Photo by Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Pump Rules’ Raquel Leviss Deletes Ariana Madix Apology on Instagram After ‘Better Person’ Pledge
Vanderpump Rules star Raquel Leviss seemingly doubled down on her claims that she and Ariana Madix “were not best friends” as she deleted her March 8 Instagram apology dedicated to her former costar after her affair with Tom Sandoval went public.
Not only did Raquel, 28, do some summer cleaning to her online profile, but she also changed her Instagram bio following her social media hiatus.
“Becoming a better person… one day at a time,” the former pageant princess’ bio reads.
Raquel’s public apology wasn’t the only post removed from her grid as her past photos with Tom, ex-fiancé James Kennedy and other Vanderpump Rules stars have been deleted.
The new development comes weeks after the Sonoma State University alumna spoke out for the first time after the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion. Raquel shared more about her takeaways about Scandoval during an August 16 appearance on Bethenny Frankel’s “Just B With Bethenny.”
While denying her BFF status with the Single AF Cocktails author, Raquel claimed they were more like “acquaintances who became friends through the show.”
“She’s always been somebody who’s been very sweet to me. She would stand up for me and encourage me to pursue whatever I was, I don’t know … pursuing,” she told the Real Housewives of New York alum. “And that was all great. But we never had, like, a deep conversation that I would have with a best friend.”
Vanderpump Rules stars Ariana, 38, Tom, 40, James, 31, Lala Kent, Katie Maloney, Tom Schwartz and Scheana Shay have returned for the upcoming season, but Raquel has been noticeably missing.
Fans questioned her cast status after she entered a treatment facility following reunion filming on March 23, where her castmates shared their unfiltered thoughts about her.
Raquel was spotted for the first time since leaving the mental health facility on July 19 outside of her family’s home in Tuscon, Arizona – days before a source told In Touch she wanted a major VPR pay raise.
“She’s in negotiations to return to the show. Raquel thinks she should be paid a lot more than what she was getting,” the insider exclusively told In Touch on July 13. “After all, she made Vanderpump Rules a hot topic, and ratings went up because of Scandoval.”
Life & Style confirmed Tom and Ariana split after she found out about his affair with Raquel on March 3. Five days later, Raquel broke her silence and issued a public apology to her fans and costar.
“I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships. There is no excuse, I am not a victim, and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana,” she wrote at the time. Raquel then admitted she was “reflecting” on her choices and learned about her “patterns of codependency and addiction to being and feeling loved.”
