The Vanderpump Rules reunion started off with a bang, as the cast came together to talk about Scandoval in depth for the first time. While the cast was gathered to speak on Vanderpump Rules season 10, the majority of the conversation was focused on Tom Sandoval's cheating scandal with Raquel Leviss, all behind the back of Ariana Madix and the rest of their large friend group. With Tom and Ariana still living under the same roof as they navigate their breakup, and for Tom, an abundance of public scrutiny, it was clear throughout the Vanderpump Rules reunion part 1 that the dynamic between the cast has shifted irrevocably.
As Tom and Ariana, along with Katie Maloney, Tom Schwartz, James Kennedy, Lala Kent, Scheana Shay, and Lisa Vanderpump, gathered to speak with Andy Cohen, things were clearly tense between several of the cast members. Raquel, who was notably absent from the conversation throughout part 1 of the reunion, didn't participate due to a restraining order she filed against Scheana after news of the affair broke. Scheana was a major part of the Vanderpump Rules finale, and had valuable contributions to be made to the discussion of the affair. She was included while Raquel was in a trailer alone watching a live feed with her reactions being filmed.
10 The Reunion Started With Preliminary Interviews
Vanderpump Rules reunion part 1 actually began the day prior to the reunion, when Andy sat down with Ariana, Tom, and Raquel separately to discuss their feelings about the events of Scandoval and what they hoped to get from the reunion. Title cards explained, "For Tom Sandoval, it was one final chance to come clean. For Ariana, it was a moment to share her experience. For Raquel, it was a chance to explain how it all happened." Snippets from the interviews of Andy asking how each cast member was doing were shared, before he went into the details of the drama, asking for their honest takes on what happened.
9 Ariana Felt More Upset With Raquel's Deception Than Tom's
After Ariana explained to Andy that she was "absolutely not" suspicious of Tom and Raquel's relationship initially, she shared that "as a loyal and committed partner [to Tom], I gave him the benefit of the doubt and I trusted him." She went on to explain that she was genuinely more upset that she didn't see the signs from Raquel than from Tom. While Ariana was apologetic toward Andy, she said that Tom's behavior is more something she'd "expect" from a man, while Raquel would be held to a higher standard as her friend. "I can't imagine doing that to one of my friends," she explained.
8 Tom Says He And Ariana Put Up A Front In Public
For Tom's part, he was open with Andy, even getting irritated at one point when Andy asked candidly about how he felt having both his girlfriend and his mistress watching him in a crowd. Tom explained that he felt guilty during the filming process because he knew that he and Ariana were putting up a front when it came to their relationship. When Andy asked how he could possibly justify having a full-blown affair with Raquel rather than breaking up with Ariana and pursuing a relationship with her, Tom cited the public front he and Ariana had put up, supporting his claims that he felt their relationship was over anyway.
7 James And Ariana Called Tom Out For Victim-Blaming
When the cast finally sat down to talk through the events of Vanderpump Rules season 10, it became clear that Tom would be sticking to the narrative he developed beforehand. Tom's decision to take responsibility for his actions while trying to absolve himself by explaining that he and Ariana were already having problems came crashing down quickly when James called him out immediately. As Tom began to tearfully apologize, James interrupted him with a loud, "pull yourself together, you're not a victim," at the same time that Ariana interjected, "you're not a victim. The sad sack act is f***ing bull****." Ariana continued, "he has victim-blamed me 100% of the way."
6 Raquel's Reactions Were Shown From An Isolated Trailer
Raquel, who was watching from an isolated trailer that was placed over 100 yards away from where the reunion was being filmed, was shown periodically throughout the Vanderpump Rules reunion. While she wasn't shown too often, when she was shown it was clear that she was uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. While she was shown watching James and Tom take jabs at one another, with James having cut Andy off several times while he was trying to ask a question, Raquel huffed, "I want to see his answer to this question," throwing her hands up in frustration. It was clear that not being involved was difficult for Raquel.
5 Tom Thanked The Cast For Supporting Ariana
Tom, who seemed anxious from the moment he set foot on the Vanderpump Rules reunion stage, did his best to keep himself calm as he spoke to the rest of the cast in a faux-gracious moment. Tom quickly and tearfully tried to extend his thanks, saying, "Uh, I just, uh...want to thank everybody...I just want to say I appreciate everybody for being there for Ariana, no matter what was going on in our relationship, she didn't deserve it. Nobody deserves that to happen...I'm sorry for doing the one thing I said I wouldn't do, and I did it in the worst way possible. I love you and I apologize."
4 Lala Said "Tom Is Randall Emmett" And Lisa Called Her Out
When Lala was asked about the comparison between her relationship with her ex Randall Emmett, she was quick to call Tom out for his behavior and make it clear that she felt his actions were narcicisstic and dangerous. "Sandoval is Randall. Give it ten years, he is Randall Emmett, it's absolutely terrifying. I couldn't get Randall to stay home, and then when s*** hit the fan, I couldn't get him the f*** out of the house. That is a f***ing narcissist...like this is a dangerous human being." When Lisa said she didn't agree with Lala calling Tom "dangerous," Lala was uninterested in hearing Lisa out.
3 The Toms Sort Out The Affair Timeline
When asked about his involvement in the affair, Schwartz was quick to want to offer up answers and share what he knew about Tom and Raquel's relationship in order to clear his name. Unfortunately for Tom, Schwartz was somewhat too open about his knowledge of the affair. He shared that he found out about Tom and Raquel's initial hookup far earlier than Tom had told Andy the day prior. In his initial interview, Tom shared with Andy that Schwartz didn't know anything about the affair until "mid to late January," while Schwartz made it clear that he knew about their hookup in "late August after [Scheana's] wedding."
2 Schwartz And Sandoval Took Their Girlfriends On A Vacation
While both Toms adamantly denied the trip being for them and their "girlfriends," it came out that Tom and Raquel went snowboarding in Big Bear, along with Schwartz and his friend-with-benefits, Jo Wenberg, who's a close friend of ex Vanderpump Rules cast member Kristen Doute. Jo was temporarily staying with Schwartz, and while the two were having a short-lived fling, they went to Big Bear Mountain with Tom and Raquel. It was clear that no one else in the cast had put this trip together as a sort of "double date" until the reunion, as it drove the cast into chaos for several minutes.
1 The Entire Cast Continuously Boo-ed Tom Sandoval
The Vanderpump Rules reunion part 1 saw many firsts for the series, including a reunion that pushed the fourth wall aside and gave viewers a look into how Bravo reunions come together. With Ariana and James leading the charge, there was another first for the cast, as they were continuously boo-ing Tom throughout the reunion whenever he would begin to go too far or speak out of turn. By the end of the episode, the cast had come together to boo Tom's answers to more than one question, while Tom was still trying to fight back and defend his actions.