Lara Sophia 
Not surprisingly, Raquel Leviss FINALLY confirms what we all suspected for months. Raquel reveals that Tom Schwartz helped her and Tom Sandoval cover up their affair from the very start.
Former Vanderpump Rules star Raquel Leviss continues to spill all the tea on Scandoval.
On the second episode of her podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue, the 29-year-old revealed that Tom Schwartz knew about her affair with Tom Sandoval from the beginning of their seventh month long affair.
According to Raquel, “Tom Schwartz knew since the very beginning,” explaining that Sandoval told Tom Schwartz about their initial hookup the day after it happened.
“I got a phone call from Tom [Sandoval] the next morning after we hooked up for the first time,” Raquel explained, noting that Sandoval “was at Schwartz’s apartment when he called me. That was, like, a safe space for him.”
If you recall, Sandoval and Raquel hooked up for the first time in his and ex-girlfriend’s Ariana Madix’s pool before taking their hookup to Raquel’s car while Ariana was asleep in the house.
“My mind was racing. I was feeling so much guilt and shame about it,” the former Bravo star claims about her first hookup with Sandoval.
Meanwhile, Raquel says that Tom Schwartz was in the know about her and Sandoval’s game plan not to tell Ariana about their hookup from the start.
Raquel also reveals that she hung out with Ariana the day after her initial hookup with Sandoval. Just before the hangout session, Raquel says that she and the Toms agreed to keep the hookup quiet from the rest of the Vanderpump Rules cast, mainly Ariana.
“So, Schwartz knew before we even had a conversation to talk about it and what the game plan was going to be,” the former SURver said. “Immediately, I was going to film [for Vanderpump Rules] with Ariana and our group of girls that night and I was like, ‘I’m seeing Ariana later. I don;t know what to do.'”
Raquel says that Sandoval told her, “He’s like, ‘Going along like everything is normal.'”
“I was like, ‘Just so we’re clear, we’re NOT going to tell Ariana??'” Raquel asked to which Sandoval replied, “‘No, we’re not.'”
Tom Schwartz previously claimed that he only found out about Sandoval’s affair with Raquel two months before it became public knowledge in March 2023.
On a June episode of Stars on Mars, the Schwartz and Sandys co-owner denied that he “covered” for Sandoval amid his “torrid affair” with Raquel.
“It’s horrible, and I feel complicit.”
“I didn’t cover for him, but I had his back,” the Florida native explained. “He came to me, confided in me that he was in love with someone else.”
“My friend had an affair that just happened to swipe the nation, and it’s incredibly messed up, but the thing is, I’ve become mired in it,” he continued. “That’s been a huge source of just angst in my life. I’ve been in this extended funk.”
During the same episode, Tom Schwartz also claimed that he was “stepping away from [his friendship with Sandoval] permanently.”
“It seems each time I try to weigh in or talk about, ramble on about it, drivel on, I inevitably sound like I’m somehow justifying it or making excuses for it, and I’m not,” Schwartz explained. “There’s just no excuse for it.”
“Any sort of version of his side of the story has become obsolete because of the way he handled it. Ultimately, that’s his life. That is his life,” he added. “I did not have an affair. I am not him. It’s just so strange that I’ve been absolutely mired in this. It’s taken on almost a life of its own.”
However, Sandoval and Schwartz have since mended any woes in their friendship and are back to being bosom buddies.
Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ seven-month-long secret relationship became public knowledge in March 2023, just days after Sandoval’s partner of nearly a decade, Ariana Madix, uncovered their affair.
This new revelation explains some recent comments from Ariana about Schwartz.
Earlier this month, Ariana dubbed Schwartz “completely useless” when asked to rank her Vanderpump Rules co-stars by Cosmopolitan.
“Tom Schwartz, I don’t want there at all,” the 38-year-old quipped. “Completely useless. No, thanks.”
Despite Ariana giving Schwartz the cold shoulder while filming season 11 of Pump Rules over the summer, the 40-year-old is hopeful that he can ultimately repair his friendship with the Something About Her co-owner.
“She’ll give me a nod and say hi, but I think our friendship [is] going to take some work. I got a five-year plan,” he told PEOPLE in December 2023.
Vanderpump Rules premires on Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
