Omg, did you hear about Rachel Leviss? She’s gone rogue! The former SUR staffer said goodbye to Vanderpump Rules after Scandoval and has been busy forging a new path apart from the show. Since her departure from Bravo, she’s launched a podcast with iHeartRadio, gotten back into modeling, and become a mental health advocate. Here are all the ways Rachel Leviss is thriving away from VPR.
Rachel Has A Podcast
Rachel launched her podcast “Rachel Goes Rogue” on January 8, 2024, just three weeks before the Season 11 premiere of VPR. So far, the podcast has centered around Rachel’s relationship to Tom Sandoval, the scandal, and Vanderpump Rules. She’s also brought in some mental health experts to unpack love bombing and trauma.
We think starting the podcast was a good strategic move for her. If she returned to Vanderpump Rules, she would be at the mercy of producers. They would decide whether she deserves a redeemable edit, stripping her of her autonomy. By leaving the show and creating a podcast, she can craft her own narrative away from meddling producers and Sandoval.
The podcast already has over 2,000 reviews, and it’s only been out for a month. Sure, not all of the reviews are positive, and it currently has a 3.6 rating on Apple Podcasts, which isn’t great. But there have also been some really positive reviews.
“Thank you for sharing your story,” one 5-star review read. “You are very smart for taking responsibility for your actions and for becoming more self-aware. I didn’t figure this out until I was in my early 30s. I hope you sharing your story inspires others to get help for themselves.”
Rachel played an active role in Scandoval and deeply hurt one of her close friends, but carrying around that shame forever is quite a burden. We’re glad she’s facing it head-on through her podcast.
Rachel Is Modeling Again
Fans saw Rachel struggle to close the door on her pageant career in Season 10 of VPR. The 29-year-old had high hopes of becoming Miss California and admitted she felt lost after the dream never came to fruition.
While she may never be the reigning queen of California, Rachel dipped her toes back into the modeling world post-Scandoval. She was spotted this month at New York Fashion Week working the runway for the fashion brand GLAUDI.
Her appearance at NYFW is proof that a scandal doesn’t have to ruin your career. The beauty queen still managed to find success without VPR.
She Can Say Whatever She Wants
If Rachel returned to VPR, we’re guessing certain topics would be off-limits. She couldn’t dish about production and there might be pressure to protect certain cast members.
Taking a step back from the show has allowed Rachel to SPILL THE TEA! She revealed that production crafted her and Charli Burnett‘s spontaneous appearance at “guys night at the Mondrian” and shared the full story behind James Kennedy regaining custody of her dog Graham. Like, go off girl.
She Escaped Sandoval
On her podcast, Rachel said that one of the major reasons she decided to leave the show was to cut ties with her affair buddy, Sandoval. She knew returning to the show would keep her in his orbit and she would be more likely to stay in an unhealthy relationship. Rachel said that in retrospect, she does not believe she was in love with Sandoval. She claimed the love affair began because of unhealed trauma from her relationship with James.
“I fell in love with one narcissistic a*shole, and after that relationship ended after five years of being in that relationship, I fell into the hands of another narcissistic a*shole,” she said on Chapter 8 of her podcast.
She went on to say that she felt like Sandoval’s love was a form of manipulation. “I feel like it’s a similar manipulation tactic. At first, you just think this person is so in love with you, they adore you, and they’re giving you all this attention,” she said, adding that the attention later turned into “control.”
If leaving VPR means she can stay clear of a man that she says love bombed her, we think she made the right choice. Say what you want about Rachel, it takes a lot of guts to walk away from a steady paycheck and a spot on one of the hottest reality shows.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK RACHEL MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE LEAVING VANDERPUMP RULES? DO YOU THINK SHE SHOULD’VE STAYED ON THE SHOW?
This story originally appeared on Realitytea
