Raquel Confirms That Schwartz Knew About Her and Sandoval "Since the Very Beginning"

The drama on Vanderpump Rules exploded during Season 10. After nearly 10 years together, Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix split due to Sandoval’s affair with Raquel Leviss. The cheating scandal, appropriately dubbed “Scandoval,” was a shock to the cast as Raquel was previously linked to Tom Schwartz.

In March 2023, Ariana ended her relationship with the musician after finding out about his transgressions. Bravo producers immediately returned to filming, giving fans the chance to watch the drama unfold on-screen.

“I've been with you for nine years,” Ariana told Sandoval, during the season finale. “When you were literally like, wearing combat boots and skinny jeans and didn't have a f---ing dime to your name.” She then went on to slam Raquel and suggested that the Vanderpump Rules star and her former friend was “searching for her identity in men.” Sandoval attempted to apologize for the affair, but Ariana was unwilling to accept his pleas.

And while the romance between Sandoval and Raquel was made public in March, fans speculated that Schwartz may have known about the affair much sooner. So, when did Schwartz find out about Tom and Raquel's affair? Here's what we know from what both Schwartz and Raquel have said.

The timeline of Tom and Raquel’s cheating scandal may be a bit confusing to some, but Schwartz appears to have a clear recollection of when the affair began. During an April 2023 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Schwartz told Andy Cohen that he was first made aware of his friend’s romance with Raquel in 2022. “I learned in late August about the affair, the one-night stand,” he revealed.

But according to Schwartz, he wasn't the only person in the Vanderpump Rules circle that knew about the affair. Schwartz claimed that Tom came to him in January 2023 and confessed that he was in love with Raquel.

“After that, Tom kind of got flagrant, you know? He was brazened,” Schwartz said. Schwartz suggested that the newly formed relationship then became an “open secret,” and that he was under the impression that Tom had already separated from Ariana.

Schwartz has also had to deny that his previous fling with Raquel was a coverup for her affair with Tom. “That’s not true. Unless I was a pawn in the game,” he told TMZ.

Raquel opened up about the timeline of when Schwartz knew in an episode of her podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue and she confirmed that Sandoval's BFF was made aware of the affair from the jump.

She revealed that "Schwartz knew since the very beginning." She added that Schwartz knew about the first hookup before she and Sandoval even had a chance to discuss it together and come up with a "game plan."

Despite the immediate backlash, Tom and Raquel briefly continued their relationship. On March 4, Raquel publicly apologized for her part in the affair but didn't comment on the future of her relationship with Tom. A short while later, Tom sat down with Howie Mandell and revealed that he and Raquel had defined their relationship status. “We’re really good friends. We’re not putting any label on it,” he said during an appearance on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast.

Not long after, though, the pair ended things, and Raquel is no longer part of Vanderpump Rules. At least, for the foreseeable future. While Sandoval continues to try and clear his name with the fandom, Raquel is telling her side of things outside of the show.

Watch Vanderpump Rules on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.