Raquel Leviss returns to social media after confirming 'Vanderpump Rules' exit

Vanderpump Rules star Raquel Leviss has returned to social media after confirming she won't be returning for the Bravo reality series' next season.


On Saturday, September 9, Raquel uploaded her first personal and non-promotional post via Instagram since mid-February, which was shortly before "Scandoval" -- a term to describe Raquel's affair with Tom Sandoval behind her then-best friend Ariana Madix's back -- was publicly exposed in March.

"I've been dreaming of a place like this," Raquel, 28, captioned clips of herself walking through a flower farm and learning how to make floral arrangements with dahlias.

In the video, Raquel smiled at the camera as she explored a serene greenhouse at sunset.

Raquel had been in treatment at a mental health facility for three months before making her Instagram comeback.


She sought treatment in April amid the aftermath of her affair with Tom, which ultimately broke up Tom and Ariana's decade-long romantic relationship.

Many fans commented on Raquel's new post by reassuring her that everyone makes mistakes and they're rooting for her happiness and healing.

However, some trolls advised her to stop playing the victim, grow up, and take accountability for her actions.

Prior to Raquel's latest flower video, her only post since Valentine's Day was to promote an appearance on Bethenny Frankel's "ReWives" podcast a couple of months after Vanderpump Rules' Season 10 finale and reunion show had aired on Bravo.

"Thank you @bethennyfrankel for offering a space to speak so openly about everything," Raquel wrote on August 17 while keeping the comments turned off.


Raquel had also posted a public apology about her affair with Tom earlier this year, but she ultimately deleted it.

"I have sought emotional validation through intimate connections that are not healthy without regard for my own well-being, sometimes negatively affecting others and often prioritizing the intimate connection over my friendships," Raquel wrote via Instagram on March 8.

"I am taking steps to understand my behavior and make healthier choices."

She added in a second since-deleted post, "Knowing how many people we hurt, I need to understand my choices and learn to make better ones. I need to take care of my health, work on self growth and take time to be OK with being alone. I care for Tom and I don't want to label anything or predict what lies ahead. Right now I need to heal."

Vanderpump Rules star Lisa Vanderpump claimed on August 17 that there was "no point" in Raquel returning to the show, which began filming Season 11 earlier this summer.


"When she was in the facility, her team texted and emailed us. We wanted to make sure she was in a good place first and I was going to do a one-on-one with her," Lisa, 62, told TMZ, referring to Raquel's 90-day stint in rehab.

"She talked about [returning]. Her team reached out. But in the end, I think she decided not to."

And then Raquel confirmed on Bethenny's podcast that she had decided against starring on Vanderpump Rules again.

In fact, Raquel said returning to reality television is actually a big "hell no" for her.

"I refuse to not respect myself on that level where I would endure that emotional abuse any longer," Raquel said. "And I can't do that to myself."


Raquel said "of course" Vanderpump Rules producers wanted her back, but she noted how the footage probably wouldn't be great because she has "a no contact policy with every single cast member."

Raquel also shared how salary negotiations with Bravo were not in her favor. She alleged that Bravo was not willing to pay her "equally" to Tom and Ariana and she wants to feel love and validation.

"I asked for equal pay with Tom and Ariana and for them to reimburse me for my treatment expenses. They refused to pay me equally," Raquel said.

"I was considering going back if I was going to be paid equally, because I feel like when you pay your employees, it really shows how much you value them."

Lisa previously told TMZ that she believes Raquel was paid $361,000 for Season 10, but Us Weekly reported that people who have starred on the show for a longer period of time earn more.


Tom has been with the show since Season 1, and Ariana joined the cast for Season 2. Raquel, on the other hand, began making appearances on Season 5 and only became a full-time cast member on Season 9.

"I know that other people on the cast are more important than I am," Raquel concluded.

"So, I don't even think that I would get a redemption arc to be honest. I also know that I wouldn't be able to share all of my story. Whatever I share gets condensed to five minutes max."

Raquel shared that instead of returning to reality TV, there are "different options" for her to explore and she wants to focus on the "good" that she can do, teasing that a podcast may be in her future.

According to Us, Raquel was very apologetic for having slept with Tom and for hurting Ariana after news of the scandal broke. Raquel even previously expressed how she hated being secretive and so deceitful, sneaking around with Tom even around the time Ariana's grandmother passed away.

Looking back on her decade-long romance with Tom, Ariana shared with Glamour magazine in June, "I feel like I'm someone who craves intimacy outside of just penetrative sex, and that was something that I was deprived of for so long."


"As women, we might bring something up a bunch of times and then we just stop," Ariana continued.

"That's where I was at. I was like, 'I cannot keep nagging this man to want to come home and spend time with me.'"

Ariana went on to vent about how "so many men" in general feel "entitled" to a woman's body.

"[They act] entitled to sex because you're in a relationship with them," Ariana said. "I am not your Fleshlight. I spelled out what I needed, but hello. It's a two-person situation."

Ariana broke her silence about her breakup with Tom on NBC's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in May and revealed, "We do not interact on any level."

Ariana and Tom continued living in the same $2 million Los Angeles home after their split, but Ariana said they only communicated through "go betweens" and that her family "hates" him and Tom is "dead" to her brother.


Ariana also previously told Raquel that she's "dead" to her and their friendship is over. Ariana said Raquel seems "lost and empty" and she doesn't know who Raquel is anymore.

When asked what it would take for her to forgive Tom and Raquel, Ariana bluntly announced, "That's not happening."

But Ariana was apparently able to move on from the scandal quickly, as she began dating fitness coach Daniel Wai in mid-April.

While Ariana played coy about her love life on Watch What Happens Live, she teased to viewers, "I'll just say that I am very happy and very satisfied."

Meanwhile, Tom -- who claims he broke up with Ariana in February -- told TMZ in late April that he was "really happy" to see Ariana doing so well.

Tom also shared on the April 11 episode of the "Howie Mandel Does Stuff" podcast how his romance with Raquel started with a "magnetic" kiss last summer.


"I felt something that I hadn't felt in so long emotionally," Tom explained. "The feelings were something very, very strong."

Tom claimed that he had attempted to break up with Ariana once he realized he had strong feelings for Raquel.

"Like many relationships, it felt like it became more of like a best friends, family [thing] -- sometimes roommates," Tom continued.

"There were a lot of ways where the relationship was just lacking the intimacy, the connection. We would travel more by ourselves than we would together. I would go to weddings by myself."

Tom said he was seeing and FaceTiming with Raquel "as often" as he could," even though that "sounds horrible."

"And Ariana didn't even notice because that's just how separate our lives were," Tom claimed. "I had to actually tell her, 'How have you not noticed how distant I've been lately?'"


Ariana apparently believes Tom even had sex with Raquel in one of their guest rooms while she was sleeping in their bed.







About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski