About a year ago, Leviss made headlines when it was revealed that she was having a months-long affair with Sandoval. The affair shocked viewers of the reality TV show because Sandoval had been dating Madix for nearly a decade and Madix and Leviss appeared to be good friends. The lawsuit claims that Madix was aware of the affair long before it became public, and in December 2022, Madix told Leviss and Sandoval to not be so handsy and to save the storyline for Season 11.
The lawsuit says that Leviss has acknowledged that her affair with Sandoval was hurtful to Madix but that Leviss was a “victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which where then distributed, disseminated, and discussed publicly by a scorned woman seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal.”
“Leviss ultimately checked herself into a mental health facility and remained there for three months while Bravo, Evolution, and the cast milked the interest her excoriation had peaked,” according to the lawsuit.
During Season 10 of Vanderpump Rules, Madix said that she found a screen recording of Leviss on Sandoval’s phone, which led her to find out about the affair between Leviss and Sandoval. On an August episode of Bethenny Frankel’s “Just B” podcast, Leviss said that Sandoval recorded a NSFW video without her permission or knowledge.