Vanderpump Rules DJ James Kennedy has been pretty angry with his old buddy Tom Sandoval since Scandoval blew up in March 2023. James felt betrayed that Tom, whom he considered a close friend, was caught cheating with James’ ex-fiancée Rachel Leviss.
Even though James already had a new girlfriend, Ally Lewber, it was clear that James still had feelings for Rachel following the end of their engagement. James was very angry with Tom for sleeping with his ex, calling him a “Poo Poo Head” and a “Worm with a Mustache” at the Season 10 Pump Rules reunion.
With the one-year anniversary of Scandoval approaching, where does Tom and James’ friendship stand today? In Part Two of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules After Show for Season 11, Episode 5, Tom addresses that question.
Tom “never meant to hurt anybody”
At 4:30 in the video, the interviewer says, “Sandoval, you end up talking to James one-on-one at the bar in Tahoe.”
“I think it was a good step in the right direction with James and I,” Tom responds. “I think it went well.”
But a clip from the episode shows James asking Tom, “You don’t think if you were smart enough, you could have ended things with Ariana [Madix], and then actually made things work out with [Rachel] without things blowing up the way they did?” Good point, James.
“It’s so easy for people to say that,” Sandy answered. Because it’s true.
“If you really wanted to, you’d walk out the door,” James emphasized.
Back in the studio, James says, “It’s not going well with Tom … I’m trying to be mature, and I’m trying to show … how I’ve grown up and how I can move on from things … [But Tom] is just winding the f*cking fishing rod back in time…”
“I never … [meant] to, like, hurt anybody,” Tom says in flashback. Really? You carried on an affair for at least six months behind the back of your live-in girlfriend of nine years, and you never thought you’d hurt anyone? That’s just stupid, Tom. You’re an idiot.
Again in the studio, Tom elaborates, “What happened with [Rachel] and I was not something I did to hurt anybody … I don’t even know how it happened.” I do, Tom. You stuck it in another girl, and you lied about it for months while you were still doing it. It was selfish, and you hurt people, including Rachel.
James has grown up
In another flashback, James wondered why Sandoval couldn’t just “man up and leave the relationship.”
“It wasn’t that simple,” Tom said, trying to excuse his behavior. “I can’t, obviously, take back what I’ve done, and I have to accept what I did and just basically embrace it. Like, ‘Yo, don’t ever do that f*cking sh*t again, you f*cking idiot.'”
James just looked at him like the only part he agreed with was the “f*cking idiot” part. Did you ever imagine a world where James Kennedy would be the more mature party in a conversation with anyone on this show?
“It f*cking blows my mind,” James says back in the studio. “And then it makes me angry cause I feel like he’s diminishing my intelligence. Dude, I’m so much smarter than you. Like, you’re so f*cking stupid, dude.”
So, not going so well then. Everybody still hates Sandoval. Even John Oliver believes pigs are smarter than Tom.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK TOM UNDERSTANDS HOW MUCH HE HURT PEOPLE? DO YOU THINK HE’LL EVER REALLY ADMIT HIS MISTAKES?
