Looks like reality fans aren’t the only ones familiar with the term Scandoval. Tom Sandoval’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test co-stars have opened up about the moment the term came up during filming.
In the second season of the Fox reality show, the Scandoval drama was brought up thanks to Tom’s co-star Jack Osbourne. He seemed to know much of what had been happening over on Vanderpump Rules.
For those who have been living under a rock, the term Scandoval is what everyone used to describe Tom’s months-long affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. It was exposed earlier this year and sent shockwaves through the reality TV world. The affair was especially terrible because it ended his nine-year relationship with Ariana Madix.
Spilling the beans
Kelly Rizzo told PEOPLE that Jack spilled the tea early on and made it impossible for Tom, 40, to fly under the radar without the shadow of Scandoval hovering over him.
“We were in the same transport bus,” Rizzo, 44, shared. “And Tom was sitting next to me.” He introduced himself, and she initially had no idea who he was. And at that moment, Jack, 37, chimed in with, “Looks like we’ve got a Scandoval on our hands.” And that’s when she realized he was Tom Sandoval.
Kelly, who recently married Aree Gearhart, admits that she “kind of felt bad” for the way she immediately reacted. But all the awkwardness aside, she admitted that the cast still managed to form great friendships and strong bonds.
She shared how they spent great times together laughing, talking, and even crying together. At the end of the day, the cast really had an excellent time together.
Running from the scandal
For Tom’s part, he shared that signing up for Special Forces was partly motivated by his strong desire to get away from the fallout of Scandoval.
“I wanted to focus on something very different,” he explained. “Take a vacation, go a different direction for a while, and do something. Because sometimes when you go away, you focus on a whole different part of you.”
It makes sense. After all, who would want to stay in the limelight without all the hate that followed the reveal of Scandoval? For Tom, Special Forces was a way to get away and maybe even get a little punishment. He admitted as part of the confessional during the show’s premiere that another reason he wanted to do the show was to get “punished.”
“These past few months have been the darkest months of my entire life,” he shared. “The whole country’s pissed off at me.”
And he knows the scandal isn’t going to die down any time soon. “This stuff stays with you for a while. I’m in this for the long haul. I know it,” he said. And it looks like it’s going to keep cropping up whether he wants it to or not.
TELL US – HOW LONG DO YOU THINK TOM IS GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH SCANDOVAL FALLOUT? DO YOU THINK JACK WAS WRONG TO BRING IT UP RIGHT AWAY?
