Vanderpump Rules star Rachel Leviss FINALLY breaks silence on ‘chaotic’ Scandoval in a candid tell-all interview with fellow Bravo star Bethenny Frankel

Vanderpump Rules star Rachel Leviss has sat down for her first interview since the climax of the “Scandoval” cheating drama, in which Real Housewives of New York alumnus Bethenny Frankel opened up about her recent stay at a mental health facility.

The 28-year-old has stayed out of the limelight since the reunion episodes of the show that aired in June saw her come under heavy backlash over her months-long fling with her BFF Ariana Madix, 38, boyfriend Tom Sandoval, 40.

The Bravo star opened up about why she chose to step back from the public eye, telling Bethenny, “It was a whirlwind, 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.”

On Wednesday morning, Bethenny was seen teasing the chat on Instagram when she shared a photo of the couple, saying, “A woman’s voice is very powerful. Now Rachel is using hers to tell her own story…for the first time…”

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.

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.

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 completely wrapped up in heartbreak and wanted certain needs met.

“Looking back now, I 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.’

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.”