Ariana Madix Defended Raquel Leviss Against ‘VPR’ ‘Mean Girl’ Gang-Up Before Tom Sandoval Affair Was Exposed

Ariana Madix was on Raquel Leviss’s side long before she found out about her affair with Tom Sandoval.

On Wednesday’s episode of Vanderpump Rules, Ariana tried to broker peace between Raquel and Lala Kent after their girls trip went awry when Raquel called Lala a “mistress.” The comments came after Raquel, 28, became upset that Lala, 32, slept with her ex-fiancé James Kennedy while they were together.

“It’s very difficult for me to wrap my mind around the idea that Raquel is fighting people and being crazy,” Ariana, 37, said in a confessional. “I would think that Katie [Maloney], Lala and Kristina [Kelly] gave the mean girl treatment to Raquel, like they’ve given to other people in the past.”

Ariana then told Lala, “I’m not down with ‘mistress’ comment, but I do feel like there is some unresolved s— about the you and James stuff.”

However, Lala claimed, “We moved on. She moved on.” Katie also chimed in that Raquel “needs to get her head checked,” which Ariana called her out for by saying, “That’s mean.”

The events of Wednesday’s episode occurred before Ariana — who dated Sandoval, 40, for nine years — discovered he had been cheating on her with Raquel. Ariana, Sandoval and Raquel have since commented on their respective views of the affair after the news broke earlier this month.

From left: Ariana Madix, Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval. IMAGE PRESS AGENCY/NURPHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK; AMY SUSSMAN/GETTY; GABE GINSBERG/GETTY

Later in the episode, Raquel joined the conversation and tried to communicate her issues with Lala.

“Put a thought together. I know you can do it,” Lala sarcastically told Raquel.

“Jesus, dude, can you stop? I can’t unsee the bully that you were to her for no reason. For no reason. To literally flex your power,” Sandoval said in defense of Raquel.

“There is a reason. You wanna know why? Because she slept with James while we were together,” asserted Raquel.

Lala claimed that Raquel “moved on from that,” but Sandoval continued to stick up for his costar: “You have moved on from it … She has not. She just got this information f—ing two weeks ago.”

Upset that his name was being dragged, James, 31, said: “This is about something way deeper.”

He then asked Raquel, “[Lala’s] always not liked you?” to which Raquel agreed. “So deal with it yourself. Don’t throw me in the middle and say my name,” he fired back.

Raquel then turned her attention back to Lala: “You’re a bully. You’re f—ing pathetic. I don’t need this energy in my life. I learned this lesson with James, and I’m finally learning my lesson with you, and if you guys are gonna be little, like, Chihuahua followers, literally I’m done.”

“We will never be friends. We will never see eye-to-eye,” she continued as Lala impatiently interrupted by saying, “Alright, that’s fine. You’ve told me all of this. I’m so bored. Are you done? Are you finished? I’m so bored. You’ve said it six times. Are you done?”

PAUL ARCHULETA/GETTY; JC OLIVERA/GETTY FOR IHEARTRADIO

Raquel then ended the conversation by telling Lala, “You give off mistress bimbo vibes, and I cannot stand it.”

In a confessional, Raquel revealed, “I honestly feel like I’ve leveled up from this girls trip because a lot of my motivation in life has been to be liked by other people, so the fact that I’m facing Lala Kent, I’m loving this new version of me.”

Wednesday’s episode also saw Tom Schwartz admit in a confessional, “Hearing that Raquel stood up to Lala, I don’t know, I’m kinda impressed. She is kinda thriving. Kinda hot.”

Elsewhere, Schwartz gave his ex-wife Katie a piece of his mind when she was refused to give up her room at the resort where their costar Scheana Shay was getting married, despite not attending the wedding and Scheana’s bridesmaid needing a place to stay.

“Bubba, this is objectively out of line. You’re in the wrong here. It’s not a gray area. 100 percent,” Schwartz scolded Katie before sharing in a confessional that “Katie’s stubbornness is one of my least favorite qualities about her. Once she makes up her mind, there’s really no turning back. Even if it means hurt the people around her.”

Katie hit back at his claims, telling her ex: “I’m not in the wrong here. I’m going on a vacation I’ve already paid for.”

Lala came to Katie’s defense, but Schwartz noted, “I think it would be cool to be the bigger person and once you’re there.”

“I think it would be cool for Katie to think about Katie for once,” Lala fired back.

“She thinks about Katie a lot,” Schwartz quipped.

Lala then said, “I disagree. Scheana tried to have Schwartz make out with Raquel, so I think she should probably stick to her plan,” referring to Scheana previously “pushing” Raquel and Schwartz to hook up on the show.

Before walking away, Schwartz said: “You gotta stop being so emotionally entitled. The most emotionally entitled.”

In a confessional, an upset Katie told cameras, “Schwartz taking everyone else’s side over me was a big reason why I asked for a divorce. And I thought maybe now that the pressure to defend his wife was gone, he could just treat like everyone else. No, I guess not. I guess it’s not a wife thing, it’s just a Katie thing.”

[via]