Meghan McCain: I feel “more compassion” for Raquel Leviss than Ariana Madix
A polarizing hot take. Megan McCain weighed in on Scandoval, revealing she feels “more compassionate” about it Rachel Leviss than Ariana Madix.
In an opinion piece for the Daily mail published on Wednesday, June 14 the first Display cohost, 38 – who is known for her love of reality TV – shared her thoughts on the Vanderpump Rules scandal, in which an old couple Tom Sandoval and Madix, 37, split after the Florida native discovered that the TomTom co-founder, 40, had been cheating on her for months with Leviss, 28.
McCain recounted all the drama leading up to Madix’s discovery of the affair in March, referring to Leviss as “an emotionally muted brunette bombshell” who “pumped Ariana — on camera — for the details about her and Tom’s relationship and sex life before the affair came to light The former ABC personality acknowledged that the beauty queen was “pretending to be a concerned friend” to Madix and putting on “an act” as she and Sandoval slept together behind Madix’s back.
“This was TV gold,” McCain wrote. “It was the kind of real car crash every connoisseur of unscripted slop enjoys.”
Then “something went horribly wrong,” the late John McCain’s daughter wrote. “Tom and Raquel were smothered in hate – real hate. As Scandoval played in the media for months, I found myself feeling more compassion for Raquel than I did for Ariana.
The Arizona native explained, “Yeah, she and Tom had behaved horribly. But she took responsibility for what she did, and she clearly suffered. Raquel checked herself into a mental health facility and went into hiding — until the reunion finale.”
In April, the Leviss rep told Us weekly that Leviss “comes in[ed] a voluntary mental health facility” after the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion was filmed in March. (“Raquel planned to admit herself before the VPR reunion was taped on March 23. She was going to go to the pre-reunion, but decided she wanted to finish her movie commitment,” the statement read at the time.)
While Meghan remembered the “carnage” that was the three-part Pump Rules reunion — which aired on Bravo in May and June — she remembered the hate hurled all night at Leviss (and Sandoval) by Madix, Lala Kent and the rest of the Pump Rules cast.
“Reality television is meant to be escapism, not sadism. But that’s what it turned out to be.” the author of My Dad: John McCain wrote for the Daily mail. “Raquel was shaking and crying. And it may have all taken a terrifying toll. … At what point is enough – enough?”
As the cast continues to talk about and capitalize on the scandal, Madix and Kent are among the stars who have recently acknowledged their own sympathy for Leviss.
“At the time during the reunion, after I left, I felt dirty,” the “Give Them Lala” podcast host, 32, told TMZ on Thursday, June 8.
Kent further referenced the last five minutes of the final reunion episode, where Leviss sobbed on camera and confessed to multiple lies she had been keeping from Sandoval.
“After watching last night when she finally collapsed just like a human being because to me it’s a reality TV show. I feel like we’re all kind of playing the same game, but when I saw that, I thought, ‘Oh, maybe we’re dealing with someone who maybe shouldn’t be on this type of platform,'” Kent said.
The ending of the episode also slightly changed Madix’s perspective, she admitted after being asked by a Backgrid photographer if she “feels[s] a little bit” for Leviss after watching her collapse in the final moments. “Of course, yes,” the former bartender replied.
As for Meghan’s final thoughts on the subject, she wants the Leviss storyline “resolved.”
“Bravo can’t forget about Raquel – they should thank her,” the former talk show host wrote. “’Scandoval’ gave the show and the network a level of cultural significance they had never achieved before. And from now on, they should continue with a level of sensitivity worthy of this debacle. For example, I want to see how her story plays out.
A source confirmed this exclusively earlier this month Us that Leviss still resides in a “voluntary behavioral health and trauma inpatient facility.” The insider noted that the California native has been in treatment for 68 days, explaining that the therapy helps her learn the basis of her decisions and grow from her mistakes in hopes of making better choices and becoming a better person. . person.”
Madix, meanwhile, is getting ready to open her sandwich shop, Something About Her, with costar Katie Maloney and will star in the upcoming Lifetime movie buy back my daughter. She has also been in a relationship with a fitness trainer from New York Daniel Waitraveling with him to multiple music festivals.
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Sandoval, for his part, has been touring with his cover band, Sandoval & The Most Extras. He told Hooray Mandel in April that he and Leviss are currently “taking a break” amid the drama.