Leave it to infamous reality TV troublemaker Nick Viall to stir the pot when Scandoval was finally cooling down. Recently, Tom Sandoval appeared to worm (with a mustache) his way back into the Vanderpump Rules friend group, with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss still MIA.
But his Special Forces Season 2 co-star, Nick, revealed the affair may not be in Tom’s rearview mirror quite yet. A year after it supposedly began, is the (to quote Tom Schwartz) “infatuation of all infatuations” still going strong?
Tom Showed Everyone Photos of Rachel
Obviously, Scandoval was going to come up on Special Forces, we just didn’t know how. As Nick spilled on his podcast, Tom set things in motion by bringing photos of him and Rachel all the way to New Zealand. He broke the rules to sneak them in, not unlike how Rachel herself was snuck in on a trip in January. Tom made sure the pics were were endearing, and showed them off to everyone.
It’s also important to note that competition series filmed in June. At that point, a month passed since their alleged break-up, and Rachel was already in the mental health facility. Special Forces will premiere on September 25th, months before VPR Season 11 likely airs.
Nick also said that Tom talked about Rachel a lot, and seemed to genuinely still care for her. Between risking it all to bring some photos, praising Rachel, and insisting he joined Special Forces to be punished, is Tom once again trying to lay the groundwork for a star-crossed lovers storyline?
Tom Only Speaks Highly of Rachel
Aside from a shady lyric change in his cover band performances, Tom has yet to say a bad word about Rachel. As Lala Kent pointed out, he speaks about her the way he used to gush over Ariana Madix.
In his constant interviews with TMZ (which he obviously sets up), Tom always makes digs at Ariana, while defending Rachel and respecting her privacy. Unsurprisingly, this pattern continued in the latest video, where he confirmed Nick’s story.
Tom’s Rumored Rebounds Look Like Rachel
When Miami Girl appeared on Season 3, Kristen Doute noted how much they resembled each other (they also both look like James Kennedy’s mom, but that’s a whole other can of worms). In yet another instance of history repeating itself, all of Tom’s recent rumored Rachel rebounds share a striking resemblance to the beauty queen.
Past and future co-star Billie Lee has the same wide eyes and wavy bob hairstyle. Texas-based influencer Karlee Hale denied dating Tom, but she’s not the last doe-eyed blonde he’s hung out with. Is it just his latest type, or something more akin to Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo?
Tom Still Wears The Lightning Bolts
Tom’s style is embarrassing, but he always puts a lot of thought into it. Let’s not forget implying that he cheated on Ariana because she disapproved of his green sequin pants. So, it doesn’t seem accidental that he keeps wearing lightning bolt jewelry.
To recap, throughout the affair, Tom and Rachel wore matching lightning bolt necklaces. This was apparently to signify their love. And yes, they did wear them around Ariana. Viewers saw Rachel purchase hers in Season 10. It may have started out as Tom’s favorite design, or the TomTom logo, but it soon became their symbol. Rachel even sent him a postcard with lightning bolts after they supposedly broke up.
As he films Season 11, Tom has been spotted wearing the lightning necklace and a lightning bolt dangly earring. This is a guy who has no shortage of accessories to choose from. Surely, if he was really over Rachel, he could’ve picked less symbolic jewelry.
And there was another sign they may still be sending signals with coordinating looks. When Rachel was spotted for the first time in months, she wore a hat that read, “be a good person.” A day later, Tom was pictured in a graphic tee that said, “I feel fine.” Of course it could be a coincidence, but sartorial choices never seem accidental with these two.
It’s Not Tom’s MO
After a decade watching Tom on TV, we feel confident saying he rarely lets things go. This is an incredibly stubborn guy who holds on to grudges and never doubts he’s in the right. The inability to move on carries over into his relationships. Just look at how many times he took Jax back as a friend!
With both Ariana and Kristen, he stayed in the relationships for years, even though he claimed to be unhappy for some time. He always made excuses to avoid breaking up. And to this day, he remains living in the same house with Ariana.
We doubt that Tom would be willing to let go of Rachel that fast, after he clearly intended for her to take Ariana’s place. They carried on the affair for at least seven months, and Rachel met his family multiple times. Schwartz even compared Rachel to heroin, to get across how intense his best friend’s addiction to her was.
We still don’t even know if the romance is really over. Tom and Rachel’s relationship status was always murky, and their announced split didn’t clear things up. Especially when Ariana revealed she didn’t buy it, because Rachel was still sending him letters. Let’s not forget that the two managed to sneak around for months. Maybe even years, as some suspect the affair actually began in 2019.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK RACHEL AND TOM ARE SECRETLY STILL TOGETHER, OR IS HE CARRYING A TORCH FOR HER?
