The former 'Vanderpump Rules' star offered her two cents during the latest episode of her podcast.
Stassi Schroeder is weighing in on the roiling drama at the heart of the Vanderpump Rules universe!
During a new episode of her podcast, Straight Up With Stassi, then former Vanderpump Rules cast member shared her thoughts and expert analysis of the ongoing cheating scandal surrounding Tom Sandoval's split from Ariana Madix over his affair with Raquel Leviss.
"I have been out of this situation and this environment for three years now. That’s a really long time, and I didn’t ask for that. That choice was made for me. I was removed from Vanderpump Rules, OK? And in order to cope and move on and be a healthy person, I had to, like, put some distance between myself and the show," Schroeder explained. "For the most part, this world is not my life anymore. Drama is not my life anymore. I don’t know how to digest it. I don’t know how to talk about it."
However, that didn't stop her from giving it her best shot -- and she came out swinging at Sandoval and Leviss, and proudly declared, "I think it goes without saying, actually, [I'm] Team Ariana... there shouldn’t even be a choice. It's not up for debate."
Schroeder railed against Sandoval, arguing, "We all knew that Sandoval was an incredibly selfish, narcissistic, egotistical person, who spent 10 years convincing everyone that he was the good guy. Which always just drove me crazy, 'cause I saw through that, and that’s why I fought with him."
While Schroeder said she wasn't surprised by Sandoval, she admitted that Leviss' involvement in the cheating drama was unexpected for her.
"I was very much fooled by Raquel," she said. "I don’t know if she was always this person or if she became this person through all the attention and fame she got from being on a reality show, a show where bad behavior is rewarded with attention. Like, you’ve talked about more when you’re bad, you know what I mean?"
"I don’t feel like this is who she was, I really don’t," she added. "I might be wrong, I might be off, but I feel like somewhere along the way she lost herself in Hollywood."
Last week, news broke that Madix had split from Sandoval -- after dating for nearly a decade -- when she discovered an incriminating video and text messages on his phone, between him and Leviss. As the story of the cheating scandal unfolded, reports emerged alleging that Sandoval and Leviss' affair had been going on for several months.
During that time, Ariana had befriended Leviss and had been spending time with her as Leviss got over a breakup.
One notable bit of drama came when Leviss claimed to have made out with Tom Sandoval's best friend, Tom Schwartz. She also talked about the incident with Schwartz's ex-wife, Katie Maloney.
However, Schroeder posits that the entire idea for Leviss to try and hook up with Schwartz may have been due to Sandoval's machinations -- in an effort to throw anyone off the scent of their dalliance.
"It also sounds like something Sandoval would come up with," Schroeder said of the Leviss-Schwartz kiss. "It sounds like something that he would be like, 'This is a great way to cover.' It's a cover-up! And Raquel’s like, 'Yeah!'"
"Schwartz wasn’t into Raquel. Even I remember, in real-time, Katie talking to me about this going on. She was like, 'What hurts the most, Schwartz isn't interested in Raquel and Raquel's not interested in Schwartz. Like, they’re doing this for a story. This doesn’t feel real. And the fact that they would do this for a story to hurt me, and knowing that it hurts me, is like, so f**ked up,' I’m like, 'Yeah, it is,'" Schroeder continued. "I would understand if Raquel was genuinely interested in Schwartz and Schwartz is single, OK. Raquel doesn’t have to be loyal to Katie, but like, this was weird. Everything about it is weird. And now. to me, it makes so much sense."
"She didn’t give a f**k [about Shwartz]. She was in love with Tom Sandoval and hooking up with him the entire time behind Ariana’s back," Schroeder added.
Schroeder also lamented over the pain Madix must be feeling amid the split, sharing, "I don’t know how Ariana is going to ever get over this. Like, 10 years of her life with somebody -- so, not only can someone she’s trusted for 10 years do that to her, but then one of her best friends, who she’s taken under her wing and been so close to, can do that to her? And they’re not older adults. Like, we’re not in our 20s anymore. They all, we all know better. Like, how does she get over that?"
Schroeder also said she doesn't feel like Sandoval and Leviss will ever be able to "come back" from the embarrassment and negativity surrounding the drama -- at least anytime soon.
"I think that the only way that they could have some sort of redemption is like, if they got married and had a baby and started doing charity work for the rest of their life," Schroeder said.
For more on the ongoing, very complex and drama-filled Vanderpump Rules cheating scandal, check out the stories below.
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