Rachel Leviss arrives at the KIIS FM’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2023 Presented By Capital One at The Kia Forum on December 1, 2023 in Inglewood, California.Photo:Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Rachel “Raquel” Levissis setting the record straight about her former friendship withAriana Madix.
TheVanderpump Rulesalum, 29, shared that she believes it’s a misconception that she and Madix, 38, were“best friends”before her affair with theChicagostar’s then-boyfriendTom Sandovalendedtheir nine-year relationship.
“I think for me, when people use the word ‘best friend’ to define Ariana and my friendship, I tend to automatically get defensive with that,” she said on herRachel Goes Roguepodcast. “Because for me, I didn’t consider her a best friend and I didn’t think that she considered me a best friend.”
Rachel “Raquel” Leviss and Ariana Madix.getty (2)
Despite claiming that the pair were not as close as some of her fans and former costars assumed, Leviss still knows that she was in the wrong, saying, “But your level of friendship doesn’t really determine how bad the action is. The action is the action, and it’s unacceptable no matter what the relationship is.”
“I also acknowledge that maybe for Ariana she viewed me as a best friend, even though my definition of a best friend would be somebody that I’m calling often and talking to, filling in details of my day, and we didn’t have that type of friendship,” she continued. “So when the term best friend was being put out there that’s the reason why I wanted to defend myself.”
When asked she thinks the term “best friend” was “weaponized” against her at the height of the scandal, Levis responded, “I feel like they painted more of a diabolical picture with saying that we were best friends and it was like that ultimate betrayal, which it still is an ultimate betrayal honestly, because she trusted me as a friend and I had a duty to her as a friend to not overstepped this clear boundary.”
She admitted, “I knew that Tom and Ariana were in a relationship; yet, I acted on my impulses without consideration to how it would affect her feelings and how it would emotionally damage her so I really am sorry for crossing that boundary and violating Ariana’s trust.”
Leviss insisted that she was ready to “take accountability for my actions.”
Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss.Amanda Edwards/Getty; Emma McIntyre/WireImage; Charles Sykes/Bravo/Getty
The former pageant queen, who madeher New York Fashion Week debutlast week, previously noted that shestill owes Madix an apologyfor her behavior.
“I got emotional watching that,” she said ofwatchingtheVanderpump Rulesseason 11premiere. “You know, like, I recognized that my behavior was so hurtful to her.”
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Vanderpump Rulesairs Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
source: people.com
