The ‘Vanderpump Rules’ cheating scandal continues. Let us break it down for you

Andy Cohen swears! In the wake of the “Vanderpump Rules” cheating scandal, no one edited the most recent episode of the reality show, which was taped before their infamous love triangle exploded onto the pop culture landscape this month.

“Guys, you’re going to watch Wednesday’s episode,” the Bravo host said Tuesday on his Sirius XM show, “Radio Andy.” “You’re going to think he was cut. OK? He was not cropped. This was the episode.”

Cohen continued, his voice thick with drama: “The conversations that take place between Katie and Lala and Raquel aren’t. Be. Believed. In light of what has come out. But I tell everyone, the episode was not touched. This is how it was going to be shown, which makes it even more shocking. You will not believe.

And while die-hard fans may not believe it, non-viewers and new viewers may just not get it at all. Tonight’s episode of “Vanderpump Rules” possibly has a deeper hidden meaning in light of the cheating situation that erupted in early March. That’s when one of the cast members of the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” spin-off learned that her longtime boyfriend had been having an affair with his co-star.

For those clueless folks, we present the “Vanderpump Rules” cheating scandal, explained.

The show

The first post-hoax episode of “Vanderpump Rules,” a reality show about the people who work at “RHOBH” star Lisa Vanderpump’s WeHo restaurants and bars, garnered the highest ratings in three years. the envelope reported on Wednesday. The March 8 episode was watched live by 2.2 million people, double the March 1 installment. Clearly, sex sells.

“Vanderpump Rules,” or just “Bomb Rules,” if that’s okay with you, launched its tenth season on Bravo in early February, promising on its website “a new era of silliness, drama, and betrayal.” Episode 6 airs tonight.

Players

The current main cast consists, in no particular order, of Vanderpump, Katie Maloney, Tom Schwartz, James Kennedy, Lala Kent, Charli Burnett, Scheana Shay, Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix, and Raquel Leviss. Pay attention to those last names, as they are, ahem, intertwined.

With the exception of restaurateur Vanderpump, all are current or former servers, hostesses, busboys or bartenders at their SUR and Pump restaurants. TomTom Restaurant & Bar, partly owned by Sandoval and Schwartz, is also part of the landscape. Although most of the cast members have left their original jobs at the restaurant, they haven’t left the show that placed them firmly in the ranks of “middle-class show business.”

Sandoval and Madix have been in a relationship for nine years, and he co-owns Schwartz & Sandy’s Lounge in Los Angeles with Vanderpump, Schwartz and two others. Leviss did not become a full-time cast member until season 9.

The case

Madix, 37, found out that Sandoval, 39, had been cheating on her on March 1 when, according to People, she was in a place watching her boyfriend’s band play. Sandoval and Leviss, 28, were seen kissing, the outlet said, presumably before Madix found racy video of them on her boyfriend’s phone. She then found her inappropriate text history.

By this time, the cat was miles and miles out of the bag.

Meanwhile, Leviss and Shay appeared on Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live” that same night, with Leviss defending a recent decision to kiss. schwarz, who is Sandoval’s best friend and business partner. Leviss was previously linked to Schwartz after Schwartz parted ways with Maloney, after Maloney called off her engagement to Kennedy. Unpack that last sentence at your leisure.

The consequences

By March 3, the couple’s relationship was dead, dead, dead, even though Madix had reportedly planned to spend the rest of her life with Sandoval.

“This has been going on for over six months, the whole time Tom was sleeping next to Ariana in bed,” a source said. People. “She was completely shocked by this; she devastated she doesn’t even scratch the surface of how she feels”.

sandoval published a note on Instagram on March 4 asking people to please leave Schwartz and his friends and family out of the ruckus, noting that “Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and definitely did not condone my actions.” Sandoval also said he would “take a break” out of respect for his employees and partners in the salon.

Three days later, Sandoval posted a formal apology to Madix and “to all the people I have hurt during this process.” He said that he “acted in a way that clashes with who and how I want to be” and that he would continue to “reflect and work on myself.”

He also got a bit emotional, writing: “My love for Ariana was stronger than any camera could have captured. … I wish things would happen in a different order and that our relationship would not be severely tarnished, and that it would end with the same respect… for her that it began with. He owed Ariana more.

Leviss posted apologies that same day, March 7, “to Ariana, my friends and the fans so involved in our relationships. There are no excuses. I am not a victim and I must own my actions. I am deeply sorry for hurting Ariana.” She said that she was talking to a counselor and that she was taking steps to make “healthier” choices.

Scheana Shay, left, and Raquel Leviss appear on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.”

(Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images)

She also defended herself somewhat, writing: “Even though I chose to be on a reality show accepting the good and bad that comes with it, beyond my own actions, I have been physically assaulted, lost friends, received death threats and hate mail on In addition to having seen my privacy violated.”

That day, Leviss also filed for a restraining order against Shay alleging for TMZ that her apparently former friend had “pushed Raquel against a brick wall and punched her in the left eye”. Rumor has it that Shay, 37, was defending her mutual friend Madix, and her submission included photos of Leviss with dark markings on her eyes.

Then, on March 8, Leviss returned to instagram say, in part, “I need to take care of my health, work on personal growth, and take time to be okay with being alone. I care about Tom and I don’t want to label anything or predict what’s to come. Right now I need to heal.”

The next day, a lawyer for Shay told The Times in a statement that “Scheana never hit Rachel, period. The supposed dark marks around her left eye have been there for months.” The statement referred to Leviss as “a known liar and cheat.”

The appeal?

Cheating and scandal is part of the cake that is “Vanderpump Rules”, but this particular cheating scandal has the fan chat groups buzzing.

“People feel played. And they are putting all the pieces together right now,” the person who anonymously runs the @QueensofBravoPlus Instagram account told The Times last week. “There’s a lot of cheating that comes with that. …People may not be able to relate to swindling seniors or (a spouse accused of) taking money from orphans and widows, but this feels related, where people know what it’s like to be cheated on or cheated on by a friend “.

The show, again

What happens next? Well, “Vanderpump Rules” Season 10 Episode 6 airs tonight at 9pm PT on Bravo. Viewers who want to catch up on the drama so far, which does not include any of the above except for the cast members, can do so by tuning in hours in advance each week. The previous episodes run before the new one appears.

A source close to the production told People last week that “cameras are rolling right now,” so the break is likely part of the current season.

Times Staff Writer Yvonne Villarreal contributed to this report.