Rachel Leviss Vows to Be 'Better Friend' After 'Hardest Year Yet'

The Vanderpump Rules star -- whose affair with costar Tom Sandoval blew up both their lives, as well as Ariana Madix's -- reflected on her messy year in an Instagram post Sunday saying goodbye to the last year.

"2023 hands down has been the hardest year yet. My life had become completely unmanageable and I was so far down the rabbit hole of making bad decisions that I NEEDED help," she wrote. "I'm so blessed I was able to get the help I needed. Now, I finally feel like I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel."

"As we set intentions into the new year, I vow to be a better friend to the ones close in my life," she continued. "To those that have stood by me through my darkest days, I will always remember and cherish you. Eternally grateful for a second chance. Here's to an epic 2024! 🦋"

Her posts were flooded with positive comments from fans, leaving messages like, "We all need to be rolling into 2024 with this kinda smile and light," "You’re a good person who had some bad times, and that doesn’t define you," and "everyone deserves a second chance. good for you."

While the rest of the cast is poised to return for the new season of their long-running reality show this month, Leviss is promising to tell her side of the story in her new iHeartPodcast Rachel Goes Rogue, which premieres in full on January 8.

Last month, in a sneak peek at the podcast, Leviss said she's not heard from anyone on the cast since that decision, save Sandoval himself.

Further, she said she has a whole different understanding of her relationship with Sandoval since she did take that time to step away and seek treatment. Now, she has "a lot of clarity" about the whole situation.

"The story I would tell myself about our relationship that we had, it seemed so special and it seemed so real, but when you look at the cold, hard facts and write them down on a piece of paper and see all of those red flags clear as day, that will break you out of your denial," she said.

"Once I was broken out of denial and realized how manipulative he is," she added, "I couldn't put myself in a situation where, at my most vulnerable state, it would probably get me back to those old patterns that I'm trying to break free from."

Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules premieres January 30 at 8pm ET on Bravo. Rachel Goes Rogue drops January 8 on the iHeartPodcast network or wherever you get your podcasts.