Tom Sandoval says he thought he had found true love with Rachel Leviss and insists he did everything he could to try to continue their relationship.

During a recent interview with the Two Ts In A Pod with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge podcast, the Vanderpump Rules star opened up about his affair with Rachel, stating that it wasn’t just a “thrill” for him and that he wanted to make things work with Rachel.

“I fought so hard for [her]. I stopped drinking. I stopped smoking cigarettes because she went away to a facility,” Tom said. “I’m like, ‘She can’t drink, she can’t smoke. I’m gonna quit.”

Tom confirmed that he has continued to maintain his sobriety and that that he hasn’t had a drink for eight months.

“I stopped for her. And I was there in any way she needed me. I was at her beck and call,” he said. 

As ‘Pump’ fans know, things did not end up working out between Tom and Rachel, and back in September, Rachel made it very clear that she has no interest in speaking to Tom anymore. (As The Ashley reported at the time, Rachel publicly blocked Tom after he left her a birthday message in the comment section of one of her Instagram posts. Tom later called Rachel “petty” and “immature” for doing so.) 

During his podcast interview with Tamra and Teddi, Tom admitted that he still misses Rachel.

“We were best friends,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking to go through. I was fully in love with her. This is not just some hot girl. Come on, I was a model for like 15 years, it’s deeper than that. It’s more than that.”

In true Tom form, he also used the podcast interview to point a finger at Rachel for being the one to start their affair. (As ‘Vanderpump Rules’ fans know, Tom and Rachel were hooking up for more than seven months behind the back of Tom’s longtime partner Ariana Madix, who was also one of Rachel’s closest friends.) 

“She came onto a guy in a relationship that was severely … depressed, I had no confidence, so low self-value,” Tom said of Rachel. 

While Rachel has yet to publicly respond to Tom’s statement, she will be going public with her thoughts on the affair (and other topics.) On November 30, she announced her new podcast Rachel Goes Rogue, set to debut in January 2024.

“This might not be the return you’re expecting, but this coming January, you’ll hear my side of the story, and you may just be surprised what you find out. I hope you’ll join me,” she stated in the trailer.

Rachel had previously opened up about Scandoval in August on Bethenny Frankel’s podcast, ReWives with Bethenny Frankel, stating that she knew the state of Tom and Ariana’s relationship was very poor at the time she started hooking up with Tom. 

“I would not be involved in this affair, secrecy type situation if I thought there was longevity in this relationship between Tom and Ariana,” she told Bethenny.

“I don’t expect [Ariana] to forgive me. I am remorseful. I do recognize that I’ve caused her a lot of pain,” she added. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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After the news of Scandoval broke, Rachel checked herself into a wellness facility where she learned that she had a love addiction.

“It’s a real thing. It’s where you confuse intensity for intimacy. and those chemical changes in the brain are the same chemical changes that happen when you take drugs. So it is addictive, and it explains why I couldn’t stop seeing this person,” she said.

While Tom says he was fully in love with Rachel, he admitted that he’s not sure Rachel ever felt the same wayabout him, given that she “shooed” him away from her after Scandoval broke.

“I hope she did [love me],” he said. “I don’t know.”

RELATED STORY: Ariana Madix’s New Cocktail Book Details Night She Believes Her Ex Tom Sandoval Hooked Up With Rachel Leviss While Ariana Was In The Next Room