Ever since Scandoval made headlines last month, one of the biggest questions on many fans and Vanderpump Rules cast members’ minds have been: how did everyone miss the obvious signs of the affair between Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss?!
As you know, A LOT of clues about their relationship have come to light, especially as new episodes of season 10 of the Bravo reality series roll out each week. Between the scene where Sandoval grabbed Raquel’s butt and Ally Lewber’s confession about their “weird” interaction at The Abbey in August 2022, it is wild that no one realized that these two were carrying out an affair behind Ariana Madix’s back!
Related: Ariana Jokes About Being In ‘Throuple’ With Sandoval & Raquel In VPR Deleted Scene!
But Scheana Shay seems to have a theory about why Raquel and Sandoval’s secret romance did not come out for a long time! During her Scheananigans podcast on Friday, the 37-year-old said that she and other cast members did not become suspicious of them due to one reason: the group’s close relationship. She explained:
“I’m sure a lot of you caught last week where Sandoval slapped Raquel’s ass behind mine and Ariana [Madix]’s back. … Oh, my God, it’s so cringe, like, how did we not see it? It was in front of our face. It was behind our back. It was right there. But in this friend group that is obviously incestual at times, this friend group has so much love, and when we’re drinking or whatever, everyone is just extra lovey-dovey and cuddly.”
“Incestual at times.” That’s for sure!
The Vanderpump Rules crew is certainly no stranger to cheating scandals. Who can forget Scheana’s affair with Brandi Glanville’s ex-husband Eddie Cibrian and Jax Taylor cheating on Stassi Schroeder in Vegas or hooking up with Kristen Doute while she was still with Sandoval? Really, who can forget Jax’s cheating ways in general? This group has a long history of being messy AF, and somehow most of them managed to remain friends throughout their drama over the years.
But considering Sandoval’s huge betrayal is hitting hard for the cast after everything they know now about his sordid affair with Raquel, many of them are cutting ties with the duo! Basically, Sandoval is not the number one guy in the group…
Although Lala Kent and Katie Maloney have seen the group’s closeness “as very odd — and I’m sure a lot of people from the outside see it as very odd,” the Good as Gold singer trusted them and “never” questioned their interactions. In fact, even Ariana did not second guess it, which is why Scheana believes Sandoval and Raquel managed to “get away” with their affair:
“Ariana never has. That’s why they were able to get away with this for so long in front of our faces.”
And the controversial pair were NOT shy about their affection towards each other. As Scheana stated:
“There have been so many scenes … from Sandoval’s slapping Raquel’s ass behind our backs after the welcome party to her sitting down in between the Toms at SUR and Sandoval has this weird smile on his face and Lisa’s like, ‘Why are you smiling?’ as he’s telling her that Katie called her a whore and then they have this weird moment after.”
Not to mention Sandoval’s face after Katie called him out for getting “a lot of joy out of Raquel!” That was the look of a man who was scared their secret affair was about to be exposed! But of course, Sandoval did get away with it for several months afterward. As if these few moments on the show were bad enough, Scheana noted there is still more to come this season:
“There’s so many things that are still happening in the next few episodes that you guys haven’t even seen yet and it’s insane.”
Don’t worry, Bravo fans are definitely ready to continue unpacking the drama. What do you think about Scheana’s theory, Perezcious readers? Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via Scheana Shay/YouTube, Bravo/YouTube]