Season 10, Episode 11 of Vanderpump Rules revealed the cast’s first suspicions about Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ questionable relationship.
The episode, filmed sometime in mid-August, showed the stars settling back into their routine after returning to L.A. from Scheana Shay’s wedding in Mexico.
While much of the focus seemed to be on Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz struggling to open their new bar, the small Easter eggs of Tom and Raquel’s relationship seemed to grab viewers’ attention the most.
There’s no doubting the fact that viewers are watching Season 10 through a microscope, especially since Tom recently confirmed that at this time, he and Raquel had already shared their first “magnetic” kiss.
However, during last night’s airing, the cast also showed their first inklings about the bar owner and the former beauty queen possibly having more than a friendship.
First up was head honcho Lisa Vanderpump.
Lisa Vanderpump asked Tom Sandoval why he likes being around Raquel Leviss ‘so much’
In one scene early in the episode, both Toms sat down with Lisa inside SUR as Raquel approached their section. Although she was still on the clock as a server, Tom Sandoval invited her to sit between him and Tom Schwartz.
As Andy Cohen later put it on Watch What Happens Live, Tom was seen “openly lusting” over Raquel as she sat between him and Schwartz, with his eyes visibly glued to her.
As Lisa was seated across from them, she couldn’t help but notice Tom’s gaze, asking him, “Why do you like it so much?”
“You’ve got a smile on your face,” she continued.
Tom then stuck his tongue out and rubbed his hands together, a gesture surely open for interpretation.
While Lisa has claimed she had no idea the two had been sneaking around, it now seems as if she may have had an inkling all along.
James Kennedy’s girlfriend Ally caught Tom and Raquel at the club
In another shocking moment from Wednesday’s airing, James Kenendy’s new girlfriend, Ally Lewber, questioned why she saw Tom and Raquel out together so late.
Ally said she saw the two dancing at The Abbey, a West Hollywood club, at 1 a.m.
“I thought it was kind of weird, it was like 1 a.m. and we were like, ‘Where’s Ariana?'” Ally told James.
During her confessional, she said, “I personally wouldn’t be comfortable with it, I guess, to have my boyfriend out at 1 a.m. with girls, but everyone’s different.”
James admitted to noticing how much Raquel had been hanging out with the Toms lately but simply believed they were all just the “best of buds.”
Since James was previously engaged to Raquel, he has been aggravated this season to learn that she has been her way through the friend group — specifically with Peter and Schwartz.
However, he didn’t seem worried that anything was going on between Tom and Raquel at that moment.
Katie Maloney noticed how much ‘joy’ Tom gets out of Raquel
Later in the episode, at Lala Kent’s birthday party, Raquel Leviss made a surprise visit — even though she definitely wasn’t invited after previously calling Lala a “mistress.”
After Tom told Katie that she “gets a lot of joy” out of calling Raquel a “dumb b***h,” she said back to him, “You get a lot of joy out of Raquel as well, I think.”
“You go to The Abbey together at one o’clock in the morning…” she continued.
After calling Raquel a “cool person,” Tom proceeded to blow off Katie’s words, simply telling her to “get the f**k out of here” — neither confirming nor denying her claims.
What else happened on Vanderpump Rules Season 10, Episode 11?
Things are really starting to heat up now that the finale is on the horizon, especially now that the excitement of the new “Scandoval” footage is looming over viewers’ heads.
The Toms are currently struggling with the opening of their bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s, which they were hoping to officially open on August 1. However, their kitchen manager was fired, creating another huge setback for the duo.
Tom Sandoval expressed to his then-girlfriend Ariana Madix that he doesn’t feel supported by her, saying she always goes against him in conversation. However, there was a scene where the two discussed their plans to make embryos together, which was undoubtfully difficult for fans to get through.
Raquel attempted to go on an official date with Garcelle Beauvais’ son Oliver Saunders after the two shared a kiss in Vegas. However, Raquel saw online that Oliver’s ex-wife was saying they were still together, so Raquel gave her a phone call and was told the same story.
Raquel still opted to meet with Oliver to get his side of the story, which he claimed he and Samantha weren’t “together,” but still hung out from time to time. It seemed confusing, to say the least.
Now that Raquel somewhat understood what it meant to be a “mistress” — yes, we’re laughing too — she showed up to Lala’s birthday party to apologize to Lala for previously calling her that word.
At the party, where Katie Maloney brought a new shaggy-haired date, Raquel took Lala outside to say her peace. Surprisingly, the two seemed to make amends, with Lala telling Raquel never to let anyone call her a mistress.
We can only imagine what Lala thinks of that line now.
Vanderpump Rules airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.