Vanderpump Rules' Raquel Leviss checks into mental health facility

Vanderpump Rules’ Raquel Leviss checks into mental health treatment facility – amid explosive fallout from her affair with Tom Sandoval

• READ MORE: Tom and Raquel ‘taking break from sexual relationship’ 

Vanderpump Rules’ Raquel Leviss has checked into a facility for mental health treatment – amid the continued fallout from her affair with Tom Sandoval.

The reality star, 28. whose affair with Sandoval, 39, ended his nine-year romance with Ariana Madix, 36, in March, chose to enter the voluntary facility before her fling was discovered, reports ET.

 A source said: ‘Raquel and her family decided before the relationship was discovered that she would enter a voluntary facility for mental health counseling.

‘She was scheduled to go in pre-reunion but decided she wanted to finish her filming commitment. Bravo and production were aware and in support of her journey towards better mental health.

Leviss’ rep added that she was not in a facility for substance abuse issues. 

Treatment: Vanderpump Rules’ Raquel Leviss has checked into a facility for mental health treatment – amid the continued fallout from her affair with Tom Sandoval 

Love triangle: (L-R) Explosive: The reality star, 28. whose affair with Sandoval, 39, ended his nine-year romance with Ariana Madix, 36, chose to enter the voluntary facility before her fling was discovered (pictured November 2022)

Last month Leviss issued a statement in which she revealed she was analyzing her own behavior and speaking to a counselor after the affair was exposed.

She said: ‘I am reflecting on my choices, speaking to a counselor and I am learning things about myself such as my patterns of codependency and addiction to being and feeling loved.

‘I have sought emotional validation through intimate connections that are not healthy without regard for my own well-being, sometimes negatively affecting others and often prioritizing the intimate connection over my friendships. I am taking steps to understand my behavior and make healthier choices.’

This comes after Sandoval  revealed he and Leviss had hit the brakes on their sexual relationship, after their months-long affair was exposed in March.

Following the recent end of his nine-year relationship with Madix over his infidelity, the bar owner revealed they are ‘kind of taking a break.’

‘We’re not putting any label on it,’ the reality star said on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast.

When asked if they were still friends ‘with benefits’ by the comedian, 67, Sandoval denied they were still romantically involved.

‘Not right now,’ the rocker, who is in the cover band Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras, told listeners, after insisting he and the former pageant queen are still ‘good friends.’ 

Betrayal” Sandoval and Madix pictured just days before the March split

A source said: ‘Raquel and her family decided before the relationship was discovered that she would enter a voluntary facility for mental health counseling; seen with Madix (left)

As for how their relationship blossomed from platonic to intimate, Sandoval opened up about his attraction to Leviss as he and Madix, 37, drifted apart after nearly a decade together.

‘We were at my house, and I’m locked out of my house and we’re talking and we kissed,’ he recalled. ‘It was magnetic. We were moving closer and as we were talking, time went on, and we’re talking closer and closer and closer, and all of a sudden, we’re kissing. I felt something that I hadn’t felt in so long, like, emotionally.’

He went on to explain how he and Madix had begun living their own lives and the romance between them had grown stale. 

‘We had been together for nine years, and obviously we had built a house and business together and everything. We were a brand. And like many relationships, it became more of a best friend/family/sometimes roommates situation,’ he explained.

The Missouri native said their relationship overall was  ‘just lacking intimacy’ and ‘connection.’

He felt that they were remaining together to ‘keep the optics up that [they] were solid’ for their reality show and other business endeavors. 

‘We did have each other’s backs, for sure, and that was nice. There was a safety to it and a stability,’ he said of Madix. 

Ahead of turning 40, he recalled thinking his life ‘looked very bleak’ and started thinking his ‘best years were behind.’

‘I started to lose my optimism in life and my drive. I felt like I needed to make a change to feel alive again, to feel motivated, to feel optimistic again,’ Sandoval confessed.

Before his affair, he said his ‘confidence was zapped’ and any sexual experience with him would be the equivalent to hooking up with ‘a 19-year-old’ during ‘his second time’ as he lost his ‘game.’

‘I’m not saying it’s [Ariana’s] fault, we just didn’t have that intimacy,’ Sandoval claimed.

After hearing his guest’s side, Mandel urged fans to have ’empathy and compassion’ for Sandoval, who previously said he felt like ‘one of the most hated people in America’ for betraying Madix. 

‘You need to be heard because the narrative is everyone else’s but but yours,’ the America’s Got Talent judge told listeners. ‘I don’t understand the hatred and the vitriol.’

While the father-of-three stated he wasn’t ‘condoning cheating on a partner,’ he raised eyebrows for saying that the amount of backlash Sandoval has received has been perplexing. 

Leviss’ life has been turned upside down since the affair was exposed – with an explosive show reunion set to be aired in coming weeks.

Leviss secured an order of protection against co-star Scheana Shay, who she claims punched her in the face, giving her a black eye. 

Shay has vehemently denied her costar’s assault allegations. 

Madix admitted to being ‘devastated and broken’ but grateful for her supporters in a post last month.

The reality star took to Instagram to share a stunning snap of herself with a lengthy caption addressing the scandal while thanking her friends including her castmates for their support during what she described as her ‘darkest hours.’

She wrote: ‘hi. where to begin? i want to express my most sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support i have received from friends, family, and people i’ve never even met in the last two weeks.

‘when i have felt like i couldn’t even stand, you all have given me the strength to continue and seen me through my darkest hours. to say i have been devastated and broken is an understatement. however, i know that i am not in this alone.’

As many of her Vanderpump Rules co-stars of the past and present have publicly supported her including Scheana Shay, Kristen Doute, and even Leviss’ ex James Kennedy, she made sure to thank those who have been there for her.

Madix continued: so many of my closest friends are also grieving this loss right now and reeling from this betrayal on so many levels. i am so f***ing lucky to have the best support system in the world and i hope i can repay every single person for the love you have shown me.

‘what doesn’t kill me better run. love, ariana’

Still friends: Following the recent end of his nine-year relationship with Ariana Madix over his infidelity, the 39-year-old bar owner revealed they are ‘kind of taking a break’

Sandoval, who is also business partners with Leviss’ love interest Tom Schwartz, wrote on his Instagram that his costar only learned of his infidelity ‘very recently’ and ‘did not condone’ his actions.

On March 11, Sandoval apologized for cheating on Ariana Madix with Leviss on social media. He vowed to ‘reflect and work on myself’ in wake of the infidelity.

He then asked his followers not to take out their anger on his business partner Tom Schwartz, as well as his family and friends.

‘Hey, I fully understand and deserve ur anger & disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz, my friends, and family out of this situation…’ he wrote.

He continued: ‘This was a very personal thing. Also, Schwartz & Sandy’s might have my name on it, but also there are 3 other partners and 20 employees, who especially rely on the restaurant for income for them and their families,’ Sandoval said, nodding to his new bar and TomTom, which opened back in 2018. 

A source recently informed Page Six that Sandoval and Leviss had been meaning to inform Madix about the affair ‘for weeks.’

They waited so long, though, that Madix wound up discovering their secret herself when she discovered Leviss’ texts on Sandoval’s phone.

Insiders claimed that Madix caught sight of a raunchy selfie video from Leviss on Sandoval’s phone while she was at the concert venue.

Upon inspecting his texts, she saw that Sandoval and Leviss had been corresponding in a way People described as ‘inappropriate.’

Sandoval and Madix reportedly met up the Friday after she learned of the affair and had a dramatic confrontation about their split in front of Vanderpump Rules cameras, as reported by TMZ.

A production source told DailyMail.com: ‘There is more to this story that will be revealed in the coming weeks but all is not what it seems, however, it is true that Tom and Raquel have been hooking up.

‘We should change the name of the show to Raquel Rules as she has certainly become the star of the show this season, giving it her all.

Cooling off: Vanderpump Rules star Sandoval revealed he and Leviss have hit the brakes on their sexual relationship, after their months-long affair was exposed 

‘The cast should be thanking Raquel and Tom as Bravo are already talking about renewing the show for an 11th season. This is the mess that viewers live for.’

‘Production has switched the cameras back on and they are catching all of the fall out as the cast react to this news. This will be the best season of Vanderpump Rules yet.

A source told People the affair ‘has been going on for upwards of six months – all the while, Tom was sleeping next to Ariana in bed. She was completely blindsided by this; devastated doesn’t even scratch the surface of how she feels.’

The insider added: ‘This is someone she thought she knew; someone she planned to spend the rest of her life with. You can’t even put into words that betrayal.’

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