Vanderpump Rules villain Tom Sandoval may currently be persona non grata after his affair with Rachel Leviss was exposed, but he could come out as a big winner on another show – Peacock‘s The Traitors.
Sandoval was recently busted for having a months-long affair with Leviss, while still living with girlfriend Adriana Madix. Vanderpump Rules footage now shows Sandoval essentially lying to his friends and producers about having an interest in Leviss, even unflinching in confessionals when he was asked point blank if there was anything physical with Leviss.
The Traitors series assembles reality stars and civilians in a Scotland castle to compete for $250,000. A few of the contestants are secretly chosen to be “traitors” while the rest of the cast are the “faithfuls.” No one knows who is a traitor and everyone is suspect. Contestants are eliminated overnight in a secret traitor meeting. Or through a cast meeting where they identify one person who they think is a traitor. Challenges and deception ensue throughout the game.
Sandoval has at least a few main characteristics that would make him the perfect contestant for The Traitors, so shouldn’t producers consider him for season 2?
Being a good liar is a top trait for ‘The Traitors’
The Traitors is a game of deception, which Sandoval was pretty good at doing for several months. Contestants on the Peacock version of the show will ask others if they are a traitor. Conversely, they will also try to convince others that they are not a traitor.
On a number of occasions, Sandoval wiggled his way out of being pegged for cheating on Madix with Leviss. During a recent episode, Sandoval flipped the script when he was questioned about Leviss. Instead, he changed the subject or accused the other person of attacking Leviss.
In a confessional, a producer asked Sandoval point blank if anything was going on with Leviss. “No,” he said with an enormous smile. “Nothing has happened between Raquel and I. Like … nothing. That wouldn’t happen between, you know, like … me and Katie [Maloney].”
Tom Sandoval is also good at trusting no one
Despite having the “nice guy in the group” image in the past, Sandoval didn’t trust anyone with his secret, even his best friend Tom Schwartz. In fact, Schwartz admitted that when he learned that Sandoval and Leviss hooked up in August, Sandoval insisted the affair was over. But Sandoval and Leviss continued with their clandestine romance and didn’t tell Schwartz until weeks before the affair was discovered.
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“I didn’t think it was a linear thing,” Schwartz said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen about the affair timeline. “The one-night stand was in August. Then it became an emotional affair, which was still inappropriate. But I didn’t think it was a linear thing. But in January, Tom came to me.”
“Tom came to me in January and he told me he was in love with Raquel,” Schwartz said. After Sandoval came clean, Schwartz said he became brazen. “By the way, I was being fed a narrative that he had broken up with Ariana, or attempted to multiple times,” Schwartz said. So even though Sandoval felt that he could trust his closest friend with the affair, he still lied to him about the status of his relationship.
Tom Sandoval specializes in roleplay and knowing the competition
Sandoval leans into a good theme, whether he needs a costume or props for certain occasions. The Traitors is also about roleplay and morphing into the type of competitor to outsmart and outlast everyone else. Sandoval has expertly transformed from a fierce defender to the victim.
While Sandoval could emerge victorious in a game like The Traitors, he would still need to “train.” Below Deck‘s Kate Chastain said producers took away the casts’ phones and they couldn’t drink alcohol during the game.
“Every so often, a little more information was leaked,” she told Vulture. “And I think that was for the best because had I known they would be taking away our phone and we would be allowed only one glass of wine a night — it would be extremely demanding physical challenges — I’m not sure I would’ve been so excited to go.”
“I mean, the wine was an adjustment. I signed up for a game show, not rehab” she joked. “Adding, I think the challenges broke me. The accusations broke me. The lack of access to my phone and the lack of access to a nice cold martini.”
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