'Pump Rules’ Costars Lala Kent and Raquel Leviss’ Ups and Downs

Never on the same page? Lala Kent and Raquel Leviss got off to a rocky start while filming Vanderpump Rules — and the costars never truly recovered. Before Leviss appeared on the show, Kent made her 2015 debut and immediately struck up a connection with James Kennedy. The pair decided to stay friends after several failed romantic attempts amid his split from Kristen Doute and before her relationship with her now-ex-fiancé, Randall Emmett. Meanwhile, Leviss started to make guest appearance in 2016 after she began dating Kennedy. The model quickly made it clear that she questioned the friendship between her boyfriend and Kent — but Kennedy continued to deny the duo were anything more than platonic. Kent and Leviss put their differences aside before the California native got engaged to Kennedy in season 9, which aired from late 2021 to early 2022. However, the couple surprised their costars when they announced their split at the Bravo series' reunion. "We have decided to break off the engagement. It's been something that I have been thinking about for a while, and I think that James has noticed that my heart hasn't been fully in it," Leviss shared during the January 2022 special. "I didn't want to give up on him because he really has shown me how dedicated he is to me and the things that he is willing to do to better himself. But I feel like it is something deep within. I have been having nightmares about our wedding day, and I think that's a telltale sign that something is wrong." After filming began on season 10, Us Weekly confirmed that Tom Schwartz hooked up with Leviss at Scheana Shay and Brock Davies' August 2022 wedding amid his divorce from Katie Maloney. Viewers saw tension rise between Leviss and her costars when she revealed that she was interested in Schwartz. [jwplayer CfvPCBWv-zhNYySv2] "Do you really feel that way? 'If you can't keep him then here I am?' If you do feel that way, I am not your audience. I don't want anything to do with it, and I respect people's relationships," Kent told Leviss in a March 2023 episode. "And quite honestly, I think you do too because six years ago when I drunkenly hooked up with your ex-fiancé, that is still something I feel doesn't feel great." As the season continued to air, news broke in March 2023 that Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix called it quits after nearly a decade of dating because he cheated with Leviss. At the time, Kent said she wasn't shocked by the affair, which prompted Bravo to resume production on the season. "During the 10 weeks that we filmed, there was a scent I was picking up," Kent said on an episode of the "Give Them Lala" podcast that month. "Katie also was like, 'I agree, I'm sniffing something too.'" She continued: “This is not good. Men are a–holes, but you don't expect your best friend who's a woman to do you like that. And to sit there and look you in your eyes and confide in each other and go get lunch when the whole time that's what she's been doing behind your back? That is absolutely terrifying. .... This is a character flaw." Leviss, for her part, issued a public apology to Madix amid the drama. "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 wrote via Instagram in March 2023. Scroll down to relive Leviss and Kent's ups and downs:

During season 6, Leviss confronted Kennedy and Kent about their ongoing flirtation by calling out their bond on screen. The Give Them Lala author, for her part, questioned whether Leviss and Kennedy would go the distance amid their issues.

“It takes a tough bitch to deal with James, and I don’t know that she’s the toughest person,” Lala said. Throughout the next two seasons, Leviss would continue to deny that Kennedy was unfaithful amid cheating rumors.

After Kent attempted to draw Leviss' attention to Kennedy's supposed hookups, the costars got into a fight at SUR in season 7.

“I don't know that I feel badly for her anymore because it's like seeing the murder scene and still needing more evidence,” Kent exclusively told Us about Leviss. “It's like, ‘OK, girl, I can't even deal.’ Like, you're killing my brain cells at this point, and I don't have a lot of those to lose.”

Kent tried to make amends with Leviss during season 8, but they didn't fix their issues at the time.

“Raquel, I’m sorry I’ve been an a--hole,” Kent wrote via Instagram before quoting Leviss from the show. “If we can’t all agree Lala’s a bully, we can all agree she’s a bitch."

After the duo turned over a new leaf, the former SUR hostess weighed in on Kennedy and Leviss' split.

"I was very shocked by their breakup. I really thought they were going to get married and have kids and be together forever," she said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in January 2022. "Even though I thought James was a huge personality, it is hard to play keep up with someone like James, so that always worried me. But I definitely thought that they would make it."

In January 2022, Kennedy joked that he wouldn't rule out a potential romance with Kent after his engagement to Leviss ended. "We have both done so much growing up — I would love to just continue this beautiful friendship that we do have. Look, I never say never to anything nowadays honestly [after] everything that I have been through," he said on WWHL. (Kent split from Emmett, with whom she shares daughter Ocean, in November 2021.) 

Leviss, for her part, appeared surprised by her ex-fiancé's comment. "I mean, good luck to them," she told photographers about the "interesting" statement from Kennedy and Kent's joint interview.

“I’m gonna say it. It’s my new favorite. I love them all, but … THIS 👏 ONE 👏 😍 🦌 ," Kent captioned a March 2023 Instagram announcement about her Give Them Lala Beauty collaboration with Leviss on a new palette.

The product's name referred to Kent's past insult about Leviss from season 7.

During season 10 of Vanderpump Rules, the costars started out on good terms — but a rift formed when Kent admitted to hooking up with Kennedy in the past. The Utah native later put distance between her and Leviss after she started to show interest in Schwartz. 

"Really, Lala? You're going to sit there and judge me for hypothetically making out with Tom Schwartz, yet you slept with my boyfriend while we were together? You're such a hypocrite," Leviss said in a confessional about the drama.

In another episode, Kent pointed out that her fling with Kennedy took place more than five years prior, while Leviss was actively pursuing Schwartz. Leviss, for her part, didn't see their issues in the same light.

"Honestly, if anyone needs to be on edge about you being with their man — you slept with James while we were together," Leviss said in a March 2023 episode. "But then I shouldn't trust you around my man because you are the one who slept with my man. I don't respect that you slept with James while we were together."

As Leviss and Kent struggled to find common ground on screen, Us confirmed the beauty pageant contestant’s affair with Sandoval.

Kent admitted that she wasn't sure how Leviss would recover from the scandal, saying on her "Give Them Lala" podcast, "[Her dating history] feels very climb-y. There's plenty of dudes to make out with. You gotta get out of the group. For it to be your best friend's dude it's just yucky. For her to make a comeback, the group's never gonna forget. That's some low-down, dirty stuff."

She added: "It feels so good when you hate someone and then everyone else gets on that train. It's a bond that can't be broken now. I'm like, 'Finally, y'all got on the train. Toot toot, all aboard!'"

Ahead of the season 10 reunion, Kent defended her onscreen arguments with Leviss.

“My words are intense. I got that," she said in an Instagram Story in March 2023, referring to a tumultuous episode. “Things I say at times are completely out of pocket. However, words are words. I’m about actions. Raquel was full of friendly words … her actions, not so much."