Holding the key? Peter Madrigal made an entire reality TV career by being on the periphery of the Vanderpump Rules group. His proximity was based on who he was linked to romantically at any given time. The SUR manager had to maintain some level of decorum due to his job profile. Yet still managed to date Stassi Schroeder and Katie Maloney in their heydays on the show.
Even this season, Lisa Vanderpump advised Peter not to pursue Raquel Leviss because he was in a position of authority. Though in retrospect, he dodged a bullet. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that he would have some critical information about when Raquel and Tom Sandoval started hooking up.
Us Weekly reported that Peter has damning text messages from Tom that indicate his affair with Raquel could have started even earlier than August 2022. VPR alum Kristen Doute interviewed Peter for a recent episode of her podcast, Sex, Love, and What Else Matters. The SUR manager revealed that Tom sent him a text in January asking about his date with Raquel that appeared in the Season 10 premiere episode.
“I get an interesting text from one Tom Sandoval. He hasn’t texted me in six months,” Peter explained. “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.’”
During that episode, Peter asked Raquel on a second date when she arrived at SUR for a shift. Raquel’s bestie at the time, Scheana Shay, revealed the two got physical after the date when cameras stopped rolling.
In hindsight, Peter thinks Sandoval was worried about how far things went with Raquel physically. Certainly, it wouldn’t have bothered Sandoval as much if he wasn’t already involved with the former beauty pageant queen.
“If you go through my text messages with Tom Sandoval, he never texts me emojis. Never does. At the time, I am so disconnected, I didn’t even think about it,” Peter said. “What I’m thinking is, ‘How are they portraying me on the show?’ So, I call him. He was all like, ‘Oh, no, I was just [was] wondering if you banged Raquel that night.’”
Season 10 was the first during which Peter wanted to view the Pump Rules episodes in advance. He was most concerned about how he was portrayed in the premiere. It seems Raquel’s lack of enthusiasm to go out with him was perplexing. Maybe nachos just aren’t her thing.
Peter claimed, “I don’t know why she responded, like, ‘Ugh.’ And now I know why. She was already dating Tom Sandoval. She was already having sex with Tom. And that text message from him proves it.” Or she just wasn’t that into you, Peter.
Regardless of when it started, Sandoval’s bestie Tom Schwartz confirmed on Watch What Happens Live that the illicit duo had a “one-night stand” in the summer of 2022. The timing of Raquel’s apathy toward Peter puts the beginning of Scandoval at July 2022. According to Peter, that is.
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Raquel previously confirmed to Us Weekly that she had “gone on a few dates” with her boss. She explained that Peter, “Asked me out after my breakup [from James Kennedy], obviously, and I was like, ‘Well why not? Right?’ I’m a yes-man now. I think it was more so just saying yes to him asking me out and just trying that whole thing out.”
Raquel’s interest fizzled quickly. Meanwhile, Peter took Lisa’s advice to heart. In retrospect, he believes Raquel used him as a decoy. Much, in the same way, VPR alum Stassi viewed Raquel’s pursuit of Schwartz.
Refusing to use her stage name, Peter said, “I am glad that I dodged a bullet named Rachel. I have proof. I was used as a scapegoat.”
Kristen ended the podcast by asking Peter to rank the VPR ladies he’s hooked up with regarding “kissing ability.” He subtly hinted that Raquel was at the end of the list. Peter referenced his past relationships with Stassi and Katie. He said, “The one that I was in love with will be No. 1 and then the other one that I was in love with will be No. 2.” Kristen added, “And then the other one is No. 3.”
Next up was a game of “Marry F–k Kill.” Kristen suggested Raquel, Katie, and Stassi as contestants. Peter answered, “At this point, I would marry Katie, f–k Stassi, and kill Rachel. I will never use the word ‘Raquel’ again. Rachel.”
Raquel did herself no favors by calling Peter a “starting pony” in a previous interview. It seems she went out of her way to burn all the possible VPR bridges there are.
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF PETER’S THEORY? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TOM’S TEXT? ARE YOU SURPRISED BY PETER’S ANSWERS TO MARRY F–k KILL?
[Photo Credit: Greg Doherty/Getty Images for Jimmy Choo]
