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Raquel Leviss, 28, wiped away most traces of Vanderpump Rules from her social media in the wake of her exit from the show. The ex-Bravo star — who is going by her birth name Rachel again — revamped her Instagram by deleting all the pictures with her former co-stars and the apology she issued to Ariana Madix, 38, in March for her affair with Tom Sandoval, 40. Raquel also unfollowed Ariana and Tom, along with the rest of the VPR cast including her former bestie Scheana Shay, 38, and her ex-fiancé James Kennedy, 31.
Furthermore, Raquel updated her bio on Instagram to read, “Becoming a better person… one day at a time.” She also has a link to her recent interview with Bethenny Frankel where she addressed the “Scandoval.” Raquel’s latest Instagram post, shared on Aug. 18, is a snippet of her hour and a half long chat with Bethenny.
Raquel took a months long break from social media after her and Tom’s affair was exposed in March. She spoke out for the first time about the relationship with a statement that’s been deleted off her Instagram. The March 8 message included an apology to Ariana for sleeping with her boyfriend of 9 years. “I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships,” Raquel’s statement began. “There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana,” she added.
After Raquel and Ariana faced off at the season 10 reunion, Raquel checked into a mental health facility in Arizona for two months. The former beauty pageant contestant said before she entered the facility that she was seeking help for her “patterns of codependency and addiction to being and feeling loved.” After checking out of the facility, Raquel sat down with Bethenny to rehash how her life completely blew up from the scandal. During the interview, Raquel downplayed her friendship with Ariana and insisted that they weren’t close when she was having the affair with Tom.
“Ariana and I were not best friends,” Raquel said on the podcast. “We were acquaintances who became friends through the show.” Raquel explained that she “wasn’t trying to be a malicious person” by starting up a relationship with Tom behind Ariana’s back. She also said she doesn’t expect the Something About Her co-founder to forgive her. “I think once trust is broken with somebody it’s hard to come back from that,” she said. “But I am remorseful. I recognize that I caused her a lot of pain.”
After much speculation, Raquel’s exit from Vanderpump Rules was confirmed by Entertainment Tonight on Aug. 17. Raquel said on Bethenny’s podcast that she “almost went back” to the show for season 11 because the producers wanted her to share her side of the story, but she ultimately decided against doing that. Now, Raquel is focused on “becoming a better person” and moving on from the scandal that changed her life.
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