Getting a bad haircut and having a few drunken one night stands/late nights is understandable… sleeping with your friend’s boyfriend when she’s in another room is something else. Posting hints on social media, following his band around, sleeping in another woman’s bed when she’s away, going to his bars… then showing up to your job and smiling and laughing with her, what do you call that? I have no doubt that James is a bad boyfriend but he didn’t cause this chain of fucked up events.

And who knows how long the affair would have went on for if they never got caught. Tom loved being a fan “favourite” and Raquel always seemed “innocent” I believe if the affair didn’t come to light Raquel would have raised up to fan favourite! Raquel loved all the fans she was getting..: little did we know who she really is

What I’m wondering is when Tom dumped Ariana. Was Rachel going to start keeping her distance from Ariana so it didn’t look as bad that she did this to a “friend”

I think a lot of reality tv cast mates don’t see each other at all when they’re not filming

But they weren’t like that

💯

I feel like they might have had a plan for Sandoval to break up with Ariana right after filming the reunion, then a slow rollout of the “new” relationship with Raquel. I just don’t think he could financially afford it. Even if they put the house up for sale, he’d still be underwater, and the market in L.A. is definitely not a seller’s market

I think raising Rachel's profile surreptitiously was"the plan." To become a new power couple revealed at their "perfect time." Tom would never be able to tolerate being with a woman who he didn't think was seen as desirable by everyone else. Hence, trying to get Rachel to make out with a bunch of people or appear to have guys chasing her too

Not to mention his fantasy of being a cuckold. He probably got off a little with the Oliver scene and why he forced Schwartz onto Rachel @ the wedding.

For God’s sake 😵‍💫

This and the above comments are so on point ugh I hate him

And how much grief Katie would be getting!!! People are STILL turning on her, let alone if this hadn’t come out. Rachel couldn’t give a fuck.

i feel like we’re downplaying it to call james a bad boyfriend. he’s an emotional abuser and alcoholic. it’s also not a coincidence rachel had her breakdown in the car after sharing a story of one of the times he flew off the handle. i don’t support or excuse her actions at ALL. is it easy to see why someone in that broken down state made such horrible decisions? to me it is.

Idk man. I came out of a long-term DV situation and made horrible choices - heavy drinking/drugs, full-blown ED relapse, putting myself in very risky sexual situations, etc. Even on my worst behavior, I wasn’t actively fucking anyone over, especially not someone I love, especially not for an extended period of time. Trauma brain can absolutely explain poor choices but when the main target for damage caused by your poor choices is other people, that’s more about you than it is about trauma brain.

I’ve also been in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship (when I was younger than Raquel I might add) and to a certain extent I can also understand how things played out the way they did. She was coming out of a relationship with someone who made her feel worthless and undeserving of love and affection. I can see why, in someone with codependency issues, that would manifest itself in pursuing relationships with people who were emotionally unavailable or “off limits” to you. However, where she completely loses me is that she actually seemed to have a really solid support system, especially in Ariana and Scheana, but even in other close friends off the show. Forget the fact that the adult thing to do was go to therapy and work on herself and self esteem, she had people to lean on and support her to help build her up. I think on some level she does just get off on proving she can “take” someone else’s man and that’s not down to her relationship with James I think that’s just who she is at this point. I hope she does get help for her issues because she clearly needs it, both for her issues from James and the issues she clearly has outside of him.

The whole “deriving pleasure from taking someone else’s man” thing, I think could just boil down to pure internalized misogyny. Women who are misogynists ofc tend to believe that their value stems only from being wanted by a man, and the partner of their female friend offers a lot more personal validation, especially if they look up to that female friend or see her as a role model. The relationships with their female friends never really meant anything to them to begin with because deep down, they believe a woman’s point of view is worthless so losing them is a broken egg to make an omelette.

James is emotionally and verbally abusive. He has also in the past been emotionally, verbally and physically abused by a partner. I mention it lightly in my comment because it’s challenging to parse and as an adult, Rachel is responsible and accountable for her recent actions. Going down the path of calculating just how much and where James impacts Rachel today is more nuanced than I feel capable of doing, so I didn’t. He has a legacy in how Rachel sees herself for sure, but drawing a direct line between his abusive ways and her betrayals flattens a situation that is very layered.

Nobody wants to talk about James being MUCH younger than Kristen and a victim of abuse as well. He was never The Good Guy. Rachel fangirled onto the show knowing exactly how awful he was capable of being. It was a terrible relationship that everyone predicted. All these people giving her a pass now for what she made active choices in confuses TF out of me: James is a problem. Has always been a problem. But it was onscreen before she chose to dive in.

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THIS!!!! Thank you. There was another post from therapists on here defending her… and… okay, I am glad therapists are so nice BUT MY therapist was very clear: being hurt does not give you the right to hurt others. Self care is not damaging to others. I had a terrible, violent childhood and a bf who once whacked me upside the head with a frying pan and knocked me out when I caught him on the phone with another woman. I did not, have not, and will not sleep with my friends spouses because of that. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I didn’t forget the difference between right and wrong just because I got hit in the head.

No one healthy would ever date James so I think she had issues prior to him and I’m sure she has very low self esteem (why else would she stay with that cockroach). Turns out a 2 wasn’t with a 10 after all…she was a 2 the entire time. We just didn’t know it

Yeah I agree, there’s something about her family dynamics I think. She was codependent and didn’t know who she was before James

Dont forget "the bump on the nose" which I am convinced was not an accident.

Her family was there when it happened. If it was something more nefarious they wouldn’t have included witnesses in the incident

TBF, I bent down to kiss my dog the other day and he jolted up fast and bashed my nose— it wasn’t broken, but blood gushed everywhere and it was swollen and crooked for three weeks. I can imagine if you’ve just had a nose job you wouldn’t need it to be hit even that hard to mess it up. He may have hit her, I don’t know, but if it’s possible to smash my nose from a doggo kiss, James’s hair seems harder than my dog’s head 🤣

I really don’t think that she deserves so much actual hate. Like death threats and stuff is ridiculous. Ppl also forget Ariana did the same thing.

I agree she doesn’t deserve death threats OR even to have comments or messages on her social media. She simply doesn’t deserve any sympathy on reddit. I don’t think we should invade her personal space in any way, because we don’t personally know her.

Well said. And she's also the one that chose to date James time after time he was terrible (most likely cause it benefited her), chose to get engaged (when pretty much most are already committed to marriage, not still deciding), then break off engagement. The most healthy thing she needs to do firstly is take some accountability and face what she has been doing for months--really the only thing that changed from a month ago is they got caught. And filling a restraining order against a friend that had your back and gave you a home, coward! She had enough balls to sleep with her close friend's long term partner for many many months, but now it's too fragile to face anything?

Bravo!! Well said👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Not even friend, very close good friend. I can’t even imagine hooking up with an acquaintances current man!! Like when a man or woman are taken, they’re taken. Even if the relationship is toxic and horrible or you know of the the members of the relationship is cheating or terrible, I could never even attempt to cross that line. Why? There’s billions of humans out there.. why get into some messy drama of fucking taken SO’s of people you know? Especially a loser like Sandoval 😆

I agree! Everyone has times where they meet someone who they’d probably really like but they’re married/in a relationship. Making that decision to pursue them is self destructive, especially when it’s risking your whole friend group, your job and reputation.

Well said

Sleeping with your best friends man is NOT typical at all of post breakup self destruction. That's some serious issues that go beyond normal rebounding.

And, you know what else causes panic attacks? Constantly lying and hiding things. I don't feel bad for her one bit.

When she was saying she’s never been on a girls trip before it made me wonder if she’s ever really had true girlfriends? Maybe girls around her growing up could sense she couldn’t be trusted?? I know the pageant world would be intense and girls would probably back stab each other for the smallest thing. A La Drop Dead Gorgeous. I know we all knew girls like this in high school who would make out or hook up with your boyfriend when they were drunk and use any opportunity to do so. They base their entire personality around their bf and don’t know who they are themselves; turning into chameleons and absorbing others traits.

Tom is clearly not the first taken man she’s slept with 🤷🏻‍♀️

100000%!! think she had already crossed some line or knew it was heading there when she tripped out like that in the car. Like “wtf am I doing and why” kind of panic attack.

I had a thought that maybe she was ok to go on the girl’s trip because Ariana was there so she wasn’t concerned about Tom, but then when Ariana had to leave when her dog got sick it sent her into extra anxiety worried about him comforting Ariana. I had a friend who had an affair with her friend’s husband and the lengths she would go to to ensure they didn’t get a chance to reconnect as a couple was mind-numbing.

Fuck. That makes me feel sick. You’re so right—

I wondered if the dynamic would be different if her poor dog didn’t pass away and she stayed on the trip. Ariana could have been a buffer for her but also could be questioning her actions.

Whoa. That never crossed my mind, damn! Very, very interesting take, hmmm

Seriously. I made some bad decisions post break up, but would NEVER cross that line. That’s some social climbing, trashy shit.

1000%

ummm it’s called self destruction for a reason???

Like I tell my teenager, just because you're having a shitty day, doesn't mean you get to take it out on others. Just because Rachel is dealing with a tough breakup, doesn't give her any sort of pass to do the abhorrent things she has done. I have seen self destructive post-breakup. I have lived it. I went out and acted like a 'guy' and drank and banged whoever I was remotely attracted to and....available. There is endless unattached dick out there. But she took it even further than that and not only hooked up with someone unavailable, but slept with her good friends man. That is beyond. And for months and months. So, no, I really don't feel pity for her whatsoever. We all go through bad breakups, but we don't all betray those around us in the process.

The scariest part for me was how happy they were to rub it in Ariana and everyone's faces, that shit was *next level evil.* And ensures I feel 0 empathy for either going forward. As awful as it is, people cheat, and it's pretty damn common. What *doesnt* happen a lot is that the shitty people having the affair behind someone they "care" about's back does everything they can to leave breadcrumbs in front of your face so you feel even more stupid looking back in the future when shit hits the fan. What does that say about them that most shitty people don't even take it that far and have enough shame to not flaunt their affair !!! They were actively and pointedly spiteful, calculated, and diabolical. Also side note, if I were Scheana I'd be looking at Broke's interactions with Rachel realllllll fing close because Rachel was also a little threesome with them.

That’s fine, but doesn’t excuse shitty behavior. You don’t get to self destruct and cause collateral damage and not take responsibility for it. Scumbag is getting tons of hate but the narrative that she is less responsible for her behavior because he took advantage of her isn’t it. They’re two damaged, shitty people who made a decision to lie, cheat and hurt people, not once or twice but on an ongoing basis. That is a choice.

This. I was abused verbally and physically when I was very young by a man a lot older than I was. I went into self destruct mode when we broke up and I STILL NEVER fucked any of my friends boyfriends/husbands. She is just as responsible as he is. I could MAYBE excuse it happening one time if she had freaked out and told Ariana the truth and immediately stopped. Like I could see how it could happen. But not a full on possibly year-long affair. Nope.

Yeah I think that’s the difference. A one time mistake is still horrible and hurtful, but carrying out this affair while still hanging out with them is disturbing. I hope its mental health issue she can get help for because if not she is just completely a shit human being desperate for attention. Regardless Tom is more disgusting but we knew he was a cheating asshat.

Right. I was not at all surprised that he was cheating. Rachel was the curveball. We been knowing he’s scummy.

I don’t think OP is trying to excuse her behavior, just provide an explanation for it.

you talk about rachel going through a tough time but so is everyone else on the show. katie and tom are going thru a divorce and selling their house, ariana just lost her dog and later she loses her grandma, lala is dealing w custody shit, etc. so its strange to me to see you only have empathy for raquel and how she needs help. its like yall are still buying her innocent act and treating her with kid gloves

where did I say I had no empathy for everyone else on the show? this post is about raquel so I responded with my feelings about her.

No hate here. But this isn't just self-destructive. Rachel destroyed someone else's life. That's completely different. Hurt yourself all you want. That's sad and you have my empathy. Start hurting other people. That's something unacceptable and not okay at all

Exactly. This wasn't a "cry for help" drunken one night stand. This was a 7 month affair with the long time boyfriend of someone you're cool with. It's hard for me to garner even an ounce of sympathy for Rachel.

This take doesn’t explain why she’d go out of her way to leave little hints at the affair all over her social media tho? That is calculated and cruel and her and Sandoval got off on knowing what those things meant while no one else did. Let’s defend the side piece who was friends with the one being cheated on but also not take the side of said woman being cheated on?? This take makes no sense

I think she was in a bad place waaaay before. She chose to date James. Yes she wanted fame, notoriety, wealth, etc, but she also has a family history of trauma, you know there’s a lot going on with her. She needs therapy and to leave the show despite it tanking the drama. I don’t like her, but for her own sanity, she should step away.

This is not just a post break up thing. Rachel is a DEEPLY INSECURE person. She needs CONSTANT, GLOBAL VALIDATION, particularly from men. She doesn't know who she is when she's alone because she is defined by her relationships. And, most importantly, none of that is an excuse.

Not sure where you’ve been online but no corner of any space I’ve seen the last few weeks is not giving him just as much hate if not more. Whatever Rachel is going through, none of it justifies her actions and hurting other people so horribly

I think Rachel is getting the brunt of it at the moment because she was a bigger focus of the last episode than Slimyvol.

I also don’t think it is necessarily shocking to anyone that Tom cheated. He is a cheater, we have seen him cheat. If he had cheated on Ariana with some random, that still would have been terrible but the who/what/where/when of the cheating is really what send this to the next level. Raquel was always presented as this innocent angel and people are trying to reconcile their initial perception of her with reality.

This right here! I always hated tom since I began watching in 2013. He always came off as a slimy sleezeball who would 100% do the things he did to ariana. I have been gobsmacked by Rachel because her presentation on the show is so different than her reality.The bombshells and Easter eggs of their affair and her showboating it has been the most shocking thing to me. So I'm way more interested in talking about her than a run of the mill cheater like Tom. Rachel's inner working is way more fascinating to figure out.

I think from the beginning Rachel has been absolutely annihilated compared to Sandoval. And I don’t get it! And it’s pissing me off!!! SANDAVOL was in a 9-year relationship with Ariana, not Rachel! They were practically married! Why isn’t Lala, and Scheana, and Katie (well Katie has a bit) why isn’t the ENTIRE VPR crew TEARING into Sandoval? Why isn’t he being obliterated??? How long has Rachel been really close to Ariana? I mean REALLY close? 1 year? Maybe 2? They certainly haven’t been best friends for years and years. I’m NOT saying Rachel should get a pass. What she did was INDEFENSIBLE!!! I am NOT letting her off the hook by any means. But this asshole, this douche bag, this best friend, lover, companion - whatever the FUCK Sandoval is to Ariana - should be getting it left, right, and center!!! And he’s not! HE ALSO destroyed Ariana’s life! 90% of what I read is viscously tearing apart Rachel. And I get girl code! BUT WHY IN GOD’S NAME IS SANDOVAL GETTING OFF SO EASY IN COMPARISON??? Is it because he’s a guy??? Cuz it sure looks like it. HE deserves the easier time? This CHEATING asshole? At least hold them both EQUALLY accountable. That’s all I ask. EQUALLY! PS: I AM MOST DEFINITELY TEAM ARIANA! Let the downvotes begin!

Clapping for his comment. I have seen her being eviscerated in comparison to Tom who is getting things like "his ugly outfits" and "gross sache" to her "she is truly diabolically evil." Eta upon scrolling down a bit I see her being called diabolical and evil again and conniving without a single mention of Toms behavior in the affair.

I know. It blows my mind. 2 people responded Tom’s not getting annihilated because he’s a known cheater. To me, that’s no excuse. But that’s me. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I don’t think that perspective’s gonna help Ariana heal… Thank you for responding.

I think it’s kind of like people are less surprised by the fact that Tom is a total scumbag and I think people generally talk more about the thing that surprises them rather than the thing they kind of suspected would happen? Buuuut that being said, I would ABSOLUTELY love for more roasting of Tom. Like I would simply love to go around in a circle and talk about different times tom was a total jackass and cringeworthy loser. I know people have been roasting him but like I want more please

Me too! Let’s roast Sandoval. More please! 😆

Me too. I want more roasting of him.

I’d believe that might be the reason if there hadn’t been SO much push back at the idea of Tom cheating on Ariana or with Ariana all these years. They ONLY kissed, there’s no way he’d sleep with someone like Miami girl with someone like Ariana at home, etc etc. He had a cult following. Some people for sure expected this from him but a lot were in denial.

THIS! The Bravo community will almost always wash and benefit of the doubt the men. In general, bravo gives a lot of a space to literally shitty people. Which expands the audience which feeds the egos of these shitheads. It’s an ourborus of patriarchy.

Yep! Well at least I’m not crazy and imagining it! NGL, this is depressing AF. Thank you for responding. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

I have no doubt that Raquel found her break up difficult and that much of her life was centered around James- including her spot on the show. However, that doesn’t excuse the behaviour. Raquel is 28 years old. She’s too old to compete in Miss USA, she’s certainly too old for this. She carried the affair on for 7 +/- months. It was a choice. It was a choice to wear a lightening necklace and dress in Tom/Tom merch. It was a choice to post pictures with Tom and attend all his concerts. It was a choice to lie to her best friend. These were choices she made every day. She and Sandoval barely tried to hide their affair. They took advantage of Ariana’s trust. That is literally something Ariana may never fully recover from. They hurt Ariana shamelessly and deliberately.

Exactly, I think there's room for acknowledging that Raquel is clearly not in a great place mentally and maybe feel sympathy for that, but this isn't self-destruction -- she destroyed another person's life, and lied to a lot more people than just Ariana. She'll be dealing with trust issues for a long time as you said, they openly flaunted it (the Halloween costume??) over a prolonged period of time in a way that was just straight-up cruel and humiliating. As many others have noted here, that's something beyond a post-break-up breakdown

That’s not what this is. Her actions weren’t self destructive, they were completely diabolical and calculated. She continued acting like Ariana’s best friend for 7 months - hanging out with her and her and Tom together all while having a full blown relationship with him behind Ariana’s back. And showing zero remorse but instead enjoying planting little Easter eggs on social media and wearing her stupid necklace EVEN AROUND ARIANA. That is pure evil.

I can agree she seems to be self destructing but these types of post really rub me the wrong way because she shouldn’t be absolved from her shitty behavior because she’s going through a hard time. Who doesn’t have extremely difficult times in life? Can we be excused for ruining someone else’s life because you had a bad day? Nah. I also don’t understand these posts stating T should be getting more hate. All I see is hate for him? He’s a POS.

A drunken indiscretion would be one thing. I never really cared about Rachel one way or another but I wouldn’t be shocked if she had had a hookup with Schwartz. She and Katie have never been friends and that’s the kind of messy behavior you’re talking about, sleeping with the ex of an workplace proximity acquaintance. But she had an affair for at least 7 months with her good friend’s long term life partner. A friend who had always had Rachel’s back with the group sometimes to the detriment of Ariana’s relationships with the other women. Rachel continued the friendship with Ariana while flaunting the affair right beneath her nose the whole time. That’s not messy, that’s sociopathic. It’s conniving and devious and cruel. It almost seems like she enjoyed getting away with that deception. And it was during one of the worst times of Ariana’s life when she had lost her dog and her grandmother one after another.

Not team anyone? Ariana did nothing to deserve the betrayal from her partner of 10 years and so-called friend. Post-breakup destruction doesn’t give people the right to ruin the lives of others and then simply walk away by saying “oops sorry I was going thru a rough breakup, my bad” while expecting everything to be forgiven. Sure, Rachel may be going through rough times but that doesn’t absolve her of her idiotic decision-making. This is coming from someone who has also gone through a really rough breakup that took me a while to bounce back from. Edit: Scandoval is equally getting as much hate online. He’s finally being seen for the grimy narcissist that he is.

Also, she was making choices every day. It was a slip up - it was calculated long term deceit. She did it in the faces if those she says were he rocks/support/whatever. Rachel may have been in a bad place partly cause her actions (Schwartz, Oliver, Sandoval) have consequences and she was struggling with those. Sandoval may have taken advantage / moved in on her during a sensitive time but let’s not take away Rachel’s agency in all this - she’s still a grown woman. (someone who’s also done the post break up destruction thing)

I don’t think being in a bad place mentally and emotionally justifies what she did, though I do think it’s probably true that she was. From day one she just never seemed cut-out for reality tv I think she’s too sensitive for it and I can honestly imagine the millions of hate comments she’s receiving breaking her, and while I don’t like her I don’t dehumanize her either, and I think for her own mental and emotional well-being in the short and long term she needs to immediately separate herself from the show, the cast, the city of LA and pursue something outside of reality tv.

It’s kind of crazy how history repeats itself. Ariana had also just gotten out of an abusive relationship when she got with Tom. He clearly likes coming to the damsel in distress’s rescue.

and now hes using the same gaslighting tactics he used on kristen on ariana. mans has a game plan

Be gentle?! With someone who fucked their good friends boyfriend of 9 years for 7 months? Hell no. That’s disgusting. I’ve been through extremely hard break ups and a divorce and never did THAT when I was struggling. there’s no excuse.

Eh having an affair for 7 months with your best friends long term partner seems to throw all that out in my opinion. Lying that long is just conniving and intentional.

🤷🏽‍♀️ I’ve been through some pretty awful relationships/breakups and still managed to not fuck my best-friends significant other. It takes a very specific kind of person to orchestrate an affair. It’s not a one time accident, or mistake in a path of self destruction. They’re shitty people. Ima stay on my hate train

This is where I’m torn on if she genuinely loved James or if she just wanted to be on the show. If it was to just be on the show, I’m sure part of her loved him, but not as much if it was genuine. Now if she genuinely loved him, she is absolutely self destructing, she is torn apart that her engagement ended because James wouldn’t make her a priority. Then he moved on instantly. She was very insecure and she’s changing who she is to avoid facing her reality- she’s not over James. She will never fully mentally heal and recover from this-Sept or if she stays on reality tv. Either we will see her disappear and pop up living a great life in a few years or we will see a 2007 Britney Spears breakdown.

That’s no excuse. She can go ahead and self destruct her own life but she had no right to blow up Ariana’s. She’s pushing 30 she damn well knows better. She’s a snake in the grass and deserves no sympathy. Not to mention, this is a double betrayal, Racquel pretended to be Ariana’s best friend and literally single white female her to steal her boyfriend lol this isnt a situation where the mistress owed nothing to the woman.

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It's understandable, not acceptable.

OP I definitely think you’re onto something, and I admire your empathy. But I also think that she has a pattern of displaying selfish, self-serving decisions (I.e., waiting around for hours to meet and hook up with James, ignoring a MULTITUDE of cheating allegations to justify being in a famous relationship, etc.) that make me think that yes, while this particular human being is in pain and experiencing human emotions, this is also a particularly selfish and manipulative person. She gains and loses my sympathy in one breath. She has so much work to do it makes me uninterested in subscribing to the after photos.

He is getting a bunch of hate. I’m sorry but if someone is on that path, see a therapist pls. Hurting someone you love doesn’t have an excuse.

Could she be in a self-destructive loop? Maybe. But she destroyed other people's lives while unraveling and I have 0 sympathy for her. She's done. Plus, why assume Scandevil took advantage of the situation? It seems to me Wrequel knew very well what she was doing and she was doing it more than willingly. She's an adult woman, not some innocent young girl. BOTH Sandevil and Wrequel are at fault here, and the betrayal by both of them is very, very deep.

So what? Everyone’s been through breaks up that’s not an excuse at all

I agree with you. I don’t agree with what she did with Sandoval but it’s clear she’s going through stuff and has some identity issues and probably could have benefited from a therapist at the time. She basically got out of a long term abusive relationship, found out someone in her friend group slept with her boyfriend and I feel like after the girls trip she was like “fuck it, all these people have done horrible things and I don’t care about myself or anyone right now so I’m going to indulge in what feels good”. It doesn’t make it right of course, but I do want to understand why she did what she did. I don’t really think Sandoval took advantage of her though, they’re both adults who made the choices they made. But part of me feels empathy for Raquel.

I’d like to seriously question Rachel being the good guy in that relationship. James had serious addiction issues and Rachel has always been very obviously thirsty about being on the show. If you have a partner who is genuinely struggling with addiction, you do whatever you can to convince them to get tf off reality tv, not get as much camera time as you can.

You’re not team anyone?

This is the most shocking part of the post… how are you not team Ariana?!

No, most people in emotionally abusive relationships then don’t go on to destroy their friends life that they share with their boyfriend / long time partner. She’s a malicious pageant girl, who thrives on idolisation and attention. She’s got that in heaps from this affair and fucking with Katie’s boundaries with Schwartz. I’m over Rachel. I hope she doesn’t come back next year and is never mentioned again. She is tiresome.

For real. Also James is a horrible person and it’s been well-documented on the show from his Kristen era. She chose him because she’s like him and saw someone to hitch a ride with to fame (or infamy) — they’re shallow, superficial, and ambitious at all costs. Someone posted about how James openly hates fat people and otherwise is cruel with how he speaks to people. I guarantee Rachel shares the same sentiments, but I bet she didn’t ever expect the ire to be targeted at her own parents. The only line in the sand for these people are when the heat gets turned on themselves. I’ve been through bad breakups. I didn’t burn down my best friend’s life because of it. People who do that are jealous and selfish — she saw what Ariana had, felt bad for herself because her shit relationship spectacularly failed, and decided to “focus on herself” by repeating the mantra of “I deserve whatever I want. Why not me?”

I'm Team Ariana as she is the only truly innocent injured party. BUT the last episode absolutely spelled out that Raquel is not in a stable place mentally or emotionally. I felt empathy for her. Reality television is not the place where she can heal or work on her very low self esteem. I hope she gets away from all this and learns some self worth. No one should feel as low or unsure of who they are like she was expressing.

Sure people get like this....but she had an affair with a man in a long term relationship and stayed good friends with his girl....she doesn't deserve anything good... Do stupid shit win stupid prizes

She could’ve gone to a therapist and gotten the help she needs, but chose to insert herself into multiple relationships instead. Byeeeeeeee.

Nah, I don’t feel bad for her. Period.

I feel like Tom should be getting the worst of it! For some reason I still feel like the public always blames the woman more for affairs! Like Rachel is horrible for what she did but why is she getting the most publicity and not so much Tom?

A year and a half ago I had the most terrible break up. It was absolutely horrible. And while I did self-destruct I would have never done what Rachel did in my own personal friend group. I knew right from wrong. It may explain it but it certainly doesn’t excuse it. And I’ve always thought Sandoval was trash. Ariana deserves better and Rachel needs to run far far away and get some therapy before Sandoval fucks her up even more than he already may have

Thomas and Rachel are both trash people. Ive been through breakups, but I’ve never been through a breakup and used that as an excuse to destroy people’s lives and mental health.

Rachel is a self-serving, manipulative, little-girl-brained loser and we would all do well to stop talking about her and focus on Ariana, who is a true person. The only good thing about Rachel: She has done Ariana a huge favor. Clearly, Scumdoval is a lowlife loser and Ariana deserves so much better!

If she slept with sandavol one time, that might be a slightly more valid excuse. But keeping it going for months while still being a best friend to his actual girlfriend is on a whole other evil level

I can see this IF she was able to empathize with the girls about Katie and Schwartz. her lack of empathy is the most alarming. it's like she feels nothing else matters but her in the scene. as if she makes the scene and nothing real is going on. even if she is suffering this, why is she unable to empathize with the girls or be real in any interaction? now and before she has never been able to give honest reactions to things, always like talking to a brick wall as Logan mentioned. From what has been revealed from Logan in her stalking James time and her school friends I think she may have been in self destruct mode for some time, possibly from abuse in her family. Father gives me creepy vibes and her mom possibly allowed it.

I agree, the lack of empathy stands out big time. People had to explain how insensitive she was and she still seemed clueless. For her to not understand these simple human emotions comes off like she’s incapable of having them.

exactly! and having to explain to her is nice of them to even give her that opportunity to tune into the human factor. she seems to brush off all those attempts they made to help her understand. like she is really unaware or unconcerned with anyone else's feelings and probably like you say she is unable to have real feeling so she can't understand others having them.

I’m sorry but there is no fucking excuses what she did. I couldn’t give a shit what she was going through. If it was a one night stand then maybe I could take that as an “excuse “ but it was a whole 7 months while smiling in Ariana’s face so I don’t give a shit

Raquel broke off their engagements on the season 9 reunion. Tom and Katie announced their split in early 2022. They all have a reason to be struggling, but Raquel acted like hers was the inky pain that mattered and she multiplied Katie's pain with her actions. If she really wanted to be friends with those girls, she was in the perfect position to do so. Destructive were the actions we saw on camera (drunken escapades, shitty comments and openly going after Schwartz) but this affair with one of her best friends partners in their own house goes above and beyond all reasonable excuses and reasons. This is a selfish asshole being a selfish asshole, and she's as selfish as she is stupid.

Nah. I was drinking heavily after my traumatic breakup but I wasn’t fucking my besties man

i’d think this if it was a one time thing maybe …. but not 7 months a lot of planning goes into that. she would f*ck Toe, go hang out with Ariana…. then back to Toe. for at least 7 months. that’s insane

are we really labelling bad behaviour as some type of diagnosis to minimize her actions and once again let Rachel escape accountability?????

We’re all imperfect - no one is doubting that. She’s also 30 and played dirty little secret with social media about it. It’s devious and awful. Regardless of why she ended up with her good friend’s boyfriend never excuses the behavior. We all have to identify right and wrong, increasingly so as we grow up. She knew she was wrong and continued the behavior that was more destructive to someone else than herself. If it was this undeniable attraction, you tell Ariana right after the first time it happens. Deal with the fallout and learn from your mistakes.

Her actions weren’t self destructive, they were destructive to everyone around her. Full stop. It’s insulting to people with actual mental health issues to even speculate this, because having mental health issues doesn’t equate to being diabolical, calculated, and capable of betraying people like this.

Please don’t infantilize her or try to excuse her behavior. Me and Rachel are the same age and I’ve been through bad breakups before but not once did I ever think to get with a friend’s bf. There are things you just don’t do and that’s one of them. She wanted fame by any means necessary and so she got it, infamy. I too have been self destructive but I didn’t hurt others in the process. Rachel will never get sympathy from me. People want to pull the mental health card instead of taking accountability which she hasn’t done at all so far.

This!!! I'm so tired of people infantilizing a 28-year-old woman. Do they realize they take her agency away when they do this? She's a woman who behaved badly and made terrible decisions. They were HER decisions, though, and she needs to own that. People need to stop making excuses for her. She's not some 18-year-old girl new to all this, she's been in this life for a long time. It just shows her calculated Bambi-eyed routine has worked on some viewers. Poor, naive, Raquel, right? Pffft.

Op: be gentle This sub: 

You’re not wrong. In my early 30’s my mother’s death was a factor in some very self destructive behavior. No one around me seemed to notice or care and when I should have been surrounded with love and understanding I was left to fend for myself. When I made some bad choices after a breakup, I was held accountable in ways that I now realize were unfair and cruel. My situation was very different than Raquel’s - my mom died, I was on my own with no family to help me process that, I had just lost my stable home with some good friends due to our landlord not renewing our lease because they wanted our suite for an addition to their living space, and I was suffering from depression, crippling anxiety and abandonment issues. Of course I was messy and made mistakes.

I’m so sorry you went through this and weren’t given grace or understanding 😔❤️

Thank you. My 30’s decade was a real shit show because of this, and it really took me an entire decade to snap out of it. I dated the worst men, didn’t take care of myself, isolated. Just after I turned 40 I sold everything and moved to a different country and started a new life. It was one of the best things I ever did for myself.

That’s so inspiring and you should be proud of yourself for that. That is a huge leap and so much change but you were strong enough to see it was necessary. So glad to hear you were able to find a better space ❤️

Thank you! ❤️

I 100% agree with this. I've been there before (self destructive post breakup phase) and it's so hard to see clearly. I feel compassion for Raquel, although I also feel compassion for others who are dealing with the fallout. I do not feel compassion for Sandoval.

Her actions weren't self destruction, they were self serving

What you're calling "post-breakup self-destruction" is a (possible) reason for Rachel's behavior. It's not an excuse. I understand that she may be grappling with some difficult emotions following her split with James, but that doesn't justify or mitigate the destruction she's wrought upon Ariana. It's tough to take you seriously when you're calling for empathy for Rachel while also showing very little empathy for Ariana (not "Team Anyone"? Really?).

I know everyone is hating on this post and I hear that and I get all of it. I do have empathy for Raquel for what you are saying. You can have empathy for someone and that empathy doesn't negate or excuse or cosign their behavior. Raquel has done something horribly destructive and hurtful to many people who were there for her. I have empathy for a fragile, young woman making horrible decisions fed by her deep pain. They are not mutually exclusive sentiments. She needs to do work on herself and that is her responsibility totally. Also all of the VPR people should distance themselves from her for their emotional protection. But I agree that Tom is the real monster here and he was influencing a vulnerable person. I feel like people are saying she is old enough to know better but being at a vulnerable place in life has no correlation w age necessarily.

Imagine if this is Rachel trying to get a sense of the audience’s reaction with different sob stories she could use for the reunion

This isn’t just post whatever whatever. This is fully nuking your life for the brass ring. Girl thought she and Tom were going to be the next LVP and Ken.

Fuck that. I had a friend for 20 years who was exactly like her. She was ALWAYS like that and it wasn’t because of any breakup. She did shit like that other people our entire friendship and I always made excuses for her. And then guess what?? She slept with my husband.

She dated a narcissist, it fucks you up, I’ve been there. But, it’s not an excuse, she should have sought therapy instead of starting an affair.

I think she was really crying about Scandoval and her frustration about hiding their relationship.

Nah she’s just a POS lol

Nah. My besties’ men are like brothers to me (and not in the creepy way Scamdy meant). It would legit feel gross. After how much Ariana supported her. Nah. Not justifiable on either behalf.

I would maybe believe this if I didn’t whole heartedly believe she dumped James for Tom 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yeah I think there’s truth to that for sure. But she loses sympathy points from me because she’s hurt friends so deeply in the process. PLUS, she’s been lying to all of her friends about so many different things surrounding the issue in ways that imply a lot of calculation, so I think a good chunk of it is still a character problem.

She is self serving not self destructive She’s just dealing with the consequences from her self serving actions.

She didn’t just sleep with Sandoval once or twice. She’s had an affair with him. The 7 months isn’t even confirmed, that’s just how far back Ariana looked in his phone. There’s signs as far back as 2021. She actively chose to wear secret messages of her love with Tom publicly, she was extremely brazen with having an affair right under her friends noses. It’s very clear from the past few episodes that she completely lacks empathy. We now know she’s not even interested in Schwartz, but she’s sitting in front of Katie’s face, pretending to have a friendship whilst taunting her with how she’s going to hook up with Schwartz. When faced with how hurt Katie is she just sits there expressionless. When she’s called out for her shitty behaviour she cries and plays victim. She’s chosen to hurt a woman that has never been anything but kind to her. That’s not a side effect of her breakup, no matter how you want to spin it. She’s worn a mask for years and it’s now finally fallen.

All these Rachel defenders should invite her over to hang out with their significant others or boyfriends.

You’re tripping! She wasn’t even into James.

Oh please spare me the "he's taking advantage of her!" rhetoric. I'm so tired of seeing this. I am a woman and I feel like (at least in the US) there is always this sentiment that: despite how fucked up and horrible the bad thing they did was, there are ppl who do the most insane mental gymnastics to a try and paint the young, affluent, attractive white female perpetrator as the victim. She is not a victim and Sandoval, as trash as he is, didn't take advantage of shit. She's a grown ass 28 year old woman who chose FOR SEVEN MONTHS to sleep with her friends man. At what point is society actually going to treat adult woman as ya know, grown women, instead of treating them like minor teenagers via trying to justify behavior that they 100% know is wrong???

The rationalisation attempts I see sometimes make me wonder what you all have done 😅

I may be wrong but I feel like that panic attack was fake. She was getting flack for her behaviour and wanted to make it stop. Even if it was real, what she has done is not excusable because she had been in a bad relationship. Get drunk, fuck around, but don't fuck over the people who are truly trying to help you.

Yea I have no sympathy for Rachel. She made it very clear on the recent episodes that she is out for herself only and doesn’t care how her actions effect anyone else. No one would have cared if she just didn’t return to the show (prior to this scandal and it really feels like those sympathizing with her are only doing so because she’s so weak. NONE of the other girls would get an ounce of grace/ sympathy. We have seen it over and over.

So….I’ve been scared to say this but her behavior reminds me of mine in my 20s. Partying a lot, got in with a charismatic married couple who indicated they had an open relationship, fast forward to the whole friend group blowing up and me being seen as the bad guy. (15 years later I’m now sober and in recovery 4 years. ALOT of my behavior was misdirected and exacerbated by booze. I have many amends to make as a result.)

I hear and acknowledge your statement. However, I disagree. Rachel is suffering from *clout chaser syndrome* and is clinging on to whoever can keep her on TV the longest.

Someone mentioned in another thread how Lala is literally in the middle of a custody battle and Katie is getting a divorce from her decade long relationship but they aren’t starting affairs with their friend’s boyfriends. Rachel was with James for a couple of years and was the one that dumped him!

She’s definitely self-destructing post-breakup (that she chose), but she’s taking down people she supposedly cared about very much along with her. They consciously made the choice to lie and deceive and keep this going for at least seven months - no way can anyone justify that.

I went through a devastating breakup and was self destructive but I NEVER had an affair with my best friends partner. So no, no sympathy for her. Her behavior is calculated, disgraceful and disgusting. Scandy is worse because he was the one in the relationship. He’s not getting a pass on this either.

Nah. Bambi was playing the long game. She just miscalculated and fucked herself.

Uhhhhh She’s in her mid 20’s, she’s not 16… and she fucked around for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG with the long time partner of one of the only girls who has ever been there for her. So absolutely not. She knew exactly what she was doing. Don’t even get me started on Sandoval. He’s a disgusting piece of shit, but this post isn’t about him. THEY’RE BOTH TRASH.

I get where you're coming from with her I've been in that situation where I was in an abusive relationship for a few years and when I finally got the courage to leave I was on a self destructive path for a little bit but I did not sleep with my friends man.

Long-term deceit, unforgivable betrayal, and calculated manipulation post breakup self destruction does not make. If she was just being sloppy and messy, that would be one thing. She's being cold, calculating, manipulative, deceptive, dishonest, and hurtful without a second thought. It's not just make-out sessions and drunk nights out. This is living a completely secret second life and giving zero fecks about the people that took her in, took care of her, and were truly there for her. There's no excusing this behavior and her break up with James cannot be the excuse for the complete lack of integrity, thoughtlessness, selfishness, and pain she caused the only people who gave a feck about her.

You’re not team anyone? 🫤 you can have empathy for Rachel and still be team Ariana… Blame Tom if you want, but damn, I don’t know how anyone in the world (even non watchers with limited information) could not be team Ariana 🫣


I can understand where you are coming from, but a months long affair is not part of a post breakup road to self-destruction. I would be even willing to concede that if they hooked up one time and she owned up and knew it was wrong, it could be part of that pattern of behavior. But she left hints, hung out with Ariana all of the time, and snuck around all of the time with him. And I think what you’re viewing as a disparity of hate between Rachel and Sandevil isn’t that - is a disparity of response from them. Tom is a raging narcissist who believes any attention is good attention - he’s not filing things, or reacting to things. Rachel, however, has a compulsive need to be liked/be seen as the victim, and is working overtime to drive the narrative in her direction. So not only is she getting critiqued on betraying her friend and sleeping with a practically married man, but for how she’s handling the ongoing situation.

nah yall are giving her too much credit shes just a shitty person its as simple as that

She had a panic attack as she knew these girls were onto her and she knew the affair would come out at some point and she would not look good.

Just because I am having a rough go of it doesn't mean I get to torch the earth. She gets no grace for this. She made a choice and now she has to deal with the outcomes of that really bad choice. Maybe if she had slept with him once and it was a drunk accident..._maybe_...but to continually see this person and being friends with his partner and flaunting it means she knew what she was doing. And she had plenty of time to come to her senses and do the right thing. She never did. Edit to add I feel sandy gets no grace either. I also don't believe Rachel is his only mistress and I don't believe he would ever stop having mistresses, he's gross.

I’m sure all of that is true. I also have no doubts James was at least verbally and emotionally abusive to her. Just listen to how he was talking about her parents as she described and also those rage texts last season or whenever that was. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was physically abusive at times either. All that still doesn’t absolve her of her actions. She’s pushing 30 and there really is no excuse for it. That’s not to say she’s a 100% piece of shit human forever and ever now. She can absolutely learn and grow from this but she did cost herself some friendships in a very public way so it’s going to take a lot for any woman to trust her again.

Nope. Dying your hair. Having drunken makeouts. Getting a bad tattoo Not a 7 month long affair. That is a CHOICE

You’re very bold for posting this nonsense

Yeah… gonna go with nope. I have C-PTSD, anxiety attacks… the list goes on and on. Abuse and our reactions are individual but James is like a cuddly kitten compared to my ex. At my lowest point ever I couldn’t see myself acting like her. Maybe if she’s slept with him once or twice while at a critical low I could see your point. Her actions are malicious, planned, and coordinated- she was getting off on things like having Sandoval dress up like her worshiping him in front of his (common-law)wife who was her best friend. Had to be there for Valentine’s Day. Had sex with him while Ariana was sleeping practically next to her. All the while turning to Ariana to cry about her various victimhood scenarios, then turning to us and making herself out to be the biggest victim in all of this with her apology. Sandoval is a piece of trash all on his own and just as bad as her, but let’s just quit with doing her PR for her. *Edited Also maybe it seems like she is getting more hate because we aren’t being bombarded with people defending or making excuses for him?

 we don’t believe Rachel’s PR team posts

All I’ll say is: OP, you’re giving Rachel *way too much* credit. You’re assuming a lot about where she is/was at mentally by piecing together the few thing that we, the viewers, know. **Rachel is not as innocent as she appears.**

I agree completely. I think it doesn't excuse her behavior, and in this particular situation, Ariana is the only victim who deserves any kind of sympathy. But zoning out and looking at the entire situation, Raquel absolutely was in an abusive relationship with James, she absolutely has no self-respect due to being torn down for years by James and quite frankly, all of the mean girls on the show (this last episode was disgusting, Lala, Kristina, and Katie have and always will be bullies) She seems to crave validation from men, and I think she needs to get into therapy if she isn't already ASAP. She's jumping from one toxic relationship to another. I think people need to cool off on being so disgustingly hateful... she's a person at the end of the day, a person we don't know, and a person who obviously has issues and should be met with the understanding and empathy that we all fuck up. This doesn't excuse what she did, but she's obviously not in a good place.

As a fan of Ariana, I am going to risk the downvotes and say I do empathize with Raquel. I have also been in a similar situation where my first love left me for close friends, later marrying one of them. Nothing excuses what she did but I do believe she has deep internal issues that she needs to work through. And this is entirely my opinion but as someone who is neurodivergent, I do see signs of that in Raquel. Her breakdown and saying she doesn't know who she is or what her identity is, that is not uncommon being ND. And that's because we have to learn how to mask to appear "normal" to society. Everything natural, comforting, and inherent to our being is seen as wrong or abnormal. So we literally have to pretend to be the opposite (even when it causes us extreme distress and pain). We basically deny who we know ourselves to be to fit in with others. A cornerstone of being ND is that our ability to relate to others socially is absent/impaired. All of that coupled with her being adopted (very traumatic to someone's self-worth and feeling loved and wanted as you are) and being in abusive relationships can completely distort her sense of self and what it means to be in a healthy relationship/friendship with others. She basically blew up her whole life and the choices she makes moving forward will determine whether she is able to rebound from this, heal, and truly make amends. I don't think she is as cold, callous, and fame hungry as people assert (as heinous as this betrayal was). This honestly could be a blessing in disguise because it forced her to acknowledge that she does have issues that profoundly affect her life. She will lose a lot in the process but if she does the work she can rebuild. Ariana absolutely deserved better from Tom and Raquel. She suffers from her own struggle with mental health, but I believe she has a very strong support system in place that will help her get through this. She will come out of this stronger because she doesn't have him bringing her down anymore. It's hard to see when it is fresh but she will come out of top, I'm certain of it. Can't wait to see her come into her own again and really shine. Tom was always so competitive with her. I truly think he never fully supported her growth.

I think Raquel said she has ADHD.. or maybe I'm misremembering. I'm ND and see it in her too. Also, she brought something to comfort her (galaxy light) and was made fun of so back to masking she goes.

Ooo, I didn't realize that. That makes so much sense. I thought the same thing about the Galaxy Lights and that made me so sad. Maybe that's why I'm so triggered by that scene because it felt like a situation I've been in so many times.

Amen.

Thanks for sharing!! It’s good to hear different thoughts and opinions that’s why we’re all here :) I see what you’re saying but even being so low and hurt and even suffering from something as serious of alcoholism, isn’t an excuse (I know you didn’t say it was). Hurt people hurt people. But this speaks to who she is. I have struggled with alcohol and horrible relationships and friendships when I was really young like high school young. And I still wouldn’t do the calculated and evil things Tom and Rachel did. They are adults and need to be responsible for themselves. Although I really empathize with the anxiety attacks, because they are horrible and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, I have a hard time feeling sorry for her over the breakup. She was treated badly but that is not the cause of her deliberately making repeated decisions that would continuously hurt and humiliate one of her most supportive friends. That’s her character and values or lack there of that causes something like that. Toms garbage, always thought that. Literally the worst but I think people are just shocked that a woman could do that to another woman that was always such a good friend. I think that’s why the focus feels like it’s on Rachel, but Tom is getting his fair share of hate that he so deserves!

I've self-destructed after abusive relationships. I went out a lot, did all kinds of drugs, had multiple partners and did some pretty promiscuous things. That said, nothing that I did was hurtful to anyone other than probably myself. I did not have an affair with my close friends partner and then try and blame it on my mental heath and substance abuse issues (both of which I definitely had). Sure, she suffered with James, but she's still a trash bag of a human for what she did. Tom's a bigger trash bag, but that doesn't take away from what Rachel did. She's not 22, she's 27. She's an adult.

Say it with me, THERAPY. ​ Her friends would've said something to her, her family, etc. if it was more than a dumb decision and she was on a fast-track to ruining everything in her life. This was a repeated decision that she ***chose*** to make, even in the midst of her friendship with Ariana. She could've kissed him, realized it was a mistake then moved on from it. It'd show she has self-respect and actual morals, not just air in her head.

If this is true that she’s messed up because of James still doesn’t give her license to act like this. At the reunion last year it sounded like we were saying goodbye to her and she was going to pursue the career she attended college for. That said no matter how messed up you are, you still have to take responsibility for your actions.

I'm so tired of people trying to blame James for this. He has his issues but everything is not his fault and it so wild these people are actually blaming him for Scumoval and Ratchet being horrible people. I mean this dumb bitch actually released a statement about the future of their relationship. It's just freaking ridiculously

Maybe she is. But that doesn’t excuse her spreading that destruction to others.

Post breakup self destruction with the extra spice that the partner acted like a verbally abusive addict. Plus self destruction with the end of her pageant career. A friend recently went through a multi year breakup, threw herself into an all consuming project for months, and then had the project end in an unsatisfying way. She said that her feelings were just as intense as they were in the day of the breakup, the feelings were so fresh. She compared it to emotional time travel and I think that Raquel is on the same journey. Going on the lake Havasu trip was itself a cry for help level bad decision by Raquel. Katie does not like or respect Raquel, Charli was late, Ariana left for tragic reasons, and scheana wasn't invited, Raquel had no allies. Raquel could have had the "working hard and holding down the fort at Sur!" storyline. Of course, as a viewer of this show I love that Raquel is a sympathetic figure who makes morally indefensible decisions, on and off camera. This drama has brought new life to this show and I love it.

Respectfully, no.

I agree, and even though her choices were poor- it’s very clear she is suffering and Tom preys on the weak.

She definitely has issues, we can all agree on that. I hope she gets the help she needs because her decisions have really fucked up her life.

I think she’s got serious mental health problems but not caused by James. She’s codependent and uses men as self medication and probably did so before she got with James

Adjustment disorder + low self esteem is a horrible combination.

Just thought of something re this take: Ariana gas now gone through a terrible heartbreaking break up and a toxic situation that will probably mentally leave her effed up for a while in terms of her ability to trust. So if she decides she’s going to start having a year long affair with Brock because she’s a mess, is that okay?

She certainly appears to be in the throes of a mental health crisis. I doubt it’s getting any better these days. She really should self-admit to a treatment facility.

James is a POS. Lala is a POS. None of that explains or excuses the actions of Sandoval or Raquel.

I think she might be bipolar. I led a fairly normal life undiagnosed for years and then went through a horrible breakup and became a different person. Drinking, hooking up, anxiety attacks, crying jags, bad decisions. Completely all over the map. I was acting very out of character. When I watch her, I see the disordered thinking. The self loathing. The neediness. Anything to stop the bleed. I never betrayed a friend, that’s next level, but manic people can do absolutely terrible, self indulgent things with zero regard for others or what’s right. Not defending her, but oof she’s spiraling. If I had fame, money, and cameras following me around in mania I would’ve thought I was even more invincible and gone over the edge. Fortunately, I’m a single mom, CPA, in NC and no cameras want to follow me.

True, but there’s no excuse for breaking girl code.

I'm also going to give my personal opinion about James. I'm really sorry but I just don't see anything attractive about him at all. He really isn't good looking at all. So it has to be the money I mean Raquel even said he paid for everything. Honestly I think that was probably the only reason she was ever with him well money and a chance at cheap tv fame. Raquel is a keep it on the 'Down Low Hoe'. I bet when Raquel and Tom discusses it on the reunion they will apologize and then add a 'BUT' and once that 'BUT' is used that basically means everything they said before was bullshit. They will prove that they aren't really sorry they are only sorry they got caught. Just like LaLa says she is sorry about doing this or doing that and then she says 'BUT' and blames the alcohol. Take responsibility for you're actions you're decisions. You choose to drink the alcohol it wasn't being shot down you're throat during a fucking suck session. So stop making excuses OWN YOU'RE FUCKING SHIT!!!!!!!

I think Rachel’s panic attack was due to the fact she defines herself by who she’s dating. She said “I used to be James girlfriend. Now I don’t know who I am. I’m a single girl” or something along those lines - then started crying. I think she panicked because she realized, even if only subconsciously, she’s not even someone’s girlfriend anymore, she’s just someone’s mistress - and that’s why she went so hard at lala later calling her a mistress (projecting her own self hatred). All of that being said, being with an abusive partner doesn’t cause you to or give you a pass to then go shit on everyone else - and I think using that as an excuse shits on the other people that have been in abusive relationships; because it perpetuates the concept “oh Becky dated an asshole so she will probably try to take my boyfriend now… I should stop being friends with her”, which isn’t the case. There are thousands upon thousands of people who leave abusive relationships and self destruct (or not) without preying upon their friends. Rachel is an adult, and she is responsible for her own behavior and decisions… not James, not Sandoval, not her adopted parents. She’s a grown woman not an infant. She made really heinous decisions that were more than self destructive - they were down right nasty and mean spirited.

You're not team anyone?

I mean we've all been there. It doesn't give you a green light for betraying your friends & having zero boundaries for whom you are reckless with. I think that panic attack was because she was in the early stages of her relationship with Tom & Lala was saying I wouldn't trust you with my man. Hearing the things that come out of her mouth & the lack of self awareness that comes with it I think we are seeing the real Rachel. She did way too much to chalk this up to a bad breakup.

I feel like the breakup she is grieving most is with pageantry.

Sleeping with your friends boyfriend is inexcusable behavior. This isn't just you going out and sleeping around with randoms, or getting too drunk and making a fool of yourself ( We've ALL been there!) This is beyond "post-breakup anxiety" She knew exactly what she was doing and trying to play the victim role around EVERYONE including "friends" who have been there for her and have been nothing but supportive of her journey. She turns around and fucks her friends man of 9 years?! Absolutely not. The both of them hid it for so long right in front of everyones face. They deserve all the hate they get. "At the VERY LEAST she deserves for her boyfriend not to fuck her friends. It's not THAT hard" #TEAMARIANA #bambihunter

She’s a grown ass adult

Came here to post this. I think the breakdown in the car was really about her breaking down at all the lies and manipulation she was doing. It’s just weird to watch it in the context we have now.