Did Raquel Leviss' Parents Pump The Brakes On Her Vanderpump Rules Return?
Raquel Leviss has had one of the most drastic falls from grace in "Vanderpump Rules" history. It took just one season for Leviss to go from being the show's sweetheart to public enemy number one. Season 10 followed Leviss' post-breakup journey following her split from James Kennedy and how she handled seeing her ex-fiance move on with Ally Lewber so soon after their engagement ended. The former beauty queen was open about her initial disapproval of Kennedy's new romance when appearing on Katie Maloney's "You're Gonna Love Me" podcast in April 2022.
Among other things, Leviss riffed on Kennedy moving on with Lewber just one month after their split. She went on to dish about her friendly date with SUR manager Peter Madrigal and how excited she was to start dating after ending a five-year relationship. Crucially, the interview took place long before Leviss offended Maloney by making out with her ex-husband, Tom Schwartz, in Mexico and sparked a whirlwind love affair with her best friend and co-star, Ariana Madix's, longtime partner, Tom Sandoval.
Leviss started to lose friends quickly after kissing Schwartz, but Scheana Shay and Madix stuck around until they learned about Sandoval and Leviss' months-long affair. The betrayal rocked the entire cast and quickly became known as "Scandoval." Leviss was obliterated at the Season 10 reunion in ways that understandably made her reluctant to return. But there may have been influence from Leviss' family with regards to her making a comeback too.
The reality star's parents reportedly don't want her to return
In the uncensored and extended version of the second part of the explosive "Vanderpump Rules" Season 10 reunion, Raquel Leviss sat down for a one-on-one with Andy Cohen during which she acknowledged her hesitation to return to the show. At the time, Leviss admitted that her future was under review but expressed her desire to come back. However, shortly after filming the reunion, Leviss checked herself into a mental health facility where she had little contact with the outside world.
Amid her treatment, Leviss' family made headlines when they reportedly contacted the FBI to report the vicious death threats the former pageant queen had received in response to the cheating scandal (via Us Weekly). But according to Leviss' former friend and co-star, Charli Burnett, she and Sandoval need the paycheck "VPR" provides since they're losing out on other gigs in the wake of Scandoval, as she explained on "The Viall Files" podcast.
In fact, the only thing that would prevent Leviss from returning for Season 11 would be her parents. "[They have told me], 'She's not doing this anymore,'" Burnett claimed. "Yes, they 100 percent [have influence over her]." And she isn't the only cast member sounding off about Leviss' family's influence on her television career either.
Could Raquel Leviss play the victim card?
Scheana Shay sat down with Variety after the "Vanderpump Rules" Season 10 reunion finished airing and shared why she thinks that Raquel Leviss' parents won't allow her to return to the show. Shay expressed her doubts about Leviss' return, considering her extended stay in a mental health facility. But the other possible option Shay floated for the beleaguered reality star is if her family positions her as a victim and uses her treatment or potential diagnosis as a way to gain sympathy from viewers.
The "Good As Gold" singer is convinced there's little chance Leviss' family would allow her to return to the show since Leviss' dad allegedly made a confession at the beauty queen's engagement party about how he would take his daughter off the show the second the public or her castmates turned on her. Shay reckons Leviss' father has been working behind the scenes as a "stage dad" who is seemingly pulling the strings on his daughter's television career.
There isn't official word on which cast members will return for Season 11 just yet but the show's executive producer, Alex Baskin, did tease Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval's potential return ahead of filming the reunion, per Variety. Just ahead of the explosive culmination of the three-parter, he told The Hollywood Reporter he was waiting to begin contract negotiations with the cast until after they had all watched Leviss' confession at the end of the episode.