Featured Image Credit: Getty Images
Topics: Ariana Madix, Raquel Leviss, Tom Sandoval, VPR
Steph Perlman
Topics: Ariana Madix, Raquel Leviss, Tom Sandoval, VPR
So far, Vanderpump Rules season 11 has been… fine. I’ve found myself scrolling through Instagram during the episodes, a stark contrast from the final episodes of season 10 when I would yell at my husband to “breath quieter.” The third episode aired on February 13, and its definitely the best so far. It poses a wide range of questions, like: Who is this random-ass crew Sandoval is hanging out with, and how much is he paying them? Could Katie go blind if she continues to roll her eyes this hard? Is there a better backdrop for a fight scene than the back alley of SUR? Who is Raquel’s ex Nema Vand and what actually went down on Scheananigans that has Tom in such a tizzy?
At the end of the episode, Tom sits down with Scheana to talk face-to-face for the first time since Scandoval exploded. After some back and forth about Sandoval’s general behavior and inability to apologize, Scheana starts to walk away. Tom stops her saying, “You should know that after that Nema interview I really had to talk her [Raque] down I just want you to know that. ” He’s talking about Scheana’s podcast episode titled “Ralphing about Rachel with Nema Vand.”
Scheana says in a confessional: “This was never meant to be a podcast where we’re attacking or hurting Tom or Raquel. Nema and I just wanted to do a podcast and put the truth out there because I’m not going to have people say that I’m making up a rumor.” *Flashback scene of from the last episode of season 10* Scheana says to Ariana: “Apparently in April she [Raquel] told this person [Nema] that at Coachella he [Tom] made a comment to her that like, you know Ariana and I are like open, right?”
After Raquel and James Kennedy broke off their engagement in December 2021, it was reported that she moved on to another Bravo star: Shah’s of Sunset’s Nema Vand. Nema is a divorced, 35 years old, and also lives in LA. He told Scheana on a podcast episode that aired in June 2023, “In April last year [2022]… I had like a one month hang with Raquel and that was what went down.”
In Scheana’s Scheananigans podcast, Nema said that after Coachella 2022, Raquel told him that Sandoval Tom had implied that he was in an open relationship with Ariana while they were alone in a hot tub together at 5 am. At the time, Nema says Raquel doubted Sandoval’s intentions and felt that he was “planting a seed” to eventually hook up with her. When Nema asked if she would hookup with Sandoval, he says Raquel said “no, no, no, I would never. But I would hook up with Ariana, though.” Nema said he never gave it a second thought until Scheana called him and told him what happened when Scandoval first broke. He shared this Coachella story with Scheana and she brought it up on camera during the final episode of season 10 (without naming names).
In a separate story… Nema added that Raquel wanted to “fuck him” in Scheana’s bed under the galaxy lights. Not a story Scheana was thrilled to hear!