Tom Sandoval 'Fought So Hard' for Rachel Leviss, Hopes She Loved Him, Wasn't Just Chasing Fame

The Masked Singer and Special Forces: World's Toughest Test alum opened up about his relationship in a crossover special that started on the latest Two T's in a Pod podcast and continued on his own Everybody Loves Tom podcast.

"I fought so hard for Rachel," said Sandoval, who was sharing his story with his longtime best friend Tom Schwartz and Real Housewives alums Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge.

He said that he gave up smoking and drinking when Leviss went into a facility because she wasn't able to partake in those things. "I haven't gone this long without drinking since I was 16. It's been eight months," said Sandoval. "I stopped for her. I was there in any way that she needed me."

Leviss, as it turns out, decided that she doesn't need Sandoval at all, severing all ties to him, including a matching necklace, and saying some pretty harsh things about him and their time together.

According to Sandoval, though, they were basically alone together in the immediate aftermath of their cheating scandal coming to light, which led them to some pretty dark places.

The Real Housewives ladies said the hate aimed at the pair was shocking and disheartening. "Wishing death upon me," Sandoval said. "Creating a climate that pushes most people to f--king suicide."

"I was on the phone with Rachel and literally debating on f--king killing ourselves," he said. Sandoval talked about falling into that head space in the inaugural episode of his podcast back in September.

After their affair blew up and began to dominate the news cycle, Sandoval and Leviss were villainized on an epic scale rarely seen, which left Judge frustrated and sympathetic to them. She shared a conversation she had with Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen about it shortly after she appeared alongside VPR star Lala Kent.

"Andy and I were talking and I said, 'They're human beings, this is disgusting,'" Judge shared. "'Yes they made a mistake but to be that hated by the entire world.' That's like -- you'd be suicidal, you'd be suicidal because of that."

Mellencamp noted that "everybody else on the cast has done a similar type of thing," which is definitely true of the Vanderpump Rules gang. There has been cheating by virtually every member of that cast over their past decade on the air.

As for Leviss, she's promised to tell her side of the story in a new podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue, coming January 8, 2024, when the new season of VPR kicks off. Sandoval and Madix both returned to filming while Leviss opted out after her stay in a mental health facility.

Now that she's fully pulled away from him, Sandoval said "of course" he still misses her. "We were best friends," he said. "It's heartbreaking to go through. I was fully in love with her."

"She's not just some hot girl," he said of Leviss. "I was a model for 15 years, it's deeper than that. It's more than that." He insisted this wasn't just a fling to him, that he had real feelings, even though the way he handled it was hugely problematic.

"You get caught up. You get lost in your emotions," he said. "Love makes you do really stupid things. Throw logic out the window and that's exactly what happened."

When asked if he thought Leviss loved him back, all Sandoval could say was, "I hope she did.". At the same time, he admitted he "doesn't know" if she actually loved him or was just chasing fame. He said it hurt that she "just shooed" him away.

He also admitted that he wished he could have had the luxury of stepping away from the glaring spotlight of their "Scandoval" to go to a retreat the way Leviss was able to, but "I had to make money."

Instead, Sandoval continued touring with his band and made reality television appearances on The Masked Singer and Special Forces: World's Toughest. "Every single month, all the bills come out of my accounts," said Sandoval. "So, while Ariana's shooting all these ads, she’s six months behind in bills."

Despite their breakup, the couple continued to live together until very recently, though they generally communicated through go-betweens. For her part, Madix has been doing extensive promotional work and competed on Dancing with the Stars. She is set to take over the lead role on Broadway's Chicago next month.

In other words, there are plenty of opportunities to follow up on the next chapter for all the "Scandoval" players next month. Both Madix and Sandoval will feature on Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules, while Madix struts her stuff on Broadway. And both Sandoval and Leviss will be sharing their personal journeys on their respective podcasts.