Though she keeps a much lower profile these days, former Vanderpump Rules star Rachel Leviss still knows how to get people talking. Earlier this week, Rachel announced she was auctioning off some relics of her affair with Tom Sandoval for charity.
The auction is still ongoing, but we’d say she’s already made good on her attempt to turn these Scandoval lemons into lemonade. We’ve got the details on what she’s selling and why we think this is an overall win for her.
How Rachel Leviss Is Using Her Notoriety for a Good Cause
On October 10th, aka World Mental Health Day, Rachel announced the bidding on her Instagram. It was the first appearance on her grid since the birthday post that led to her blocking Sandoval.
Following her months-long stay in an Arizona facility, Rachel pledged to support mental health awareness. In addition to donating 100% of the proceeds from the auction, Rachel is also spreading the word about grassroots organization National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI.
Rachel explained her motivations for the auction in her Instagram post, where she called the items “triggering.” There was even more to be found in the very interesting (and slightly shady) product descriptions of each listing. “I can’t rewrite history,” the 29-year-old wrote, “but I can use something from my darkest days towards a good cause.”
The former pagent girl has two listings up on eBay, where her username is rachelwiththelights. This may be a reach, but makes us wonder if she’s poking fun at herself for those infamous galaxy lights. Could Rachel have developed a sense of humor in the past few months?
Item #1: The TomTom Sweatshirt
In a move that only gets more bizarre with context, Rachel showed up to the 2022 BravoCon panel wearing nothing but a TomTom sweatshirt and a pair of boots. She claimed it was for “the comfy vibes” and to support both Sandoval and Tom Schwartz. And yes, this was the same look that Sandoval recreated last Halloween.
Months later, on the same night Ariana Madix found THAT video, Rachel gave a TomTom sweatshirt to Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live. She referenced this moment in the eBay listing as “the night everything blew up in my face.”
At the time, we thought she gave Andy the same sweatshirt she wore to BravoCon, but apparently not. Also, she’s auctioning off two sweatshirts, which makes us wonder how many she had?
We will note, however, that there was no mention of the initial drama behind her outfit choice. Rachel seemed to wear that sweatshirt just to bother Schwartz’s ex-wife, Katie Maloney. In fact, her actions towards Katie have been brushed over during the entire scandal. Here’s hoping she takes accountability for that someday.
Item #2: The Lightning Bolt Necklace
One of the most ridiculous details of Scandoval was that the pair wore matching lightning bolt necklaces to signify their love for one another. Viewers saw Rachel pay for her own jewelry on a shopping spree for her birthday, which she now acknowledges was “cringe.” She spent about $800 on it. As a simple necklace with a tiny lightning bolt, we really didn’t see how it was worth so much. But as a piece of Bravo reality TV history, its value is much greater.
Rachel used the eBay jewelry listing as an opportunity to make it clear that she and Sandoval are never, ever getting back together. She called the necklace “symbolic of my devotion to another person who I allowed to have power over me. He no longer does.” Ouch! We’re sure Sandoval is off fake crying somewhere, ready to record his next podcast about how Rachel totally broke his heart, dude.
Just a few months ago, Rachel sent Sandoval post cards with lightning bolts on them. Now, she’s purging his favorite symbol from her closet altogether. She’s come a long way.
Rachel’s Bold Move Pays Off
Many VPR fans want to move on from Scandoval, but considering how high the bids are, it seems the general public isn’t totally over it quite yet.
Rachel started the bidding for both items at $100. At the time of writing, the bids are up to the thousands. The sweatshirts have passed $8,000, while the necklace just over $3,000.
We’re sure the auction will earn scorn from Rachel’s former co-stars. But a lot of them profited from the scandal, so it’d be hypocritical of them to ridicule her. Of course, that hasn’t stopped them before.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF RACHEL’S MOVE TO USE HER NOTORIETY FOR GOOD? WHAT’S THE MOST YOU WOULD BID ON A PIECE OF REALITY TV HISTORY?