The guy at the heart of Scandoval is revealing if his romance was worth the fallout.
Tom Sandoval doesn't know if his affair with Rachel Leviss was worth the fallout. During Tuesday's episode of Vanderpump Rules, Rachel's former fiancé, James Kennedy, asked Tom if cheating on Ariana Madix was worth the resulting Scandoval, and the bartender's answer may surprise viewers.
The drama began with a shopping trip for Tom and Tom Schwartz, during which the former revealed that he knew Rachel was out of her treatment program and now going by her birth name instead of Raquel. Despite that, Rachel had been dodging Sandoval's communication efforts, even having her publicist send his calls to voicemail.
Sandoval tried to leave that behind him as he set off for Tahoe with much of the group, even breaking down in tears after Scheana Shay acknowledged his existence at the airport, telling the cameras that it "felt like a hint of acceptance."
That acceptance was short-lived, as Scheana's husband, Brock Davies, questioned Sandoval at the house, and the latter man quickly turned defensive.
"What I did was horrible, but neither Raquel nor I did that out of any sort of malicious intent," Sandoval said, "but we felt that things were done towards us with very specific malicious intent."
"Your feelings are valid, but you just gotta understand there's other people involved in this whole thing," Brock replied. "We're not your enemy. We're just very hurt friends."
And then, when James entered the kitchen and Sandoval tried to start up a conversation, the DJ was icy and told the cameras, "I'm just being cordial with you. We're not f**king cool yet."
"I feel like they're just expecting me to come in and grovel at their feet and beg for forgiveness, but they're failing to acknowledge the way they came after me," Sandoval said in a confessional. "Talking s**t about me on social media, selling merch, hardcore pushing conspiracy theories on podcasts. This isn't just about them forgiving me. This is something we need to mutually move on from together."
It's that vibe that Tom brought with him when the group set off to visit the site of Lisa Vanderpump's new restaurant. While there, Lisa invited the group to hit the walls while yelling about something they want to let go of, and Sandoval wasn't shy about doing so.
"Scumbag and cheaters! Worm with a mustache! Charles Manson's son! Lala! James Kennedy! Motherf**king Scandoval!" he yelled, prompting Scheana to say, "How about you hit the wall for your actions?"
Later, when the group was out for drinks, Sandoval asked James to take a walk with him, explaining to the cameras, "I know James well enough to know that, through his childish behavior, he's hurt. I want to acknowledge his feelings, and I feel like if I don't just rip that Band-Aid off it won't happen."
Sandoval started the chat by saying, "I don't want to cause any problems. I don't want to create hostility. I just want to co-exist. When it went down, I was scared to talk to you. It was so overwhelming."
James pointed out that that wasn't an excuse for betrayal. And, though Sandoval insisted he and Rachel never meant "to hurt anybody," James fired back, "Nobody wants to hurt anybody, but you knew it would."
"What was ever going to come of this that could possibly not be catastrophic?" Sandoval questioned. James quickly responded that breaking up with Ariana and pursuing a relationship with Rachel could've worked, but Sandoval fought back against that idea, saying "it wasn't that simple."
As for if he planned to be with Rachel now that she's out of treatment, Sandoval admitted he was unsure, telling James, "I'm basically torn between resentment and love."
With that in mind, James inquired, "Was it all worth it to where you are now?"
"I don't know," Sandoval responded with a shake of his head, before telling the cameras, "It wasn't just about being with Rachel. It was also getting out of a relationship that I know wasn't suiting my life. The path that I was on was not a good path. It needed to change."
The conversation then turned to James' friendship with Sandoval, which the latter man apologized for "discounting."
"The confusion, bro, like, my god, have I ever had a real friend in my f**king god**mn life? It scares me. You were meant to be the most trustworthy. You were the guy. Down the f**king drain," James told Tom, before explaining to the cameras, "Tom Sandoval was the last person in Hollywood that was going to f**k me over. He was the one guy that I really did trust with all my might. It just blows my mind that he was the one to backstab me harder than anyone else ever has."
"I can't obviously take back what I've done and I have to accept what I did and just basically embrace and be like, 'Yo, don't ever f**king do that s**t again you f**king idiot," Sandoval said, before offering James an apology.
James thanked Sandoval for saying sorry, but stopped short of accepting the apology, explaining, "I miss it all... Do you know what f**king breaks my heart, bro? You were like a big bro to me... And then it's like nothing will ever be the same. That's why I've been so angry, bro."
Sandoval once again apologized and promised to "work through this," later telling the cameras, "I know I screwed up and hurt people. I know I hurt James. I'm taking accountability for that. I want to acknowledge his feelings and make amends."
The men walked away from the conversation with a hug.
Vanderpump Rules airs Tuesdays on Bravo.
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