Rachel “Raquel” Leviss is reportedly out for Vanderpump Rules season 11, which began production in June.
After Leviss implied that she had opted not to return to the Bravo show on Bethenny Frankel’s Just B podcast by saying she “almost went back” to film for season 11, a source confirmed to Entertainment Tonight that the former pageant contender “ultimately decided against it” as she remains “focused on her mental health journey.”
PEOPLE has reached out to representatives for Vanderpump Rules and Leviss.
Raquel Leviss Has No More L.A. Allies After She ‘Betrayed’ Them, So She’s Going Back to Her ‘Roots’ as Rachel
The 28-year-old former SUR waitress found herself surrounded by scandal when her months-long affair with costar Tom Sandoval, 40, became public knowledge in March, ending his nine-year relationship with Leviss’s friend and castmate Ariana Madix, 38.
Not long after, Leviss checked herself into a facility for “mental health and trauma therapy” in April.
“Raquel and her family decided before the relationship was discovered that she would enter a voluntary facility for mental health counseling,” her rep told PEOPLE at the time. “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.”
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Weeks before she entered treatment, Leviss joined her castmates — many of whom for the first time since the scandal broke — to film the “really confrontational” season 10 reunion, which largely focused on the chaos created by her and Sandoval’s secret relationship.
The day was complicated due to a restraining order Leviss had filed against costar Scheana Shay that required the pair to keep at least 100 yards’ distance from one another. (The restraining order was later dismissed just days after the filming.)
After watching the first half of the taping from a trailer outside the studio, Leviss joined the reunion partway through — but only after Sandoval warned her: “Ariana’s gonna unleash on you.”
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Weeks before, in the wake of the news of Sandoval and Madix’s split, a source told PEOPLE the pair “had been having problems for a while” but his affair with Leviss was “the final straw.”
“She put up with a lot over the years, but she won’t sit back and be disrespected this way,” the insider added.
Both Leviss and Sandoval have since apologized for their infidelity.
Raquel Leviss Reveals Status of Tom Sandoval Relationship: ‘I Care About Tom’ but ‘I Need Time to Heal’
Leviss exclusively issued a statement to PEOPLE on March 8 that included an apology and a promise to focus on her well-being moving forward.
“I need to take care of my health, work on self growth and take time to be ok with being alone,” she said. “I care for Tom and I don’t want to label anything or predict what lies ahead. Right now I need to heal.”
Later addressing her misconduct on Frankel’s podcast, Leviss said: “I would not be involved in this affair secrecy type of situation if I thought there was longevity in this relationship between Tom and Ariana.” The series alum also claimed she was “remorseful” for having “hurt” Madix.
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Vanderpump Rules can be streamed in full on Peacock.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education