Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss Accused of Faking Affair to Boost Vanderpump Rules Ratings

Even if you’re not a fan of Vanderpump Rules, you’ve probably heard about the affair between Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss.

The so-called Scandoval was the rare niche reality TV scandal that entered the mainstream and received coverage from major outlets like the New York Times and CNN.

Vanderpump fans enjoyed the rare pleasure of being asked to explain the details their favorite guilty pleasure to normie friends suddenly thirsty for that life-giving SUR tea.

And all of this for a reality show in its tenth season whose ratings had been on the decline for several years.

Given the circumstances, we suppose its not surprising that some observers wondered at the legitimacy of Tom and Raquel’s romance.

After all, the timing was impeccable, and ratings for Vanderpump Rules shot through the roof as a result of all that mainstream media coverage, rising more than 30% in the weeks after the affair went public.

Now, a handful of online sleuths have dedicated to themselves to unearthing what they say is the scandalous truth at the heart of the Scandoval.

And some of them believe we’ve all been conned.

“They needed something to get shaken up, to get people’s interest back,” podcaster Lara Schoenhals recently told Insider (via Page Six).

Schoenhals noted that the timing of the affair is more than a little “suspicious,” as VPR appeared to be on its way out prior to the Scandoval.

Hollie Bohorquez, host of the “Vanderpump Rules Party” podcast, echoes Schoenhals’ views, saying:

“I personally feel like they were mapping this out.”

Evidence of this fraudulent behavior is fairly scant, but Bohorquez notes that there were permits in place to resume filming — the season finale was slapped together at the last second — well before news of the affair went public.

“So before Scandoval even broke, they had the filming permits in place to record with when cameras went back,” she explains.

She also points out that pre-Scandoval, several cast members gave interviews in which they promised a season full of high drama and shocking revelations — but then again, reality stars always do that.

Bohorquez points to moments that should’ve tipped off Ariana, such as the party during which Sandoval openly groped Raquel.

But denial is a powerful drug, and Ariana was overwhelmed by distractions for most of this season.

The fact that Tom and Raquel conveniently broke up around the time of the VPR Season 10 finale is also being cited as evidence that their relationship was bogus.

Of course, there are also compelling arguments to be made against the idea that this was all staged.

For one thing, Sandoval and business partner Tom Schwartz have received major blowback on social media, and the future of their two LA-area restaurants now appears to be in doubt.

The Toms surely would have anticipated this reaction, and it seems odd that they would sacrifice the next stage of their careers just to possibly gain a few more years of reality TV stardom.

And then there’s the fact that the longtime besties spent several years establishing their bogus “nice guy” reputations — just to become the most hated men in reality TV overnight.

Wouldn’t they have considered that too high a price to pay?

But the strongest argument that the Tom-Raquel affair really happened is the fact of how difficult it would have been for this cast to fool millions of people over the course of three months.

After all, we’ve seen these people’s attempts at acting.

There’s a reason they were all working at a West Hollywood restaurant when the show began!