The most dramatic and emotional Vanderpump Rules finale ever?!
Ever since the reports came out that Bravo picked cameras back up after news of Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ months-long affair broke, fans have been (not-so-patiently) counting down the days until the season 10 finale as they desperately wanted to know more about what went down with Scandoval. Who can blame them, given the juicy deets we know so far?! Now, the wait is over as the episode finally aired on Wednesday night — and it was as jaw-dropping as Lala Kent promised! So prepare yourselves, Perezcious readers, because we have a lot to cover with this roller coaster of an episode!
Related: Whoa! Raquel Leviss DUMPed Tom Sandoval For Good!
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The Final Conversation
The episode began with Tom and Ariana having a devastating final conversation right after she found out about the affair. She begged for answers and clapped back at the bar owner as he tried to place the blame on her. Declaring how “angry” she was, she had to pull tooth and nail to get Tom to apologize — and even that wasn’t great!
Discussing Raquel’s intentions, the Bravo personality recalled how she loved Sandoval when he “didn’t have a f**king dime to [his] name,” but now that he’s “got a little bit of money, a little bar, a little band, […] this girl is gonna act, like, enamored with you.” She continued:
“Cause that’s what you want, huh? You want someone to just gas you up? That girl is searching for identity in men, she has no identity of her own. Willing to stoop so low as to f**k one of her best friend’s life partners, and that’s someone you think is a good person to be around?”
Providing excuses, Tom insisted he didn’t want to hurt Ariana and that the affair had started after he and Raquel built a deep, emotional friendship — but Ariana wasn’t buying it! She called the whole friendship “bulls**t” and “disgusting,” arguing:
“I was ride or f**king die for you and I had her back. The fact that she’s continued to smile in my face is one of the most god-awful, disgusting things I’ve ever heard of.”
The show then flashed back to a gut-wrenching clip of Ariana sticking up for her bestie and beau earlier in the season. Just one of many clips that have been hard to rewatch with a new perspective! Sandoval went on to blame the couple’s lack of intimacy as the reason he felt justified to cheat, causing his ex to say:
“I regret every moment that I stood up for you, defended you, supported you. You’re worth nothing and I want you to feel that deep in your soul. I want you to hear those words coming from the mouth of the woman who f**king stood by you and loved you and was ready to build the rest of my life around you.”
Damn!!
The Schwartz Of It All
Somewhat ironically, Sandoval had a much more emotional conversation with his buddy Tom Schwartz. Arriving at his friend’s apartment in tears, the aspiring musician broke down as he apologized for the affair — which Schwartz was definitely clued in on before everyone else.
Katie Maloney’s ex-husband was much more focused on a more pressing problem to him:
“You f**ked up, man. We went from 4.8 stars on Yelp to one star at Schwartz & Sandy’s. We have 20 employees who depend on us.”
In a confessional, the business partner said it would be “soul-crushing” to see the place “fall apart because of Tom’s affair,” and he revealed he was afraid of being “canceled” by association. He even urged the TomTom co-owner to write some kind of apology to help save their businesses and Schwartz’s reputation, which we all know Sandoval eventually did post and it totally backfired!
In his first apology, he made a big fuss about asking fans to still spend their hard-earned cash at his establishments, clearing Schwartz’s name, and apologizing to everyone BUT Ariana. The backlash was so bad, he had to post a second apology.
Elsewhere in the episode, Schwartz sat down with Katie and opened up about when he really found out about the dalliance. He claimed he’d learned one month before the news broke in March before admitting he’d known since last summer:
“I knew about the one-night stand, OK? It was f**ked up. He said, ‘I cannot believe we f**king did that. I’m disgusted, but here’s how I justified it.’ He’s tried to communicate this to Ariana multiple times, he tried to break up with her and it just didn’t work out.”
Katie called him Sandoval’s “bitch boy” before warning him:
“By being associated with him, you’re going to lose a lot of friends.”
Schwartz Apologizes To Ariana
In a private chat with Ariana toward the end of the episode, Schwartz tried to apologize, saying:
“I’m not here to advocate for him. Right now, I’m just pissed with Sandoval. I feel like he exploited my kindness. Also our businesses that we put our hearts and souls into.”
Ariana pointed out:
“He apologized to the business before he apologized to me publicly which was literally pathetic. What did he think was going to f**king happen? He was going to be able to cheat on me and be able to walk away unscathed?”
The bar owner expressed:
“I just wanted to come look you in the eyes and say I’m so f**king sorry for this whole thing.”
Then Ariana dropped the bomb:
“I will not have mutual friends with him, so I am not your friend anymore.”
Hope it was worth it, Schwartz!
James Kennedy’s On The Line
Interestingly, James Kennedy was one of the most hurt by this scandal. After discussing the chain of events with Katie, Lala, and his girlfriend Ally Lewber, the DJ decided to call up his ex-fiancée to hear her side of the story.
Putting her on speaker phone (she wasn’t aware the others were in the room), he asked if she and Tom were “an item,” which she denied before saying the whole ordeal had been “eye-opening” to her. James then went OFF:
“You lied to everyone’s face. All the people you were building friendships with, you’ve literally just trashed it for Sandoval’s little cocky c**k. His stinky, 40-year-old c**k. Seriously, Raquel? You’re not the brightest chick.”
OMG!
So, It IS Love…
Probably one of the most cringe-worthy but anticipated scenes came when the Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras frontman finally greeted the SUR waitress at her apartment to decompress after the chaos.
Although they wouldn’t kiss for the crew (guess they were each suddenly growing a conscious?!), they did hug and take a shot while toasting to “being in hell, where we belong.” Tom then recalled how he was encouraging Schwartz to hook up with Raquel and he mistakenly CALLED HER ARIANA!
In a confessional, Raquel spilled the tea on why she decided to hook up with her bestie’s boyfriend in the first place, musing:
“I was just so curious to know what it would be like to be physical with someone that you love because I already knew I loved him as a friend and I’ve never had sex like that before. I should have completely removed myself from the situation, but I did not have the will power to not see him.”
What a load of crap! Plenty of people love their friends and don’t want to f**k ‘em! This was always way more than a platonic connection, and they know it!
Related: Tom LAUGHS Over How Ariana Found Out About Raquel Affair! Watch!
The singer definitely seemed to be taking the drama harder as his new girlfriend was often seen giggling and smiling throughout the encounter while he looked very glum. Tom eventually declared:
“I would never do this if there wasn’t something here.”
YET….
Right after saying this, the show cut to a confessional in which he didn’t sound so confident about their longevity, dishing:
“I can’t predict the future. Maybe things will work out with Raquel and I, maybe they won’t. But, when I kissed Raquel I felt hope, I felt like, ‘Wait a minute, you’re not washed up. Your best days aren’t behind you, maybe they’re just beginning.'”
#MidlifeCrisisAlert!
Later, when discussing having to tell their families about their new relationship, Tom says, “they love you,” but Raquel misheard and replied:
“I love you.”
And then Tom called her out on the mistake, clarifying:
“I said they love you. But I love you, too.”
Could it get more awkward in here?!
She’s Back! Kristen Doute Returns!
In the wake of Scandoval, his other ex-girlfriend returned to the show for the first time in three years to help Ariana. If you’ll recall, Kristen Doute was dating Tom when he and Ariana kissed behind her back, leading to the end of their relationship and the beginning of Tom and Ariana’s 9 years together. Having no hard feelings for the situation, Kristen told her friend:
“If anything, I’m sorry to you that you had to do me the favor of taking him away from me.”
She then had the Fancy AF Cocktails co-author write down affirmations and burn the pieces of paper as a symbol of healing. She chanted:
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, life is beautiful, so slay we must.”
Very sweet!
Lisa Vanderpump Has Entered The Chat
Of course, Tom Sandoval and Lisa Vanderpump’s emotional conversation was teased hours before the finale aired. In the full chat, Tom begged Lisa to understand he had “every intention” of coming clean, saying:
“Me and Raquel had every intention of telling Ariana before the reunion. There’s no way we could feel like a human being, either one of us, to have Ariana defending Raquel and me.”
Sorry, but we don’t believe that for a second! They went seven months keeping this a secret!
While the rest of the reality stars are being forced to choose sides, the matriarch of the group explained she had no intention of walking away from Sandoval in his time of need. She explained to the cameras:
“Look, I’m not going to turn my back on Sandoval. I will never, ever do anything but condemn what he did, but they’ve all been guilty of things — maybe not quite this level. But at some point, maybe the pain will ease.”
After catching his breath amid a complete emotional breakdown, Tom eventually brought up his last convo with Ariana and his disappointment with how things went. He reflected:
“I would love to be able to have a conversation with her when she’s not so angry with me. I don’t know if I’ll ever get that chance, which kills me.”
The Pattern Repeats Itself
The episode wrapped up with Sandoval visiting Scheana Shay to deliver yet another apology, both for lying and for the heated conversation she’d gotten into with Raquel in NYC when the news broke. What’s wild is that during the conversation, Tom actually admitted this wasn’t his first time cheating on Ariana. There have been rumors of other women in the picture since Scandoval broke — and it was true, apparently! Scheana asked:
“So other than Miami girl, this is the first time you’ve ever cheated on Ariana?”
Tom said “there was one other time” and that it wasn’t a “random person.” He did not provide any additional details. Yikes. What a d**k!
Such an emotional and infuriating episode, right?! It sure delivered on fans’ expectations, but there is still so much left to unpack. We just know Tom and Raquel are going to be grilled during the upcoming three-part reunion beginning next week! In the meantime, THOUGHTS?! What part drove you the craziest? Sound OFF (below)!
[Image via Bravo/YouTube]
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