Raquel Leviss ‘NOT returning to Vanderpump Rules for season 11 as she continues focusing on her mental health journey’ – following Scandoval

After hinting at a departure during her recent tell-all with Bethenny Frankel, it now appears that Raquel Leviss won’t be returning for Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules.

Entertainment tonight has reported that Raquel – who now goes by her birth name Rachel – “decided” not to appear in the next season.

The insider explained that Raquel, 28, was concerned that a potential return would negatively impact any progress she’s made on her mental health over the past year.

Rachel is not returning for Vanderpump Rules Season 11. There was the possibility until recently that she would return for the new season, but in the end she decided not to,” a source told the site.

Rachel is focused on her mental health journey and knew a return to the show would expose her to a trauma she has been working to heal. Rachel looks forward to what the future holds for her.”

It’s been a tumultuous year for Raquel after she got embroiled in one of reality TV’s biggest scandals.

Raquel had a months-long affair with co-star Tom Sandoval, which resulted in the end of his nine-year relationship with Ariana Madix.

She seemingly confirmed she had no plans to return to the show during her telling talk with Bethenny.

“I feel like I’ve been portrayed as the ultimate villain. My mistakes I made in front of the camera live on forever. And you said something about the addiction of doing reality TV and the way they always dangle that carrot in front of you, like, “Well, you’ve got to tell your side of the story or it’ll be written for you.”

And that’s frightening. So I almost went back, I only know because of that.’

She didn’t elaborate on what she meant by “almost moved back,” but the star has remained in her home state of Arizona — while filming for season 11 of the hugely popular Bravo reality series has been underway since late June.

Smiling Rachel looked healthy and cheerful after recently checking herself into a mental health facility after facing the wrath of her co-stars during the show’s three-part reunion taped in March.

She has since checked out of the facility in mid-July and is reportedly staying with relatives in Arizona.

Betrayal: Leviss became embroiled in controversy after her affair with Tom Sandoval led to the end of his relationship with Ariana Madix

Tell-all: Leviss seminingly confirmed plans she wouldn’t return to VPR during her interview with Bethenny Frankel, but was vague

The Bravo star told Bethenny why she chose to step back, it was chaos. But I took some time for myself to think and understand my actions. And I finally got to the place where it makes sense for me.

“Part of the reason I wanted to get away from it all is just because it was so chaotic and noisy, and there was so much vitriol online.”

The reality star went on to explain that she chose to spend time in a treatment center in an effort to “understand my behavior.”

She stated, “But the other part of why I wanted to go to a treatment center was to understand my behavior and my goal was to really get to the bottom of, ‘Okay, why do I choose men who are not available, why do I keep ending up in unhealthy relationships, what should I change about my behavior.”

“And because I knew I had to change something, I first needed to know what led to that behavior.”

Bethenny explained that she had felt sympathy for Rachel when she witnessed the Scandoval backlash, stating that she felt the star’s life was being “exploited” without compensation.

The former RHONY star stated, “(The backlash) seemed disproportionate to me. I watched clips on social media and heard about this Scandoval – which was named, marketed and pumped through the PR machine. And I did say… “Everyone will become more famous than before because of this.”

Scandal: She faced backlash for her role in the affair from both fans and her castmates

And my thoughts were, “They’re on a reality show. It’s set in a bar is what I’m thinking. It’s fueled by alcohol and partying and multiple flings. So what the heck what the hell is everyone talking about?” … And I only mentioned your name as an example of what I imagined as someone who had been exploited. And for the rest of your life that content will be there without compensation.’

Grateful Rachel responded, “It’s so nice to have you validate that experience because for a second I thought I was going crazy. And it’s true, reality TV is edited, it’s conceived to create a certain storyline. So it’s not all factual.

“As a viewer who tunes in, you can easily get caught up in that. Then the concept of an affair hits a lot of people very hard. So I think there was a lot of projection going on, a lot of emotions coming up in people, and unfortunately I was the punching bag for a lot of that.”

The TV star made it clear that she understood why there was so much anger from her co-stars and viewers alike, continuing, “However, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the pain I have caused a lot of people. I was not careful in my actions and I was not thinking long term. I was all wrapped up in heartbreak and wanted certain needs met.”

Reflecting on the true reason for her behavior, she claimed, “Looking back now, I can see that I was still healing from being in a relationship with someone I thought I was going to marry. And to put an end to that, I’m still not cured.’

Castmates: Leviss pictured with Sandoval

Rachel then confirmed that she had turned to alcohol to try and get through the hard time, something she felt was not the best solution to her problem.

“When I was filming I drank a lot to help reduce that anxiety and being in a reality TV environment didn’t give me that safe space to express my emotions in a healthy way.”

When Bethenny stated that viewers – and Bravo producer Andy Cohen – had no real understanding of what it feels like to be part of a major reality show scandal that continues to produce unrealistic scenarios, Rachel agreed.

The reality star then breathed an audible sigh of relief when she got the chance to share her side of the story, telling Bethenny, “It feels like I have this opportunity to share how much I’ve grown and how hard I’m trying.” to be a better person.

“That person I saw looking back on my TV is someone completely different from who I really am. I feel like being given this opportunity to represent myself in a way that I feel is true to who I am is all I could ever ask for.”

The star took the time to explain her name changes, as she said, “I changed my name to Raquel in first grade, there were a few other Rachel’s in my class and I wanted to be special. I also feel that deep down I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin and that I wanted to be someone else – in my eyes.’

She claimed that changing the name allowed her to “be that person,” but confirmed that her family always referred to her as “Rachel.”

Rachel explained that her therapist had told her she was Rachel “at heart,” but put up a wall by being called Raquel.

The star explained that this personality may have manifested because of her longtime struggles with “social anxiety” and being judged by other people.

She explained that she now introduces herself by her birth name as a way to get back to her roots.