Rachel (formerly known as Raquel) Leviss is opening up to a former Bravo bombshell about overcoming her post-Scandoval scaries.
On Bethenny Frankel‘s iHeartPodcast Rewives, Leviss shared that she has “taken some time to reflect” on her actions, and feels she has “finally come to the place where it makes sense” to her since wrapping up her treatment in a mental health facility in Arizona.
“Part of the reason why I wanted to take some time away is just because it was so chaotic and loud and there was such vitriol online,” she explained. “But then the other part of the reason why I wanted to go to a treatment facility was to understand my behaviors,” which she noted were “choosing men that are unavailable” and “finding herself in unhealthy relationships.”
She told The Real Housewives of New York City alum that “in knowing that [she] needed to make a change, [she] first had to know what it was that leads to those behaviors,” which she learned was “love addiction.”
“It’s where you confuse intensity for intimacy,” she noted. “And those chemical changes in the brain are the same chemical changes that happen when you take drugs. So it is addictive, and it explains why I couldn’t stop seeing this person, but it also doesn’t excuse the fact that it happened. But now I know better.”
Leviss, whose affair with VPR co-star Tom Sandoval garnered the series two Emmy nominations and brought Bravo even more attention, spoke to Frankel in order to highlight “her case as an example of exploitation” within the reality TV realm.
Frankel has been extremely vocal about her desire to unionize reality TV personalities since the onset of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and has even joined forces with the latter union to work “toward the protection of the reality performers.” Frankel felt the post-Scandoval outrage toward Leviss “seemed disproportionate.”
“I was watching clips on social media and hearing about this Scandoval — that had a name, was being marketed and it was being pumped through the PR machine,” she said. “And I did say … ‘Everybody’s gonna be more well known than they were before because of this.’”
After noting that VPR is a reality show “set in a bar” and “fueled by alcohol and partying and multiple affairs,” Frankel asked, “So what respectfully, what the hell is the big deal that everyone’s talking about?”
“And your name [is] just an example of what I imagined to be somebody who had been exploited,” she continued. “And for the rest of your life, that content will be out there without compensation.”
Leviss deemed herself a “punching bag” in the mayhem and said she hasn’t “seen a single penny” of the profits, which she feels is “not fair.”
“I feel like I’ve been portrayed as the ultimate villain,” she shared. “My mistakes that I’ve made on camera live on forever. And you mentioned something about the addiction of doing reality TV and the way that they always dangle that carrot in front of you, like, ‘Well, you need to tell your side of the story otherwise it’s gonna be written for you.’ And that’s terrifying. So I almost went back, I know just because of that.”
Does “almost” mean no Rachel in Season 11? We’ll just have to wait and see.
The first 10 seasons of Vanderpump Rules are streaming on Peacock.