Rachel Leviss Claims Tom Sandoval 'Wore Down My Defenses' in Revenge Porn Lawsuit, Recalls 'Isolation' After James Kennedy Split
Rachel Leviss claimed Tom Sandoval "wore down [her] defenses" after she was left "isolated" by her breakup with James Kennedy, according to an emotional letter she penned in her revenge porn case.
July 2 2024, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Former Vanderpump Rules star Rachel Leviss claimed her ex-fling Tom Sandoval "wore down [her] defenses" after she was left "isolated" by her breakup with James Kennedy, according to an emotional letter she penned in her revenge porn case.
RadarOnline.com obtained a copy of the new statement Leviss submitted to the court, which detailed her version of the events that prompted her to sue Sandoval and his ex-girlfriend, Ariana Madix.
The suit stemmed from the infamous seven-month-long affair between Leviss and Sandoval — coined "Scandoval" — that shocked Bravo fans when the news broke in March of last year. Madix, 39, said she had no idea her live-in boyfriend of nine years had been cheating on her until she found erotic videos of Leviss, 29, on Sandoval's phone.
Leviss sued her former costars this past February, accusing Sandoval, 41, of recording FaceTime videos showing her "in a state of undress and masturbating" without her "knowledge or consent," and alleging Madix "distributed them and/or showed them to others."
Rachel Leviss may drag Vanderpump Rules execs into her explosive revenge porn lawsuit against Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix.
Madix demanded the suit be tossed earlier this month and denied sharing any explicit videos of Leviss with third parties. She also recently filed a motion to have her name stricken from the lawsuit under the anti-SLAPP statute, which protects Californians from litigation that violates their rights to free speech.
In response, Leviss' powerhouse legal team argued that her lawsuit was not "an attack on [Madix's] right to speak freely about matters of public concern," as the defendant claimed. They also argued Madix's conduct "cannot be protected by the anti-SLAPP statute because it was illegal."
On June 28, Leviss submitted a declaration to the court to support her argument against the anti-SLAPP motion, calling Madix "a principal contributor to my emotional distress."
In her letter, the model described her experiences from the time she first appeared on the reality show in 2016, while dating Kennedy, 32, and the subsequent events that left her "in an extremely dark and scary place mentally."
"After breaking off my engagement to Kennedy, I became increasingly isolated," she wrote. Following her split from the DJ in late 2021, Leviss "began to confide in Sandoval," and the pair "became increasingly close."
Leviss filed her lawsuit against Sandoval and Ariana Madix in February.
Leviss said she "began to rely on [Sandoval] for emotional support" while "he, in turn, began to confide in me about the dire state of his relationship with Madix, describing it as a business partnership and casting its end as foregone."
"I viewed Sandoval as a close confidante and friend and our relationship as platonic," she continued, "It became increasingly clear, however, that Sandoval had different intentions."
"By the Summer of 2022, Sandoval had worn down my defenses," Leviss wrote, saying they "started sleeping together in August and continued doing so through the early months of 2023."
The secret couple "regularly communicated" through FaceTime, "sometimes sexually," she said, noting that these conversations were "confidential." Leviss characterized the calls as "private communications reflecting a clandestine affair."
However, recordings were allegedly captured around February 2023 while she was "in a private residence," Leviss said.
"Sandoval never asked my permission to record them, and I was not aware he was doing so," she claimed, "Had he asked, I would have said no. If I had known he had done so anyway, I would have been furious and demanded he delete them."
Leviss first appeared on Vanderpump Rules in 2016 while dating Kennedy.
"Under no circumstances would I have consented to being recorded," she insisted, adding, "Given Sandoval's apparent practice of secretly recording me, I have every reason to believe that he captured additional compromising videos and/or images of me."
After Madix discovered the videos, she sent Leviss three text messages on March 1, 2023. The first two were video recordings and the third read, "you are DEAD TO ME."
"I reacted to Madix's messages with shock and alarm," Leviss recalled. While admitting that she "was not surprised" at her costar's anger, she said the fact that Madix now had access to the explicit videos "made an already difficult situation decidedly worse."
"It is not just that Madix had discovered the recordings and confronted me about their contents. If that were all that happened, Madix would not have been named in this lawsuit."
Leviss wrote that she had "every reason to believe" that Madix "showed the recordings to others, describing the cast member as "bent on revenge."
"What I do know is that I was utterly terrified of Madix's intentions, and her actions (as acknowledged by her) caused me extreme emotional distress."
Madix and Sandoval broke up last March after nine years together, when Madix discovered raunchy videos of their co-star on his phone.
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Shortly afterward, Leviss claimed, "Sandoval admitted that he recorded me without my consent and apologized (sheepishly) for having done so."
The ordeal left her mental health "in absolute shambles," Leviss wrote, "and I knew that I needed urgent psychological help."
She spent three months in a mental health facility following the scandal, and claimed her treatment cost more than $115k.
Leviss is seeking damages and injunctive relief from her two former costars, claiming they caused her "catastrophic psychological harm."
A hearing to discuss Madix's anti-SLAPP motion is scheduled for July 11.
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