Ariana Madix 'Knew' About Scandoval and Plot Saved Her From 'Chopping Block,' Raquel Leviss Charges in Explosive Lawsuit
Raquel Leviss sued Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval on Thursday.
Feb. 29 2024, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Ariana Madix was allegedly aware of her boyfriend Tom Sandoval's affair months before the news of Scandoval broke — and so was the rest of the Vanderpump Rules cast, at least, according to Raquel Leviss. RadarOnline.com obtained Leviss' explosive lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Thursday against Madix and Sandoval.
In the documents, she claimed Madix "knew about it [the affair] as early as Fall of 2022" and "desperately" needed the plot twist because she was allegedly "on the chopping block."
The news of Scandoval broke in March 2023, but Raquel claimed the "affair was, in fact, well-known to many cast members," allegedly including Ariana.
Leviss said she "began sleeping" with Ariana's boyfriend of nine years "on or about August 10, 2022," adding their affair continued "as Sandoval's relationship with Madix further deteriorated."
The ex-Vanderpump Rules star alleged that "although, purportedly secret, the affair was, in fact, well-known to many cast members and suspected by others" as she and Sandoval "were not particularly discrete."
She claimed Madix was tuned into her sexual relationship with Sandoval.
"Leviss is informed and believes, and on such information and belief alleges, that Madix knew about it as early as the Fall of 2022," she charged in the lawsuit, citing that "in December of 2022, Madix scolded Leviss and Sandoval for being handsy in public, admonishing them to save the story for Season 11."
Raquel claimed Ariana was on the "chopping block" and 'Vanderpump Rules' was on the verge of being canceled pre-Scandoval.
Leviss claimed that at the time, Vanderpump Rules was "facing an uncertain future" as the show had "grown stale."
"Madix, in particular, was reportedly on the chopping block," the docs read. "In the absence of a sticky new storyline, there is every reason to believe Vanderpump Rules would have been canceled."
Leviss said, "Madix was aware of these pressures as Sandoval, and both were heavily invested financially and reputationally in the show remaining on the air," adding, "By extension, if their relationship was already on the rocks and if Sandoval was intent on brazenly carrying out an illicit affair with another cast member, they had every incentive to leverage these salacious threads into the storyline Vanderpump Rules so desperately needed."
She said that Ariana and Tom were "heavily invested financially and reputationally in the show remaining on the air."
As RadarOnline.com reported, Leviss sued her ex-friend and former lover for revenge porn, eavesdropping, and invasion of privacy on Thursday.
She alleged Sandoval recorded the illicit videos of her that Madix found on his phone in March 2023 "without her knowledge or consent," and Ariana "distributed them and/or showed them to others."
Leviss also expressed concern there might be more footage of her, claiming that "given Sandoval's apparent practice of secretly recording their video calls, Leviss has every reason to assume there are additional illicit videos and/or photographs of her that she has not yet soon."
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Raquel noted that while her affair with Tom "injected life into Vanderpump Rules," it also caused "mayhem" in her own life.
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Leviss claimed that while Scandoval "injected life into Vanderpump Rules," it also caused "mayhem in Leviss’s life, culminating in months-long in-patient treatment at a mental health facility and her departure from the show."
She added, "Fomented by Bravo and Evolution in conjunction with the cast, Leviss was subjected to a public skewering with little precedent and became, without exaggeration, one of the most hated women in America."
Leviss is suing for unspecified damages.
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Sandoval and Madix's reps for comment.
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