James Kennedy on Missing His Dog with Ex Rachel Leviss: ‘He Was the Missing Puzzle Piece’ (Exclusive)

James Kennedy’s life wouldn’t be complete without his goldendoodle, Hippie!

The pup reunited with the reality TV star in July 2023 after staying with his ex-girlfriend Rachel “Raquel” Leviss following their split, which was announced in December 2021.

“There are no words to really explain how much I missed him and how much I love him,” he told PEOPLE exclusively on Wednesday Vanderpump Rules season 11 premiere “It’s like he’s really like my best friend and he was the missing piece of the puzzle.”

James Kennedy and Raquel Levis at the 5th Annual World Dog Day at West Hollywood Park on August 7, 2021.

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Kennedy and Leviss adopted the dog in 2018 and named him Graham Cracker. After their engagement was called off in May 2021, Leviss’ parents kept him until Leviss took over his care.

The British DJ spoke about him in April 2023 during a guest appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohendeclaring: “I’ve left Graham in the past now. They’re good times, but he’s gone, and that’s just it.”

While Kennedy never said why Leviss gave him the dog back, he told PEOPLE that the name change was necessary to let go of the past.

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“When I say Graham Cracker, it just doesn’t feel like it; it just feels like a thing of the past. It doesn’t feel good and it comes back, like, just like old memories that [I] you don’t really need to be reminded of it every day. Law? Like today was the first time I thought about it,” he told PEOPLE.

The TV personality said the dog was responding “really well” to his new name and it was “quite easy”.

“New house, new garden, new rules and new, you know, environment with the name change right away was actually an easier change than you might think,” he told PEOPLE.

James Kennedy and Ally Lewber.

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Kennedy attended Wednesday’s event with his girlfriend, Ally Lewber, who he first stepped out with at the 2022 iHeart Radio Music Awards. Lewber joined the cast as Kennedy’s girlfriend in Season 10 and moved in with him in June 2023.

“We make a good team, we remind each other every day,” Kennedy told PEOPLE about life with Lewber. – I love it – she added. “He cooks, he’s super clean. We’re clean in different ways, which I think is really good. I’m like organized, and he’s clean, clean.”

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