'Vanderpump Rules' Star Raquel Leviss Apologizes For Cheating Scandal, Reveals The Status Of Tom Sandoval Romance

For the first time, Raquel Leviss is speaking out about her several-month relationship with Tom Sandoval. In a statement shared with Entertainment Tonight, the Vanderpump Rules star, 28, began by saying: “I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships.”

“There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana,” she said. “I am reflecting on my choices, speaking to a counselor and I am learning things about myself such as my patterns of codependency and addiction to being and feeling loved.

I have sought emotional validation through intimate connections that are not healthy without regard for my own well-being, sometimes negatively affecting others and often prioritizing the intimate connection over my friendships.” Leviss said she is “taking steps to understand my behavior and make healthier choices.”

“Although I chose to be on a reality show accepting the good and bad that comes with it, beyond my own actions I have been physically assaulted, lost friendships, received death threats and hate emails in addition to having had my privacy violated,” she continued.

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“I have begun counseling to end my unhealthy behavioral cycle, learn to set stronger emotional boundaries and learn to protect my mental health. I don’t expect sympathy, understanding or forgiveness.” Added Leviss, “Right now I must focus on my own health and well-being and as I strive to be a better person moving forward, I will prioritize my mental health and learn from my mistakes.”

The video in question was “a FaceTime call between Tom and Raquel. It had been screen-recorded by Tom. When Ariana found it on Tom’s phone, she recorded it and sent [it] to herself,” a source told PEOPLE. Afterwards, Sandoval, Madix, and her VPR co-stars received legal notices from Leviss’ attorneys asking them to cease sharing the footage.

The attorneys claimed the video was recorded “illegally” and “without the permission” of Leviss. It identified him as the accused recorder in the letter sent to Sandoval, 40. The reality star’s lawyers ordered that anyone with access to the recording delete it from their phones, the cloud or “any other manner or method in which the recording may exist.” They also demanded to be informed of “all people to whom you have forwarded this recording or who you may have allowed viewing this recording.”

In the letter to Madix, lawyers noted that while they “appreciate the distress that this may have caused you,” it is illegal to re-record the footage and could expose her to “criminal and civil penalties.”

“This is someone she thought she knew; someone she planned to spend the rest of her life with. You can’t even put into words that betrayal,” the insider shared. Sources told PEOPLE on Friday afternoon that the two had ended their relationship. For nine years, they had been in a monogamous relationship.

The secret romance between Sandoval and Madix has been going on “for upwards of 6 months,” an insider said — “all the while, Tom was sleeping next to Ariana in bed.”

“Ariana had been there for Raquel when she went through her split with James [Kennedy]. She thought they were friends,” a second source said. “This isn’t something you do to a friend.”