The cheating scandal surrounding this season of Vanderpump Rules has made things pretty awkward going forward for the show’s 10th season — and has managed to make things that have already happened fairly awkward in retrospect.
In a recently released preview sneak peek at the fifth episode of season 10, Ariana Madix goes bikini shopping with Raquel Leviss ahead of a planned girls trip to Lake Havasu.
The pair seem like close friends as they chat about a particularly awkward dinner Raquel had with Katie Maloney — the ex-wife of Tom Schwartz — where Raquel admitted to Katie that she recently asked Schwartz if he wanted to make out.
“I could not believe what you told Katie last night. That you asked Schwartz if he wanted to make out. I was like, ‘Am I about to be mad at Raquel for the first time?'” Ariana laughingly told Raquel.
Of course, this remark lands differently given what’s gone down since last week, when Ariana discovered that Rachel has been engaged in a long-term affair with Ariana’s longtime boyfriend Tom Sandoval.
Ariana has since very publicly split from Sandoval, and the fandom has turned decidedly against both Sandoval and Raquel over their dalliance.
In the episode preview, Ariana admits to the Vanderpump Rules cameras, “We’ve been encouraging Raquel to, ‘Get out there, make mistakes, just go crazy!’
“But then when she says she asked Schwartz to make out with her, it’s like, ‘OK, but not like that,'” Ariana adds with a laugh.
Meanwhile, later in the sneak peek, Katie reveals that she’s actually trying to give Raquel a chance at friendship, and feels Raquel is being manipulated by Scheana Shay.
For those following along with the cheating scandal as it unfolds in real time, this reference also proves to be uniquely ironic, as Raquel reportedly admitted to Scheana that she’d been having a fling with Sandoval behind Ariana’s back last week, and Scheana flipped out on her. On Tuesday, Raquel even filed for a restraining order against her as a result of the alleged incident.
“Tom and Raquel’s incident has created a major split in the group with almost everyone against Tom and Raquel,” a source recently told ET of the alleged affair, which has reportedly been going on for months. “The group feels like Tom has been going through some sort of midlife crisis, with the creation of his band and acting out at times. The girls are rallying around Ariana, but know in time she’ll be OK.”
Sandoval publicly reacted to the drama shortly thereafter, calling it “a very personal thing” in an Instagram post.
“I fully understand and deserve ur anger and disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz my friends and family out of this situation,” Sandoval wrote in reference to his best friend and business partner, Tom Schwartz. “Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions.”
Meanwhile, Vanderpump Rules plans to include the breakup and its fallout in season 10, a source told ET. That split, another source told ET, is for good as neither Madix nor Sandoval want to get back together.
“Ariana has no plans to get back with Tom after what he did to her and Tom is ready to move on,” the source said. “Ariana is devastated and feels betrayed, something she won’t be able to get over for a long time.”
For more on the ongoing drama, check out the video below.
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