Raquel Leviss has made a life-altering decision.
Or at least a career-altering decision.
During part three of her interview for Bethenny Frankel’s Just B podcast, Leviss was asked if she would ever return to reality telvision, to which she responded with a hard “hell no.”
Leviss then elaborated a bit on the reasons why.
“I refuse to not respect myself on that level where I would endure that emotional abuse any longer,” Raquel said. “I can’t do that to myself.”
Leviss emphasized this same point last week, strongly implying that she has no plans to appear on Vanderpump Rules Season 11.
Back in March, of course, we learned that Leviss had been carrying on an affair with Tom Sandoval.
This affair took place over a matter of months — while Sandoval was dating Raquel’s supposed friend and co-star Ariana Madix.
Leviss has since checked into a rehab facility in order to improve her mental health (due to the backlash she has received as a result of this relationship) and has also slammed the show that made her famous.
Raquel’s main complaint of late has been how the series profited from her and Sandoval’s illicit dalliance, while she wasn’t given any sort of bonus for her role in the increased attention and ratings.
Does this claim have merit?
Lisa Vanderpump previously told TMZ that Leviss made $361,000 on Vanderpump Rules last season.
She obviously signed a contract for the season, as well, sparking confusion over why Leviss thinks she’s entitled to more money… essentially for acting in an unethical manner, too.
“Of course they want me back, and I know that other people on the cast are more important than I am, so I don’t even think I would get a ‘redemption’ arc, to be honest,” Leviss added on this post in regard to why she’s done with Bravo.
“I also know that I wouldn’t be able to share all of my story.”
According to Leviss, a number of her castmates wanted to see her return to the series.
But she doubted their motivations. She sees them as selfish.
“Tom has emailed me twice, Lala [Kent] wanted me back, Lisa [Vanderpump] wanted me back, yeah … they have ulterior motives,” Leviss explained.
“They don’t care about my well-being, they care about their narrative that they need to portray on this show.”
Raquel, who says she has a “no-contact” policy/order in place with all these colleagues, went on to claim she made demands in order to star on Season 11… but got rebuffed.
“I asked for equal pay as Tom and Ariana, and for them to pay for my treatment expenses [at The Meadows].
“They refused to pay me equally, and I was considering going back if I was going to be paid equally. I feel like, when you pay your employees, it really shows how much you value them.”
Leviss also takes issue with not only the death threats she’s received over the past several months, but with how Bravo, she alleges, did nothing to “protect” her.
Executives refused to provide her with any kind of security.
“So many people are using this opportunity and scandal to monetize for their own benefit and I’m left here broke,” Leviss said. “My name has been raked through the coals. I don’t have business opportunities.
“My brand is shot!”
Despite this seemingly busted brand, Leviss plans to start her own podcast, stating she’s really “impassioned about learning about myself and the psychology behind all this” and adding:
“I feel like it would be a great way to share my side of story and bring on experts that really understand the psychology behind it.
“I feel like this is an area that’s untapped because nobody really wants to talk about being the other woman.
“And for as many people who were hurt by this affair, there is equally as many people who have been [the other person].”
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