The scandoval continues with former Vanderpump Rules star Stassi Schroeder, 34, spilling the tea on the drama.
At the time, the kiss between Raquel Leviss, 28, and Tom Schwartz, 40, last August seemed to please loyal fans of the show.
But now, a week after it was revealed that Raquel – who apologized to Ariana – and Tom Sandoval, 39, had a full blown affair behind the back of Ariana Madix, 37, it makes more sense.
“It sounds like something Sandoval came up with,” the former reality TV star said on Wednesday’s episode of her Straight Up With Stassi podcast.
‘He would say, ‘That would be a great way to cover up.’ It’s a cover up. And Rachel [was] like “Yes,” Stassi continued.
Spilling the tea: Stassi Schroeder entered the chat about the scandoval between Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix and Raquel Leviss on her Straight Up With Stassi podcast
Cover-up: Raquel hooked up with Tom Schwartz during an August 2022 episode of Vanderpump Rules, which Stassi now describes as a cover-up of her affair with Sandoval; from left Madix, Sandoval, Leviss and Schwartz
All Apologies: Sandoval received hateful comments on his restaurant review pages, prompting him to apologize via Instagram; seen in February
Stassi also agreed that the kiss looked “weird,” but “now it makes sense.”
And Schwartz wasn’t the only man Raquel made out with to distract people from what was really going on.
She also made out with Garcelle Beauvais’ son Oliver Saunders, 32, who Stassi called “messy” and a “distraction” for her affair with Sandoval.
“I think it goes without saying that I’m Team Ariana,” Stassi admitted. “There shouldn’t even be a choice. It’s not up for debate.
“I hate that Tom Sandoval put his hand inside her at the end [Ariana’s] Book and now they’re sharing Fancy AF cocktails,” she continued.
“You can’t even compare it to the whole situation between Kristen and Jax because that’s four trillion times worse,” she said, referring to the season 2 reveal that her ex-boyfriend Jax Taylor, 43, is dating Kristen Doute was together. 40
Referring to Ariana and Sandoval, she said, “A 10-year relationship where you own a home together — they’re married.”
“We all knew that Sandoval was an incredibly selfish, narcissistic and egotistical person who spent ten years trying to convince everyone that he was the good guy,” Stassi said.
Ménage a trois: Sandoval and Madix have been together for 10 years and own a house together
“You have to be on a new level of evil to do that to someone who was nothing but a wonderful partner to you.”
Stassi went on to say she doesn’t know if Raquel has always been a manipulative and scheming person, or if the show’s attention made her that person.
“Knowing what she’s been doing for over half a year and being able to lie like that is an evil I’ve never met before. Both her and Tom. All I thought I knew about evil wasn’t,’ she said.
“I think the only way they could have some kind of redemption is if they get married, have a baby, and embark on a journey together for the rest of their lives,” Stassi concluded.
Before news of Raquel and Sandoval’s affair broke on Friday, Ariana deleted all of her social media platforms.
Sandoval, a restaurant owner, apologized on Instagram and wrote: “First and foremost I want to apologize to everyone I have hurt through this process. First of all, I want to apologize to Ariana.”
“I’ve made mistakes, I’ve been selfish and I’ve made reckless decisions that hurt someone I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly.
Raquel also issued a statement via Entertainment Tonight, saying, “I want to apologize for my actions and my decisions, especially to Ariana and to my friends and the fans who have been so invested in our relationships. There are no excuses, I am not a victim and I must accept my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana.”