VPR: Sandoval Feels a ‘Hint of Acceptance’ from His Pals but Is Still ‘Torn Between Resentment and Love’ with Rachel

Tom Sandoval is still working to win back the favor of his friends amid the Scandoval slump.

On Tuesday in the episode Vanderpump Rulesco-owner of Schwartz & Sandy’s broke down in tears after getting his first “hint of acceptance” from his friends when Scheana Shay met him at the airport on his way to Lake Tahoe.

However, the good times for Sandoval were short-lived. Arriving at the group’s rented property, Brock Davies confronted Sandoval, 41, about his handling of his affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, saying: “I think the whole group is having a hard time figuring out how we’re going to get through this weekend. None of them felt heard because apparently all you had to do was defend your actions.”

Scheana Shay and Tom Sandoval.

Noam Galai/Bravo via Getty Chris Polk/Variety/Penske Media via Getty

VPR: As Sandoval acknowledges the depth of his mental health struggles, his colleagues focus on his ‘villainous energy’

“You put everyone’s friendships in a really difficult position,” Brock added as Sandoval responded, “What I did was horrible, but neither Raquel, nor I, did it with any evil intent. But we felt that things were done to us with a very specific malicious intent.”

The conversation ended with Brock telling him, “The only advice I can give you is that your feelings are valid, but you just have to understand that there are other people involved in this whole thing. We are not your enemies. We’re just really hurt friends.”

After the confrontation, Sandoval still wanted his friends to take responsibility for their actions after the scandal.

“I feel like they expect me to just come in and crawl at their feet and beg for forgiveness,” he said in the confessional. “But they fail to acknowledge the way they attacked me. You talk— about me on social media, sell hardcore merchandise, push conspiracy theories on podcasts. It’s not just about them forgiving me, this is something we have to move on from together.”

Tom Sandoval at the Vanderpump Rules Season 11 Premiere Party at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California on January 17, 2024.

River Callaway/Variety via Getty Images

Rachel Leviss says Tom Sandoval ‘crossed the line’ by romanticizing their affair as Romeo and Juliet ‘Suicide Pact’

Later, the group checked out Lisa Vanderpump’s Wolf restaurant. Once seated at the table, Lisa pressed James Kennedy to think of something he liked about Sandoval, but DJ refused to answer.

“I feel very in place, but then I think how out of place he must feel. It’s a little embarrassing,” James said in the confessional.

The awkward moment made Sandoval realize it was time to break the ice with Kennedy, 32, and talk privately with his estranged friend. He explained, “I want to acknowledge his feelings and I feel like that’s not going to happen if I don’t just rip that Band-Aid off.”

“I don’t want to cause trouble,” Sandoval told James. “I don’t want to create enmity. I just want to coexist… When it fell, I was afraid to talk to you. Like, it was so overwhelming.”

However, James claimed that Sandoval still had no excuse to “obsess and betray” him by having an affair with his ex, Rachel, but Sandoval clarified, “Never, nor did she, intend to hurt anyone.”

Tom Sandoval, Rachel “Raquel” Leviss and James Kennedy.

Amanda Edwards/Getty; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Callaway/Variety River via Getty

Tom Sandoval opens up about how Rachel Leviss cut him off: ‘Optics’ became her ‘priority’

James believed that Sandoval could have handled the situation differently and broken up with his ex Ariana Madix before starting things with Rachel. He explained, “You don’t think if you were smart enough you could have ended things with Ariana and then actually made things work with Raquel without things blowing up the way they did?”

He said Sandoval eventually didn’t “get better” and left the relationship, then pressed him on whether he now plans to be with Rachel.

“I don’t know, man,” Sandoval replied. “I’m basically torn between anger and love.”

In the confessional, he added: “It wasn’t just about being with Rachel. It was also an exit from a relationship that I know did not suit my life. The road I was on was not a good road. It was necessary to change.”

James felt Sandoval threw their friendship “down the fucking drain” in favor of his affair. In the confessional, he said on camera, “Tom Sandoval was the last person in Hollywood who would screw me— you know, he was the only guy I really trusted with all my might. I’m surprised that he stabbed me in the back, harder than anyone else.”

Sandoval then admitted his mistakes, saying, “I messed up and hurt people and I know I hurt James. I take responsibility for that… I want to acknowledge his feelings and make amends.”

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Vanderpump Rules airs Tuesdays at 8:00 PM ET/PT on Bravo.

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Source: HIS Education