Well, well, well. Here we are. Another week, another deeply unhinged yet fascinating look into Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval's hidden-yet-not-so-hidden monthslong affair. Except this week, aka the finale, IT'S ALL COMING OUT!!!!! And we finally get to see this moment fully play out:
All of that to say, the finale episode of Vanderpump Rules Season 10 aired last night, and it's time to GET INTO IT.
This week's episode — Season 10, Episode 15, titled "#Scandoval" — is the finale we have ALL been waiting for. And it kicks off immediately with a clip from the infamous Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen episode that had Scheana Shay and Raquel (and Raquel stating that Sandoval is the hotter Tom) mere hours before the Scandoval news broke around the world. And already, my blood pressure has been raised and my armpits are sweating.
Then we get an immediate split screen of Ariana and Tom Sandoval, who are both "not ready" to talk about this but begin talking about it anyway, thank god. The phone story rumor is proved true, with Sandoval recounting that his phone "fell out of his pocket" during his appearance at a concert for his band (which no one cares enough about to remember the name of, sorry) at Tom Tom, and someone then gave it to Ariana for "safekeeping." Ariana said she felt she needed to look at the phone.
Sandoval said, "I would normally delete something like that, but it had been such a busy, chaotic day," which is, like, both a wild thing to say and something that feels like it was meant to establish that he didn't spread this intentionally. From there, he apparently took Ariana outside away from other people inside Tom Tom, and she then called Raquel demanding to know what happened.
Scheana says that Raquel — who was with Scheana in New York City after their WWHL appearance — then "nonchalantly" approached her and told her that she and Sandoval had been having an affair for seven months and Ariana had just found out. The fact that she could be so nonchalant about this is shocking, but I have a feeling it's the least shocking thing we're about to learn in this episode.
From here, we get a few random scenes of the cast in what I assume is "present day" timing, aka when the news of the affair had already broken. James Kennedy is cooking and Tom Schwartz is washing his face, which is a relief for a man who is known for bathing in a river on his wedding day.
We then end up back at Ariana and Tom's shared home in Valley Village, where they are still living together. Ariana is with her good friend Meredith on the couch, and Ariana is drinking wine straight from the bottle. A bottle, we soon find out, that was purchased on Tom and Ariana's very first trip together. The scene is so incredibly uncomfortable, you can *feel* the tension as a viewer, and it only becomes more intense to watch when Tom Sandoval dares to show his face, asking Ariana if she "wants anything." She replies with her now famous line of, "For you to die."
Tom Sandoval sits down for a conversation with Ariana, where she reminds him that he STILL has not even apologized. He says, "Every time I try to apologize, you get angry." I'm sorry, but no fucking shit, Tom Sandoval. She is angry. I am angry. We are all fucking angry! He also tells Ariana he "didn't want to hurt [her]" before referring to her as "dude."
Tom Sandoval tries to explain himself, and as much as I do not want to listen to a fucking word this man says, I am listening intently for this recap through gritted teeth. He refers to himself as "selfish," and Ariana reminds him that this is the nicest word he could use. And then we finally get the full context from the scene shown in the trailer: "I don't give a fuck about fucking Raquel. Your friendship is fucking bullshit." Ariana is honestly so FUCKING GOOD IN THIS SCENE!!!! It is both so hard to watch, and so incredible. Hard only because it's difficult to see such an incredible person treated this way.
Somehow, the audacity of this fucking man continues, and he tries to tell Ariana all the reasons he did what he did, including, "We had no sex life." I am no relationship expert, but that's probably in large part due to the fact that you were fucking HER BEST FUCKING FRIEND, DUDE.
He then claims that he "tried" to break up with her "two weeks ago" and she "wouldn't let him." Ring the alarm, everyone. Tom Sandoval is the world's biggest victim. Boo fucking hoo. You have been on a reality TV show since 2013, and as a main cast member since day one. If you really wanted to leave, Tom Sandoval, I promise you could have figured it out. Like, has he not heard of Two Men and a Truck? I know there are multiple hotels in the valley that your stupid ass could have stayed in!!!!!! Let's stop pretending you were held hostage in a relationship with a woman who you should be so lucky even LOOKED YOUR WAY.
Ariana is flawless in this scene, despite her obvious grief, and tells Tom, "You're worth nothing. And I want you to feel that, deep in your soul. I want you to hear that. I regret ever loving you." I actually wanted to stand up and yell at my TV and applaud.
They are both crying now, and unexpectedly, so am I. BUT NOT FOR TOM. Ariana says, through tears, "I was 100% committed to you; I would have followed you anywhere." Tom says that he never thought this would happen and she can think whatever she wants, but "they had some really good times." And with that, this scene ends.
We've now moved on to a scene of just Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz — two of the worst men in the history of Bravo — and Sandoval immediately starts dramatically crying and apologizing to Schwartz. The fact that this man is more apologetic to Schwartz than he was to Ariana has me seeing fucking red. Be fucking for real, Tom Sandoval.
Sandoval starts trying to explain his actions AGAIN and tells Schwartz that after guys night, he and Raquel went to the Abbey and they kissed, and he "felt something in that moment that he hadn't felt in a very long time." He then claims that he and Ariana have had issues FOR FIVE YEARS. Which is a HELL OF A LONG TIME to to stay in a relationship and PURCHASE A HOME WITH SOMEONE if you're so fucking miserable. Stop pretending you were held hostage — like, I actually cannot. He actually has the audacity to blame Ariana FOR NOT FOLLOWING HIM to see where he was going. Which is like a whole new level of fucked up that I wasn't prepared for.
Back to Ariana, and she is in her home surrounded by her friends. I am happy to see that she has support. Scheana shows up in a white, furry bucket hat and immediately starts crying, telling Ariana that she doesn't deserve any of this. Not that anyone does deserve this, but she is so, so right. Katie Maloney also shows up, and there are more tears and hugs, and I am feeling more emotional than I was prepared for.
Ariana tells Katie and Scheana exactly what happened — including the fact that the FaceTime that outed the affair happened while Sandoval was at Schwartz's apartment, so spare me your fake concern, Schwartzy. She also shared that Raquel told her that the affair started "right after the girls trip," which is also when Ariana's dog, Charlotte, was dying. Fucking cold-blooded.
Scheana begins to share what happened at the post-WWHL NYC bar hangout that we now know ended up in a restraining order from Raquel. She said she was "so angry" and that she "shoved her so fucking hard away from [her]." But Raquel is telling people that she punched her. Scheana then gives a demonstration of how she is physically incapable of punching with her nail length. Iconic. This is why she is a born reality star and deserves all of our respect.
We're now at James Kennedy and Ally's apartment, and James shares how nervous he is. He says he isn't even that mad about Raquel but can't believe Tom Sandoval would do this. He says he has always looked up to him in a way, and even breaks down in tears during his confessional. James, BTW, is obviously the #1 guy in the group.
James then straight-up CALLS Raquel, who answers, which is wild to me. Those producers sitting next to her, making sure she answers her ex-fiancé's call while a camera is on them, all really deserve a raise. Raquel informs James that she and Sandoval are "not an item," and that losing her friends has been "eye-opening." LMAO. Like, in what way, girlie? That consequences have actions?????
Oh my god. We are now in Raquel's apartment in North Hollywood, which has galaxy lights *everywhere* and a sign above her sink that says "C'est la vie Paris" for some reason. I am not sure I am breathing. Tom Sandoval shows up, and they ask each other if they're OK while taking shots and drinking beer. Spare me. They then toast to "being in hell," and Tom Sandoval says, "Where we belong." Raquel then says they don't deserve to be in hell, because they're just two friends who fell in love. MMMM, not sure it's quite that simple, but sure, I guess!
Raquel asks Tom Sandoval about his family and he says, "They love you." But Raquel thought he said, "I LOVE YOU," and she says it back! I'm sorry, but you're in LOVE NOW?????? BFFR!!!!! Raquel says they always agreed they wouldn't do this if it wasn't "worth it." They embrace and then almost kiss, but both agree that they don't feel comfortable kissing on camera. I mean, you felt comfortable enough fucking each other IN A CAR OUTSIDE THE HOME YOU SHARED WITH ARIANA, so why stop now???
In a talking head interview, Raquel says she was "just so curious to know what it was like to be physical with someone you loved." And that she did "not have the willpower to not see him." We know. It genuinely does not seem that Raquel has ANY remorse, and it is CHILLING.
Raquel says that she feels "so alone" and she only has her parents, Tom Sandoval, and her sister, but that she's not entirely sure she can count on Sandoval, considering that he cheated on his partner of nine years and he may do the same to her. Is this...LOGIC??? Also, all of these things could have been considered like, mmmm, seven months or so ago.
They then laugh together while being like, "He-he-he, oopsie, we fucked up," and it's like, you realize you didn't, like, forget your clothes in the washer for a few days, right? You betrayed your best friend!
We are now at Villa Rosa for the required Lisa Vanderpump scene. Ariana shows up in a very emotional state — and my GOD, who could ever blame her — and LVP offers genuine emotional support despite the fact that I know on some level, in her producer era, she is somewhat thrilled that this happened to her show. Ariana shares that she's been trying to "lean into her anger" because otherwise, she cannot function at all with all of this emotional pain. LVP asks if Schwartz knew (he fucking did!!!), and Ariana says she doesn't know but he had finally reached out that morning with a half-assed text that included the line, "I don't wanna kick my guy when he's down." Once again, the fucking audacity of these men.
The text in question, btw:
Ariana is obviously emotional, and I think you would genuinely have to be heartless not to feel some of her pain in this moment.
We are now back at Katie's apartment for a scene with Tom Schwartz, my second-least-favorite Tom at the moment. Katie point-blank asks him, "How long have you known?" He says, "I don't know; I didn't mark it on the calendar," which is definitely something someone who was lying would say!
We are back at Ariana and Tom's shared home, and OH MY GOD, THOSE LEGGINGS... IT'S KRISTEN DOUTE TIME, EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!! My god, I never thought I would be this excited to see Kristen back on my screen. They sit down to chat, and I am giddy with excitement and then reminded that the situation is actually very sad, and I feel bad.
Now we have another required LVP scene, except this time it's Tom Sandoval at Villa Rosa. Sandoval immediately goes in with his whole "I didn't want to hurt Ariana" shtick, and it's like, even if that were true, the whole point is that you fucking did! YOU DID HURT HER! SO NOW WHAT!!!!!!!!
Now a group scene. It's Lala (in her "Send it to Darrell" sweatshirt), Katie, Charli Burnett, Scheana, and Scheana's sister. Ariana also shows up and comments that it "feels like a death." I honestly can't believe Ariana is even standing right now, much less filming. And then we find out that this was filmed the same day that the temporary restraining order was filed against Scheana. After the women speak for a bit, the second-worst Tom on this planet, Tom Schwartz, has the audacity to show his face. He asks Ariana to speak before noting that "he used to have a bar and cocktail lounge." YOU ARE NOT THE VICTIM HERE, BRO.
Schwartz says that he isn't looking for sympathy — an obvious lie — but that he's not a co-conspirator. Ariana says that she understands but she will not have mutual friends with Tom Sandoval, so Schwartz's and her friendship ends here. Ariana says that she wishes she didn't miss him but what she misses isn't real.
And for the final scene of what is absolutely going to be considered one of the best episodes of reality television in history, we get a sit-down between Scheana and Tom Sandoval. Say what you will, but Scheana is instrumental to this show, and it feels fitting that this is where this explosive season ends. Sandoval says, "I was going to break up with Ariana regardless." And Scheana responds, "But you didn't — you fucked her best friend instead." CHILLS.
Sandoval claims that Ariana "threatened to kill herself" when he "tried to break up with her," once again putting the blame on Ariana in a situation that is most definitely not her fault. We all knew he would do this, but it doesn't make it any easier to watch it play out. The scene ends, I still have full body chills, and then we get a preview for the reunion. I genuinely can't even breathe right now.
