In one of the worst PR moves in celebrity history, renowned adulterer Tom Sandoval sat down with America’s Got Talent host Howie Mandel (who apparently has a podcast) to share his side of the Scandoval this week. The hour-long interview was mostly infuriating—and not just because Mandel seemingly knew nothing about the scandal playing out on Vanderpump Rules.
Sandoval made numerous excuses for his affair with his co-star Raquel Leviss, including accusing his ex-partner Ariana Madix of basically holding him hostage in their relationship. However, he did give Vanderpump Rules fans some important context for this week’s episode, in which he’s strangely invested in Leviss and Tom Schwartz’s budding romance.
Since the Scandavol broke, viewers have been wondering about the exact timeline of the affair, given that it had started while the show was filming. According to Sandoval in his recent interview, he and Leviss shared a kiss after Tom Schwartz’s “guys night” a few episodes ago. In Wednesday night’s episode, Sandoval is weirdly giddy (and maybe uncomfortable) about Schwartz and Leviss’s controversial kiss—to the point where Madix tells him that he’s being weird.
Schwartz also becomes surprisingly disinterested in Leviss after their makeout, which might have to do with knowledge of Sandoval and Leviss’ affair around this time. In a Watch What Happens Live interview last week, the restaurant owner said he discovered Leviss and Sandoval’s “one night stand” at the end of August. Scheana Shay’s wedding, which is depicted in this episode, took place on Aug. 23.
Suffice it to say, the most compelling part of this episode is the awkward dynamic between Scwhartz, Sandoval, and Leviss and not the Mexican wedding at hand—sorry, Scheana! After Leviss and Schwartz finish making out, Leviss meets Madix and Shay and delivers the news. Sandoval pops up and starts teasing Leviss like a 12-year-old boy. He even throws his and Schwartz’s hotel-room key at her before Madix tells him to stop.
In his recent podcast interview, Sandoval claimed that he wasn’t bothered by Schwartz and Leviss’ showmance and was excited that he would get more time to hang out with his secret lover. Schwartz, on the other hand, seems extremely uncomfortable following his and Leviss’ makeout, greeting her with high-fives and looking nervous around her. Still, it would’ve been nice if he’d had these hesitations before he embarrassed his ex-wife Katie Maloney in front of an entire wedding party.
Maloney spends most of the episode rightfully upset with Schwartz. And Lala Kent, who’s been ditching Shay’s pre-wedding events to avoid Leviss, is just as disturbed by the entire scenario. In fact, the mere discussion of Leviss’ behavior causes Kent to cry and dwell on her cheating ex Randall Emmett for maybe the 50th time this season. By the time Kent comes face-to-face with Leviss at the end of this episode, she has some fiery and even prophetic words for the 28-year-old.
In this final scene, we also get a glimpse of what Leviss’ explanations about the affair might sound like at the upcoming reunion. Based on this discussion, they’re probably not good! When Kent confronts Leviss about hurting Maloney, she responds, “I feel like there’s a million other things I could’ve done that would’ve been worse.” Yikes! This isn’t exactly how you express remorse. And according to Sandoval’s timeline, she is currently doing worse things than making out with Schwartz.
Kent also tells Leviss that she thinks her self-worth “comes from the approval of a man,” which Leviss eventually alluded to in her apology for the affair. Kent also tells her that she “has a mental breakdown coming.”
Based on Leviss’ casual conversation with TMZ, the reality star seems to be doing fine—or at least better than one would expect. Still, things will most certainly escalate on next week’s episode, where she goes on a date with Garcelle Beauvais’ married son. Bring on the chaos!
