on #PumpRules when not one person in the cast will be friends or have anything to do w/her?! Except Sandoval I guess. I hope they fire that evil b*tch!!!”
Another social media user shared the same sentiment, writing, “@RaquelLeviss- please quit Vanderoump Rules! After what you did to Adriana you do not deserve to be on the show. @BravoTV needs to remove Raquel! Even if Tom perused you, you knew he was in a relationship & you disregarded everything . You made the video on your own volition.”
“Somebody PLEASE fire Raquel. Building story lines off multiple women via their spouses/partners is pathetic. Time to show true support for Katie and Ariana. Underneath that dumb blonde routine was a conniving p.o.s. Who needs to go!” a third Twitter user stated.
Still, despite being unable to give a firm answer about Raquel’s future on the show, Cohen then went into depth about the red flags he admittedly missed about her affair with Sandoval starting with their interview with him on “Watch What Happens Live.”
If you recall, the former beauty queen and co-star Scheana Shay, also known to be one of Ariana’s best friends, appeared on “WWHL” together and in one segment, when asked who’s hotter between Tom Schwartz, whom Raquel is rumored to be linked with before the affair, or Tom Sandoval, the two tv personalities answered Sandoval.
And according to the host, Scheana confronted Raquel about her answer after the segment, revealing, “Scheana said to – I guess Scheana’s antenna was up – and Scheana said to Raquel, ‘You know I only picked Sandoval because I knew that you were gonna pick Schwartz,’ and Raquel said, ‘Well Sandoval has abs’ and kind of shrugged, so you know that was interesting.”
Cohen went on to explain that although he “didn’t think twice about it” at the time, he messaged Shay to find out more about their chat after learning about Raquel and Sandoval’s affair on Friday. Cohen would not, however, elaborate on what Shay had stated.
“I thought it was odd,” he added and later noted that he had observed a comparable atmosphere when Sandoval and Schwartz attended together on the premiere night. “There was some odd energy between them. Schwartz was looking at Sandoval the entire time –almost for guidance on answers.”
Not only that, but the Bravo executive further noted that Raquel and Ariana had both watched Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras perform at BravoCon in October, remarking, “I was at that show, and I’m standing there, and Raquel’s standing behind me, and Ariana’s in front of me, and you can see how they’re both looking at Sandoval. It’s wild.”
Lastly, when Cohen found out about Raquel and Sandoval’s affair, he experienced a range of emotions, but he mainly found the matter “disturbing,” “shocking,” and “upsetting.” He also said that Bravo has footage of the whole event, which will be released prior to the reunion, which is scheduled to shoot in two weeks.
As we previously reported, Tom and Raquel had been having an affair for several months before the infidelity scandal became public. And despite Tom’s long-term romance with Ariana, they apparently want to be together.
It was also reported that Ariana learned of the alleged infidelity on Wednesday last week in Los Angeles while she was at Tom’s performance with his band.
Both Ariana’s friend, Sandoval’s other ex, Kristen Doute and Scheana Shay, has come to her defenses after the cheating scandal made headlines. Kristen calls out Raquel after the latter’s new PR team strategy has been revealed, trying to make her appear as a victim, while reports have been alleged that Scheana gave the former beauty queen a black eye.
Ariana’s brother Jeremy also did the same thing by releasing a statement regarding their nasty affair, which Raquel’s ex-fiance, James Kennedy, did too.
So far, in this very controversial issue, only Sandoval was the first to break his silence. However, based on how Sandoval’s statement was written, it seems like other people urged him to speak out because it affects his family and business. But he did not choose to speak out and address the affair or show any remorse.
Reactions to Is Raquel Leviss' Future On "Vanderpump Rules" In Jeopardy After Affair Reveal?
I absolutely don’t think Raquel or Tom should be fired. If cheating were a factor for staying employed, most of the reality shows wouldn’t exist. Hello Jax, LaLa Schwartz, etc. We are not watching Sunday Mass.
I absolutely don’t think Raquel or Tom should be fired. If cheating were a factor for staying employed, most of the reality shows wouldn’t exist. Hello Jax, LaLa Schwartz, etc. We are not watching Sunday Mass. pic.twitter.com/2Gbvtqc8VQ
— Cheryl Grace (@FengShuiSimply) March 6, 2023
ARE YALL NUTS??? She just secured us two more seasons! #PumpRules
ARE YALL NUTS??? She just secured us two more seasons! #PumpRules https://t.co/eMb68Lffl9
— shboogies 🍸 (@shboogies) March 7, 2023