‘It’s All Happening!’: Inside the #Scandoval That Shook the Bravoverse
Let's take a look at the alleged affair that's got Bravo fans hoping two Vanderpump Rules stars "rawt in hail."
EntertainmentTV
On Wednesday, the G/O Media offices received a special visit from Vanderpump Rules stars Scheana “Good as Gold” Shay and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss as they promoted the popular series’ newest season. The former gifted me a pair of false eyelashes from her brand, Viva Verano; Leviss told my colleague she looked “cute” in the bathroom; and it all felt like the best days of our lives. That was until some 48 hours later…
On Friday, TMZ broke the news that their fellow castmate, restauranteur, and aspiring musician Tom Sandoval had allegedly cheated on his partner, fellow castmate and mixologist Ariana Madix, of nine years with none other than…Leviss! Naturally, given Vanderpump Rules is a long-running series on the network with a cult-like following and its ensemble cast are actually friends, there was instantaneous bedlam in the Bravoverse. But what’s become known about the alleged affair, dubbed #Scandoval, in the following days? Well, let’s just say it’s the stuff of network history.
Given the conflicting reports and outpouring of reactions—including that of Bravo superfans Chrissy Teigen and Chrishell Stause—it’s only right that we try and make sense of it all. Keep up!
Even though Madix promptly deleted her Instagram in the immediate wake of the TMZ report, her castmates quickly rushed to her defense on the platform. In a since-deleted Instagram post, Leviss’ ex, James Kennedy, wrote: “Hope you all feel as sick as I do. This explains everything.” Lala Kent then chimed in, commenting: “I’ve been telling y’all! Everyone said I was a ‘bully.’ It’s called YOU TRIGGER ME AND I SEE YOU FOR WHO YOU ARE! I’ve known these to are disgusting from the jump.” Madix’s brother, Jeremy, who’s appeared on the show, also had some thoughts…
The night the news broke, former castmate Kristen Doute and current members of the ensemble Katie Maloney and Shay were photographed arriving at the home Madix and Sandoval once shared (with bottles of wine in tow), as #TeamAriana began spreading across social media.
And as only she could, Kent showed her allegiance to Madix another way: vowing to “torch” Sandoval and Leviss via Instagram video. “This is so fun, I usually don’t get involved but now I am activated,” Kent told her followers. “I am activated as fuck. Now that I have consent from Ariana… blowtorch, gasoline, grenade launcher, it’s all ready.” Sandoval, meanwhile, played a gig with his cover band in Anaheim and reportedly fielded “cheater!” chants from the audience.
On Saturday, TMZ posted another bulletin, claiming Madix discovered the alleged “full-on affair” after finding explicit video from Leviss on her partner’s phone, which culminated in a confrontation. Though there have been conflicting reports, Page Six reported that after Shay and Leviss taped Watch What Happens Live—just hours after Jezebel’s interview with the pair—Madix allegedly called Leviss and confronted her about the video, to which the former pageant girl confirmed she and Sandoval had been carrying on behind her back for a while. How long? Months, allegedly.
“This has been going on for upwards of 6 months—all the while, Tom was sleeping next to Ariana in bed,” a source told People. “She was completely blindsided by this; devastated doesn’t even scratch the surface of how she feels.”
It gets messier: The rumor, according to DeuxMoi and seemingly substantiated via Leviss’ sister on Twitter, is that Shay—a longtime Madix ally—was so enraged upon finding out about the alleged affair that she allegedly gave Leviss a black eye.
