As we previously reported, Raquel Leviss will not be returning to Vanderpump Rules for the show’s eleventh season.
Obviously, that’s bad news for fans who were hoping for a continuation of the Scandoval drama that’s been making tabloid headlines since March.
But it’s even worse news for Raquel’s former co-stars.
After all, Vanderpump received a major ratings boost as a result of Leviss’ affair with Tom Sandoval.
Suddenly, a show that was rumored to be on the verge of cancelation was spawning spinoffs and rehiring fired cast members.
And it was all because of the Scandoval.
But Raquel chose her mental health over her bank account, and she stepped away from the show despite producers’ best efforts to win her back.
And it seems those efforts were aided by Raquel’s ex-fiancé, James Kennedy, and her former boss Lisa Vanderpump.
Part three of Leviss’ epic interview with Bethenny Frankel premiered over the weekend, and it featured a segment in which Raquel went nuclear by accusing James and Lisa of using her dog to try and lure her back to the show.
Leviss began by explaining that despite reports to the contrary, she did not abandon her Goldendoodle Graham at a shelter before she checked into a mental health facility earlier this year.
“Graham, he has a history of aggression, and he’s bitten me really hard, he’s bitten other people,” Rachel said to Bethenny (according to The Ashley’s Reality Roundup).
“I already was considering getting a foster family [for him] before going into The Meadows and trying it out, but my dog Graham bit my mom’s hand down to the bone. It was so bad she couldn’t even get stitches,” she continued.
“I had the decision to either leave The Meadows and go back and take care of my dog, or try to get him rehomed and finish out my treatment because I knew I had more to work on. So I chose myself.”
So Raquel had a good reason for parting ways with Graham — but the situation took a bizarre turn shortly thereafter when Lisa adopted the pooch and gave him to James.
Raquel says she only found out that the dog had been returned to her ex when Graham was spotted shooting scenes for VPR Season 11!
“To my surprise, people were like, ‘Oh my God, Graham’s filming in Tahoe?’ and I thought it was a joke at first. And my heart dropped to my stomach. I was like, ‘No!‘” Raquel explained to Bethenny.
“Immediately, my mom called the foster that was working with Graham, and she said, ‘Oh it’s so lovely, Lisa adopted him!’ And we were like, ‘What?!’”
Raquel went on to reveal that she didn’t want Graham to live with James, as her ex had previously shown himself to be an irresponsible dog dad.
“There’s a reason why I didn’t want James to have Graham. He doesn’t have dog experience and he’s part of the reason why Graham is a biter,” she said.
“James would encourage Graham to bite his hands, hard, and he liked that sensation so of course that trained Graham to be a biter.
“It’s just so sick that they’re using Graham as a part of this storyline, and to further this villain narrative of mine,” Leviss continued.
“So now the narrative is that I dumped my dog at a shelter and he was hours away from being euthanized. And that’s not true.”
Raquel went on to allege that Lisa and James used the Graham drama as a way of coaxing her to return to the show.
“I reached out to Lisa and I told her my concerns about Graham being in the care of James Kennedy,” Raquel said.
“And I got a phone call from her and I answered and explained that James isn’t a fit dog-parent and she just was talking about the potential scenes we could film together.”
Leviss claims that Vanderpump appeared unconcerned with either Graham or her former employee’s mental health.
Instead, she just wanted to get Raquel back in front of a camera.
“She’s like, ‘Just come back for one final interview. You can come to Villa Rosa, you can apologize for leaving and disappearing.’ And she didn’t ask me how I was,” Leviss claims.
“She didn’t ask me what I’ve been dealing with since the last time she saw me at the Reunion,” she continued.
“And she almost got me back, because I did want to share my side of the story, and there was this fire lit beneath me, because Graham was being used as a pawn in all of this.
“I really do feel like he was bait to get me back [on the show].”
If you know anything about Lisa Vanderpump then you know that she’s a very vocal animal rights advocate.
So you can be sure she won’t take these allegations lying down.
But despite her best efforts, it seems that Lisa will not be squaring off with Raquel on camera!