The drama at SUR never ends. Raquel Leviss and Peter Madrigal only went on a handful of dates, but their romance took on a whole new meaning after Leviss’ affair with Tom Sandoval was uncovered.
The former pageant queen and the SUR manager had their first outing in early 2022 after Leviss split from ex-fiancé James Kennedy. “It was just a fun little time,” Leviss recalled during an April 2022 appearance on Katie Maloney‘s “You’re Gonna Love Me” podcast. “And I figured this would be a good opportunity for me just to get back out in the dating world because I haven’t had an official date since the breakup. So, when he asked me to go grab drinks with him, I was like, ‘Hm, OK, sure.’”
After that first date, however, the duo kept things casual. In July 2022, Leviss exclusively told Us Weekly that she’d only been on “a few dates” with her Vanderpump Rules costar. “He asked me out after my breakup, obviously, and I was like, ‘Well, why not? Right?’” the California native recalled at the time. “I’m a yes-man now.”
The pair’s romance seemingly came to an end that same month, as documented during a February 2023 episode of Pump Rules. Leviss told Madrigal she wasn’t ready for anything serious, while the duo’s boss, Lisa Vanderpump, warned Madrigal of the dangers of dating someone who works for him.
It seemed like that would be the end of story until March 2023, when Us confirmed that Sandoval split from longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix after she discovered he was having an affair with Leviss. Two days before the news broke, Leviss described Madrigal as a “starting pony” during an experience on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, explaining that he helped her get back in the dating world.
As luck would have it, Madrigal had booked his own interview that same week, and he wasn’t happy about his former flame’s remarks. “I’m nobody’s starter pony,” the Daddy’s Home director said during an interview on the “Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend” podcast. “Go f–k yourself. I always keep an even keel, but my God. Who the hell do you think you are? Who the f–k do you think you are?”
As more details about the timeline of Sandoval and Leviss’ affair became public, Madrigal didn’t hold back sharing his thoughts. In April 2023, he said he felt like the duo had used him as a “scapegoat” to hide their growing feelings for one another. According to Madrigal, Sandoval sent him a text in January 2023 that made him think the TomTom co-owner was seeing Leviss as early as July 2022.
“He hasn’t texted me in six months,” the University of Southern California alum recalled during an interview on Kristen Doute‘s “Sex, Love, and What Matters” podcast. “And then he texts me and he says, and I quote, ‘Dude, exclamation point. Just watched the first episode LOL, exclamation point. Did you bang Raquel the night after SUR, exclamation point, question mark, crying laughing face.’”
Madrigal believes that Sandoval wanted to find out the full extent of what happened between him and Leviss because their affair had already begun when Leviss agreed to go out with Madrigal. “She was already having sex with Tom,” Madrigal alleged. “And that text message from him proves it.”
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Keep scrolling for a full timeline of Leviss and Madrigal’s short-lived romance:
