Transcript
Well, well, well, Lauren, greetings, welcome to my podcast that you sometimes come on. Thank you so much for being here. Thrilled to be joining you today, Chandler. This is a week of many scandals breaking news. Really, we need to hold hands together as we walk into these truly dark waters. So, you know, there have been some dead weeks, OK? In recent times where you know, the tap of pop culture was not flowing, it was. It wasn't even dry it. OK. And we prayed for, you know, for manna from above and a boy, Oh boy, did we receive I mean, we received so much intel and so much drama this past week and weekend. I mean, it's been waking me up in the middle of the night because I can't talk to you about it because I've been waiting to talk to you about it till, you know, right now, right? We have been waiting to debrief on the podcast together. Finally, we have some self-control. So let's just I think we should just dive headfirst into the actual drama that has taken the nation by storm. Oh, scand of all, I have so many thoughts. Let's set the stage with what has happened. I mean, the amount of people that I know and love who aren't familiar with this cast who are now hitting me up for context, has been staggering. I feel like we need to do a little bit of a state of the Union before we get into, you know, our takes and where we go as a nation from here. All right. Well, Vanderpump Rules, everyone. Vanderpump Rules right now is getting back to its roots because this show is a hit show built on a very incestuous friend group. OK. Yes. And the initial cast of characters included Tom Sandoval, who is at the heart of this drama, and his then girlfriend, Kristin Doty. Mm hmm. And included Jax Taylor, Stassi Schroeder. These are tangential characters now who are not part of the show. But anyway, there was always lots of cheating drama amongst these characters. Yes. And let's just also set the record that this show began 12 years ago, maybe 12 13 years ago. Like, this is a very long standing Bravo cast. We're not talking about Summer House, OK, or some fly by night Bravo TV show. This is like a legacy cast and production. That's correct. So in the summer of 2013, that is when Kristin Doty, who was originally on the cast but who was canceled and who was removed from the cast in 2020, she originally accused Tom Sandoval of cheating on her with Ariana Madix. Ariana was a co-worker. And if you remember this show there, but she was super into improv at the beginning of the show. She was going to be a comedian. This drama and also her own cheating drama, Kristen's own cheating drama is what makes Seasons one through three of this show incredible. Like when you when we tell riveting that they need to watch Vanderpump Rules like it is because, you know, the show is also about it's a cast of people who work at a restaurant. So it's really like all of the cast members are people who moved to L.A. to basically get famous. And so they're just working, you know, like restaurant jobs until, you know, their their ticket is up. That's right. Let's just say that this cast from the get go has had almost no shame. It's very gritty to watch. And anyways, the first three seasons of the show are very good for those reasons, and they're also very, very messy, which is why to be in 2023, you know, 10, whatever years later, 10, 11 years later, and have it be just as messy. It's beyond. I think that also one of the reasons why people are really up in arms over this is Tom Sandoval. He was always a, I would say on the show. Even though there was this light cheating scandal area on Earth, he was always this bastion of male morality. He always said he wanted to get married and have a family, and he would always condemn, like other men on the show who were cheating Jax DJ James Kennedy. He always had this kind of like moral higher ground, it seemed like, and the cheating scandal with Arianna was very much, I think, kind of brushed past. Mm-Hmm. I think, yeah, we obviously all kind of looked past the fact that him and Arianna began their relationship during a fuzzy timeline of when him and Kristen were done. But I think him and Arianna, and this is one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, had a really real connection. And and you could just tell instantly that these were people who were meant to be together. And in fact, in one of her early confessional, she says what? And I always loved this line. She said that Tom and I never really started dating. We just stopped. Not dating, and I could just tell from the very beginning, and if you rewatch some of those episodes, like they had a very real chemistry and they were very compatible. Right. And I think that they've been probably the most stable couple on the cast, right? Even though they did start in murky waters. And I definitely think that their relationship began while he was still dating Kristin. I think that he absolutely gaslight Kristin and drove her insane and never really copped to it. Mm-Hmm. The only thing that he ever admitted to was that he kissed Arianna anyway. Who really knows? I doubt it. But I think that, yeah, this has been really the couple that has seemed like the most stable. I guess. Before we get there, let's just kind of outline what happened. So, so Arianna and Tom get together and there's this like element of their relationship. There's a few elements. One is that he says he wants to get married and he wants to have a family. And I think that Tom Sandoval is he he possesses characteristics that are distinctly unsavory. Right? He loves himself deeply. He's extreme. Then he puts a lot of attention into his grooming, into his fitness, into his outfits. And he also is really obsessed with this band he's started and his music career that it really never was. So he is cringing parts of his personality. Yeah, he's kind of always been, I would say, a more vain guy. You know, a guy who's more who really likes to, you know, probably look in the mirror and, you know, run his hands through his hair. But to be honest, like, I've always found him to be kind of lovable like I am because I think with, you know, contrast it with someone like Schwartz who's just kind of like an idiot who gets less and less attractive the more he talks like Sandoval. I think actually, to me at least, obviously up until this weekend seemed like someone who I was like, Yeah, like, he just seems a little bit more with it and more stable. And also, I don't want to get too much in the weeds. But like when James proposed to Raquel, like the fact that he went all out, you know, he spent like $20000 of his own money to like, make this proposal amazing. Like, I think there are very seriously redeeming qualities about him that we've seen throughout these seasons that make him like a seemingly a great guy. Oh my gosh. Absolutely. And I think that sometimes people's cringe qualities they let their like freak flag show instead of, you know, trying to seem super likable in every way. I think that's one of the reasons why, you know, people did like Tom Sandoval and especially when you contrasted him against the extremely volatile DJ James Kennedy, frankly, verbally abusive, and he had huge substance issues. Ditto Jax Taylor, who had the same problems and was a cheater, was super abusive, was super volatile and then against Tom Schwartz, who was just kind of like this benign derpy character. Tom Sable really was, I think, the most likable character or like, likable cast member. And again, he always kind of like stood on his moral high ground, right? And he always would condemn Jax. He condemned DJ James Kennedy. He seemed like he really had a heart of empathy for others and especially for women. And so I think that that is also why this just comes as such a shock. But OK, well, and sorry. One more thing to add to, you know why he seemed like such a great character, great actor is that his relationship with Ariana over the last 10 years has been pretty stable, like they've had their challenges. But, you know, compared to the other like long term relationships on the show, like they seem to be good partners, and he seemed to be a really good partner to her. Obviously, sex with her, and they seemed like they were two really good, sincere people at their core who were compatible. Absolutely. But behind the scenes, this is what was really happening. This girl named Raquel, her actual name is Rachel from high school that was also been unearthed this weekend, but we will hear two fourth refer to her as Raquel. Raquel is this super fan of the show. And she joins the show as D.J. James, Candy's girlfriend. Apparently, she went to serve on a day he was deejaying. This was her intent was to date him and get on the show and oh boy, did she and she kind of comes on the show and she just she seems really, really nice, like wouldn't hurt a fly, but also really dumb. She proceeds to date DJ James Kennedy. He falls in love with her, proposes to her and ultimately she breaks it off because James Kennedy has all sorts of problems. And I was really cheering for Raquel, you know, when her family was there at Sunstone Winery, at their engagement party. I felt like, Wow, Raquel comes from really good people. She's obviously a very nice girl. Yeah, she's a little cringy with the pageants, but I definitely felt like, OK, this is a this is a nice person who shouldn't be. With such a malevolent character like Mrs. Kennedy. Yes. La La refers to her as a bambi eyed b***h. And that description is now fitting knowing what we know. But she is really this like she kind of seems very naive, open hearted. You know, like, very young. You know, vanilla kind of. I'll say it, dimwitted girl who just, you know, happen to fall in to the situation. And she's fallen for James Kennedy, despite him being maybe the worst person on TV. And so, yeah, you couldn't help but cheer for her and she may. OK, well, maybe she brings out a good thing in him. Maybe she helps him, you know, be a better person, whatever, yada yada yada. So I think that also that type of foundation really makes what's come to light in the nefarious behind the scenes behavior like all the more very shocking. Well, I think this is the thing about recall is whenever she would get into a sparring war with someone else, she could never keep up with LA law, right? Lawless breaks into process at 2x speed, then miracles. And then also she would never hit back with jabs about the other person. She was just basically start crying about her insecurities. And so she was really likable, right? She got James to get off alcohol. And then not only that, but when it was clear that this guy is this guy has serious issues is not the guy for her. She got out of that toxic relationship. It didn't matter that she was engaged. It didn't matter that she had, you know, he had done all this stuff for her. The reality was, is that he didn't treat her well and she got out of it. And I think that everyone had accepted that Recul was part of the cast and was rooting for her. So this started this season. A lot of the drama has been surrounding Raquel hooking up with Tom Schwartz, so it was initially reported that Raquel made out, I guess not really hooked up, but made out with Tom Schwartz at Coachella. It has since been revealed that Tom Schwartz was not even at Coachella, but we'll get to that in a second. A lot of the drama this part of the season is that Raquel is basically prompted or kind of cajoled by Sheena to start some sort of romantic fling with Tom Schwartz. And the reason why this is a problem is Tom Schwartz just divorced. Another cast member, Katie Maloney. And one of Katie's very real and very serious boundaries was don't hook up with any one of our friends. Really, what she's saying is don't hook up with our coworkers, don't hook up with other people in this small circle where we have to work together and film together. That's going to be really hurtful to me. I'll just add a little bit more context. Sheena claims that Katie said, I'm hooking up with people. You know, if Tom doesn't go up with Raquel, whatever like Sheena claims that Katie kind of open this door and then, you know, Sheena kind of then encouraged it because she thought Katie was OK with it. That being said, it's a dumb, boneheaded friend move, you know, to to try to push, you know, your close friend towards your other close friends acts like, I don't know, just stay out of it. Absolutely. And I can understand I can. I can understand and fully see being in that moment being like, Oh, I don't care and then actually potentially happening. And it's like your true feelings do come to the surface. Of course, that said, Sheena is trying to keep the show alive. She's trying to do the good work. They're trying to get a storyline, and this is really the bedrock that Vanderpump Rules was built on. It was built on drama, on cheating scandals, on French speaking with each other, real ways it was not built on, you know, did you return the dog that you adopted? It was built on? Did you have sex with my boyfriend in the other room? OK, well, I was sleeping. That is where the show started. Yeah, yeah. So anyway, Raquel, in the most recent episode, you can see her actually go up to Schwartz and ask him to make out. So it becomes very clear that Raquel is kind of throwing all caution to the wind. Right. So, you know, we're like four episodes into this latest season, and it's all really about, you know, Raquel and Schwartz like potentially hooking up, you know, Katie's fighting with Sheena, yada yada yada. And I guess also one thing I'll add is that a big part of this this season for Tom Sandoval is his band. And you know them going around and touring and singing covers and being overall, like, pretty cringy. It's like he's already like a guy having a midlife crisis. I think James said this, but the band is giving midlife crisis and like Tom Sandoval is like in his like 30s. But anyhoo, at the all of his shows like Raquel is there, you know, Ariana's there. The whole cast are at these shows, which we come to find out is where Ariana found out about Raquel and Sandoval. So that brings us to Friday. OK, so this all brings us to Friday when the news broke. But when this was actually happening was Wednesday night. So Wednesday night, Tom Sandoval is playing with his cover band. Raquel is doing Watch What Happens Live in New York with Sheena, and Tom Sandoval gives his phone to Ariana to record him playing. So. Hurtado, she's recording him, playing and cheering him on, cheering on this guy who's doing this cover band, it's so cringy, it's so corny. But anyway, being a good, dutiful girlfriend, he's like doing these cover bands at like Agoura Hills, like random bars like it is just it's not even remotely successful. He actually has to pay his band members to to play. He he like knows them for practice and like. And their show times, right? And so anyways, it's just it's all around cringe. Another thing is that like Ariana is like extremely supportive of all of his mid-life crisis endeavors. It's so true. And honestly, I will say Ariana is a really good girlfriend, right? She's she is supporting him living his best vanity project. Like, Yeah, OK. So it's widely reported, Chandler, that she has his phone during this time she films him, and then for some reason, she feels the promptings of the spirit of the other films to go through his phone to look at his messages. So what the mainstream media is saying is telling us is nice when she discovers a video that Raquel has sent Sandoval of herself touching herself. OK, and time screen recording. Yes. So then Ariana sends the video to herself, messages it to Raquel, and says, Your dad to me. She knows that Raquel and Sheena are together filming Watch What Happens Live. And she texts Sheena and tells her so it's reported that Sheena punches Raquel in the face. This has actually been disputed, but so this is how the mainstream media paints it. But I have read online that what actually happened was that Sheena was doing Watch What Happens Live with Raquel. And one of the questions that Andy Cohen asked was, Who is the hotter Tom Tom Schwartz or Tom Sandoval? And Sheena said, Tom Sandoval thinking Raquel would say Tom Schwartz because they had this whole like little flirtation thing at the beginning of the season, and she thought that she was a little into him. Well, Raquel said Tom Sandoval and apparently Andy Cohen said on his show that he saw Schinas antennas go up at that. Like, why does she say Tom Sandoval right during commercial break? I guess, Gina said to Raquel. I only said Sandoval because I thought you were going to say shorts. And then Raquel says, Well, it's because he has. Tom Sandoval has abs. So according to the dark web, thank you for attributing your sources, either as mainstream media or darkweb. Yeah, of course. So of cording to the dark web, what actually happened was Sheena texted Arianna. She said something could be up with Tom and how you should look at his messages with her or something like that. So that's when Arianna went to go look in his phone that she was in Hiroshima. So that's where she finds the video. I mean, that's a pretty serious red flag to raise to your friend. Like, it makes me think that perhaps, you know, some spidey senses were activated before this on either Arianna side or on on Xena side or something, because I don't know if I said that my friend's boyfriend was hot. Like, I don't know that that would prompt someone to instantly be like, go check their messages between Chandler and so-and-so. You know, it's it's a little bit like it's a little bit of a long walk for me to think that there was no other indication before this. I agree. I think that there were probably a few other clues, but Sheena, I guess, came completely unglued. Regardless of, yeah, if Ariana search the phone because of her own promptings, yeah, or if Sheena told her to. Regardless, it comes out that Tom and Raquel have been carrying on a full blown affair for seven months behind Ariana's back. He has apparently been hooking up with her in their house. It's rumored that he's hooked up with her while Ariana is sleeping in his in Ariana's bed while she's out of town. And all of these things are now surfacing all of these clues that show us that this affair was really in front of us hidden in plain sight. Another rumor I heard about you know him doing it while Ariana's home is that Ariana actually caught him like leaving Rickles room or something in the middle of the night? I guess she was spending the night there. Who knows why? And then she asked him, What? What were you doing or what are you doing? And he said I was getting her water or something like, which is very strange. Yeah. Additionally, they both wore matching hideous lightning bolt necklaces. I'm really sorry to any listeners here who are adorned with a lightning bolt charm today, but it's time to have it wrapped from your neckline because tainted. That's really it's giving Harry Potter and it's not hot. It's not how the scandal is not hot now. It's even worse, and now it's absolutely even worse now. You know, now it's signals that you are OK with home wrecking, that you are you're signaling that you're pro affairs. Absolutely. You know, rip those necklaces from around your neck and be free. So now people are like looking at everything again, and an interview comes out with Raquel, where she says that she's gotten really close to of all that he has become her best friend. I mean, it is a red flag. If your boyfriend becomes another woman, I know Chandler's all about this. I actually think that it is a red flag if your partner becomes another woman's best friend. OK. That Gemini Bloom best best friend. Like, I don't know. Like, I'm like, That's open to interpretation. This in this scenario that is definitely fishy. I think also like best friends with a really hot single person like, let's look, let's look maybe under a microscope at that and are they talking every day? Could they potentially be having some type of emotional affair? I'm just going to call a spade a spade. Your husband, partner, boyfriend should never become so close to another woman during his relationship with you that that woman feels comfortable calling him her best friend. Right? That's very not began before the relationship, sure. But that's what I mean. Yeah. This is also a 10 year long relationship. They have a home together. They are, you know, on some type of loan deeds together for Tom's businesses. They're, you know, by all means married. And so it is just so traumatic to see that this has been a full blown affair. You know, not that it's ever right or doesn't hurt, but I think if this had been a one night drunken thing, it would be different. But this is a full blown affair with one of your best friends. Also, let's talk about the fact that Ariana has been extremely good and kind to Raquel over the course of the show. Like extremely supportive. There's a scene with Ariana and Raquel where they're about to go somewhere. They're like getting ready to go to one of the parties. And this is after she's newly broken up with James. She's insecure and she's like, Don't leave me alone. And Ariana is like, I won't like, don't worry you, I've got your back. There's a scene where she comes over the night gives her a beautiful housewarming gift. I mean, one of the things I heard someone bring up on a podcast talking about this was that Ariana is a really, actually nice person. Like, yes, if you'll notice from the seasons, Ariana will always film with a new person a lot of times on these reality shows. You know, the new cast member is not really liked by anyone. No one will want to film with them, and Ariana is always game. She's always welcoming of newcomers, and she was a good friend to Raquel. And I think you're totally right, Chandler. If this had been something where they had had a drunken make out, even maybe they had had like something that lasted a week or two. And then they're like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe this. We have to tell Ariana it would be shocking, but it would be nowhere near as shocking as a seven month relationship. Right, right. At the time, because what this says to me is that this girl, like she is in a dark place in her life, right? Like, I think that she has thrown all morals out the window. I think even in the way she kind of just like unapologetically tells Katy and Ariana at lunch on this most recent episode that she doesn't really know who she is anymore. That's why she asked Tom to make out. I think that this is a woman who has lost her way. Yeah, I mean, another ode to Ariana, who I think Ariana is akin now to Princess Diana in popular culture. She has been so wronged, and she also has just she has just been such a wonderful part of the show. I mean, even honestly, when she started, I didn't really like her. I thought she was like, cool girl vibes, you know, of course, you know, she's as cool bartender who's super funny in her and Tom. Just get on so well, like, I honestly didn't really like her because I was like, align more with Kristen. And then as the show has progressed, I've really seen, no, she's like, actually, very good, nice person who's really just like, she's not like this crazy, dramatic person. She has her struggles, but she's just been like such a good cast member and friend to every other person on the show. Like, I just don't think there's like any malice within Ariana like at all, which is why we can see that the whole, you know, Bravo fandom is rallying around Ariana. And you know why, as I just saw like a headline in an article said Tom Sandoval is the number one worst guy in the group. I mean, I think if Ariana has any faults, it's just being a little boring, right? Like, she is not a sure she's not a star. See, she's not a Katy. She really, I think she's not this extremely volatile reality star. Exactly. Just like a nice girl, she just brings like a lot of good energy. I wouldn't say that she actually doesn't bring the drama or like she doesn't always have like these hot takes. But but she's also not, I would say, boring. I don't think she's boring. Like, I think Raquel is to actually truly. Boring to hear talk, but I don't think Arianna is boring, she's just like, I don't know, she just left me, which I think makes her sometimes like, less exciting than Lala or, you know, Stassi. Right, right? Yeah. I guess all I'm trying to get at is just like if if people feel like there's been a very like strong reaction from fans of Bravo and of the show, it is because I think one of the purest cast members has been so completely wronged by this, right? Absolutely. So, OK, now let's get on to what do we think are drawn me to go first? Yeah. So I personally feel like the writing was on the wall that Tom and Ariana's relationship was not going to work out for a long time. I think that, you know, it was revealed in an earlier season that Ariana is pretty dysfunctional in a lot of ways. What do you mean by dysfunctional? She's an openly talked about struggling with real serious sexual dysfunction. She's a person who really struggles and I I totally, completely empathize. But also, you know, she doesn't want to get married. She doesn't want kids. That is something that Sandoval has said he wants. And I personally think that the writing was on the wall that this was not going to work out between the two of them. But I think that obviously I'm not condoning cheating in any way, and I think that Tom should have just broken it off rather than rather than cheating on her, of course. So it's a really horrific development, and I just can't imagine the level of betrayal I would feel if I had been with someone for a decade, owned a home with them, felt truly safe with them and then found out that they were, you know, that they were cheating on me, even if our relationship had began in a slightly murky ways. I just think there's a difference between, you know, early 20s relationships at a restaurant and being in your late 30s owning a home with someone, it's just a totally different stage of life. Oh, and I completely feel for Ariana. Yeah, I think I started to see how their compatibility was waning with obviously like things that you know, they were both struggling with. I think that him wanting a family, her not wanting to have kids and get married, like I remember seeing that a couple of seasons ago and thinking, like, what is the middle ground there? I don't really think those are like, that's a there's a middle ground you can reach. Like if your partner wants that and you don't want that, you know, or vice versa. Yeah. Obviously, nobody ever deserves this despite, you know, lack of compatibility. If you're in a committed relationship, you are in a committed relationship. You know, I feel so sad for her because I think this would just like fundamentally like make you very, very jaded. And I don't think that she was a jaded person before this. But there's just no way that you you have a ten year relationship with someone and then they have an affair with someone very close to you for that long and that it doesn't just like Mess with you. And she clearly was already a person who struggled with mental illness, like she's talked about that on the show. So anyways, yeah, my heart is breaking for her, and I woke up in the middle of the night and in my head. I knew we had a record in the morning and I was just tossing and turning because I was like, That would be. That's like the hardest. One of the hardest things you can go through is that type of betrayal from someone that you loved and trusted and who you had a good relationship with where it wasn't like Katie and Tom Schwartz were, you know, clearly like, you want to talk about writing on the wall like Katie Maloney, right? Right. Had serious, serious cracks in their relationship. Like, I watch them interact, and I remember thinking, like, these people should be divorced, like they're not giving marriage a good name. Correct. And so, yeah, like, I just think that to have this type of betrayal with a relationship that I thought like had its issues, but still like, you know, seemed good and positive is really tough. Well, and the double pain of it being with someone who's pretended to be your friend and who you've grown, therefore, and who you sure she's confided in Raquel about her relationship with Tom and about their struggles. I mean, this was really what looked like someone who was like her best friend, one of her best friends. And so. Right? I think that just adds such a layer of betrayal. And I think that this, like you're pointing out in a really important way, when someone does this to you, this is not something you just like, bounce back from and get over. And this is something that is very traumatizing psychologically can take years to recover from. And even when you do recover, you just are never the same. Like, OK? For example, someone cheated on me when I was in an earlier relationship in my life, and I think that it was something that was really, really difficult. But it was a short relationship, right? It happened like a year end to have someone do this to you. Nine years in. I feel like you were just like, When is Ariana ever going to feel? Really comfortable with another person right now that she's had basically almost a marriage, be betrayed like she has had such a long relationship end up turning out to be something completely other than she thought. I just feel like it will be very difficult for Arianna to feel truly safe with another guy for an extremely long time. And it's just very, very selfish, obviously, of Raquel and Tom to have done this, and it's absolutely disgusting. It's beyond selfish, and I think I have so many things I want to say. I think that it's never easy to end a long relationship, but it is the right thing to do. If you think that you are, you're entering a phase or a stage at a stage of being discontent or whatever where you could potentially cheat on someone like it is the ultimate f**k you to your partner to hurt them like that. It is better to just break up and to just like and also, you know, Schwartz was getting a divorce. It's not like like Sandoval and Schwartz are this like, you know, duo and like, it would have been sad for them to break up. But like, I don't know, it just that pales in comparison to this hurt. It is actually shocking that Sandoval, you know, even if this is what he wanted, that he didn't nipped in the bud. And I think that's what's so shocking about this that it was carried off for so long and anyway, maybe were like repeating ourselves and belaboring this. But I have literally thought of two quick things I want to say one. I felt so rocked by this. It's all I think about right now. It's all like I want to talk about. Like I said, I welcome the all night thinking about it. I thought to myself, I want to send Ariana a dime. I don't really do celebrities very often, but I feel compelled I would like to send good energy her way and, you know, in the form of ID.. The other thing there's going to be very interesting to watch play out, you know, as the season rolls forward and as we literally get, you know, filming of this news, you know, hitting real time is how potentially this whole Schwartz and Raquel drama was a little bit of a cover up. That is one of the theories that I'm seeing. Uh, yeah. And the question really is is how long did Schwartz know about this drama? So they recently filmed Watch What Happens Live with Sandoval in the shorts, and one of the things that Andy Cohen said on on the radio is that it was very odd. Schwartz seemed like he was constantly looking at Sandoval for what to say. I think that Schwartz has known about this for longer than Sandoval is letting on. I mean, the thing is is, let's say Schwartz has known about this for six months, then there's a reason to basically hate Schwartz, too, and that's the best thing that can happen for their business. I mean, people are already annihilating their yelp in the defense of Ariana, which I don't condone. I don't think that you should try to hurt a business because you don't like the business owner. It's enough to just like not go to the restaurant, especially when there are other business owners, other partners, employees, cetera. But yeah, I think that Schwartz probably knew for much longer than Sandoval said in his little statement. Also, how interesting is it that Sandoval is pictured showing up to Rickles apartment late the other night late Saturday night, and they were not filming, so it is rumored that Raquel and Tom Sandoval do want to be together. They do want to carry on a relationship. I think they'll stay together like I think that it's gone this far. They seem like kind of emotionally stunted people who, you know, are probably going to try to continue on this relationship, although who knows if it's as fun and hot when it's not, you know, secret and forbidden. Also, you know, mom always said, and maybe we don't always subscribe to this like kind of jaded outlook. But, you know, in the words of a man doesn't leave unless there's another ship waiting in the harbor. We saw this with him and Kristin. OK. Right? And you know, like now we're seeing this with with Raquel. I don't know if I totally buy that every single day of my life, but it definitely applies to Tom Sandoval. So another theory, Chandler, is that Raquel is going to try to spin this as Tom has groomed her. So what she's going to try to say is that she was vulnerable after her breakup with James. Tom was coming on to her and he took advantage of her when she was in a vulnerable place in her life. I don't think that this theory is true. I'm sure it's something that her PR company, you know, consultants have brought up as an option, but I actually really do think I think Raquel was a super fan of the show. I think that she dated James to get on the show, and I think that Tom Sandoval, you know, OG season one of Vanderpump Rules falling in love with her, I think, and her, you know, her wearing that lightning bolt necklace, her taking videos of him lovingly at his concerts, her showing up at all of his concerts? I think she is totally hooked on Tom Sandoval. I think she's obsessed. I think she loves the fact that he's into her. This is the ultimate vindication. Or her and I think I'm totally with you, I think they will be together, and I think this will make the next season just incredibly, incredibly juicy. I would be shocked if Arianna remains on the show, but maybe she doesn't have a choice. Like, I hate to say it, but not maybe she'll do, you know? Yeah. Oh, it's so crazy that it is the same messiness of 10 years ago. I mean, who would have thought I saw this post ed and I'm going to regurgitate it? Because who would have thought of all the unions that this show? You know that this show saw that Jax and Britney, it would be the last one standing in their valley village, modern farmhouses. It is truly astonishing. I know. I know. You know, the really dark reality is that I am just excited for all the TV that I know from this star. I mean, I think one of the great blessings right now of Twenty Twenty Three is that the Bravo producers are not saying, OK, we're going to cover this next season. They are cutting this into this season. They are apparently scouring all of the footage from the episodes and all the things that were left on the cutting room floor to see if there's anything they didn't pick up on. They are re-editing parts of the, you know, the future episodes and then they're filming right now. This is going to be the main part of the reunion. So this show in ratings is clearly going to spike and it's going to get a lot. It's going to get a lot juicier. So what? What a blessing for us. One man's devastation. Another man's excellent Wednesday night. This is single handedly going to save Bravo from Housewives wreckage. Yeah, this is. This is absolutely fascinating. If anyone is on the ground in West Hollywood, in Valley Village has any information, please DMA's. Let us know and we will just be waiting with you as this story unfolds. It is happening. It is happening live. So who knows? Oh, also a guy named Patrick Summers at this damn thing where he like accused Tom of cheating with some girl named Julia and that she had an abortion? Patrick Summers, I guess, is known for like he inserts himself into Bravo drama creates fake texts. So I don't now think that is real. But. But that being said, who knows that Miami girl, you know, like, do some of those other cheating rumors really make sense now? Exactly. You remember? Yeah, yeah. Anyways, we could talk about this for another eight hours, but we will spare you and we will move on to other subjects that are bubbling up this right? Exactly. Can I just have to tell you I woke up in the middle of the night last night with a little bit of anxiety. I had half an early bird gummy and I swear to you within 30 minutes, I was peacefully dozing off. Early bird CBD gummies are magic. They're truly magic. They are literally magic. I don't want to travel without them. I don't want to be without them. I think it's the twelve point five milligrams of CBD, two point five milligrams of THC. It's that little c**ktail. It gives you the warmest Julius fuzzy best feeling. It feels so good. It's so light. Also, one bottle last so long, it's a lot of product. Also, I feel like I prefer it to drinking at this point. Absolutely. You guys go to Earlybird CBD. Use code pop apologist 20 for 20 percent off your order. You will not regret it. Earlybird CBD Icon Use Code Pop Apologist 20 All right. Another drama that has taken TikTok by storm in the past week has unfolded between Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez. So, as we all know, Hailey Bieber is married to Justin Bieber, who had a relationship with Selena Gomez. And there is Taylor Swift, who is best friends with Selena. Gomez famously gave this disgusted face when she saw Justin Bieber on the red carpet at an awards ceremony like almost a decade ago, a long time ago. So there is this like tension there, right? A lot of Justin's songs, including Love Yourself are about Selena, and a lot of fans really kind of see Selena and Justin as like, almost like a Ryan and Rachel from back in my day. You know, like, you know, how so many people are so angry at Eva Mendez for being with Ryan Gosling because they just cannot get out of their head? That Ryan Gosling should be with Rachel McAdams? Yeah. You know, there are some real jelena shippers, people who are just absolutely loyal to this once basically teen pre-teen relationship, and these people will not rest. So Selena Gomez has a whole army of stans, and I'm actually like, I don't I don't wanna piss off these people, but I just want to comment on the fact that, you know, she's now the most followed person on Instagram. She has three million more followers, I think, than Kylie, and I really like Selena Gomez. I never I've maybe I'm not like a devoted stan, but it is just very crazy to see how many people ride for her. And then, by extension, hate Hailey and Justin because of it. Right, exactly. And I think that there is basically this thought that Hailey hates Selena, that she's always trying to taunt her. And and this is what happened recently that sent all of these jelena shippers into a tizzy. So in January of 2023, a few months ago, Selena was on a vacation and she posted some vacation photos and she received a lot of body shaming comments. Yeah, yeah. And around the same time, Hailey Bieber posted TikTok of her and Kendall Jenner lip syncing to a Tik Tok sound that said, I'm not saying she deserves it, but I'm saying God's timing is always right. Hailey deleted the video not not long after posting it, but a lot of people suspected that she was ferring to Selena and how she basically deserved to get bullied online. I guess I'll do the full synopsis and then I'll get my thoughts OK. So nothing would have really come of the situation, Chandler, except that someone recently posted about it, did a Tik Tok recap on it, and Selena actually commented and said, It's OK, I don't let things like this get me down. Be nice to everyone. So people saw this as confirmation of the art of Hailey, trolling of Hailey trolling Selena with that video and essentially bullying her. So then Hailey commented in a really recap video, saying, I never comment on this type of thing, but we were having a girls night and did a random Tik Tok sound for fun. It's not directed at anyone. So at the time, people of the internet were divided. Some people thought that Hailey was being a mean girl and throwing shade at Selena, but others thought that Selena was overthinking and overreacting by dragging up old drama. So at the end of February, just recently about a week ago, Selena posted a video of her eyebrows after getting them over laminated, and she was joking around about it a few hours later. Kylie was posting on her Instagram and posted a photo on her stories with text over her eyebrows, and the text says that was an accident, and she tagged Hailey Bieber. Mm hmm. So that is weird and is strange timing. And then Kylie posted her and Haley on face time, and they are both super close to the camera right near their eyebrows. So basically, it would seem highly unlikely that this is not directly relate to what Selena had just posted. People were convinced this was shade since they both showing off their eyebrows and that they were seemingly making fun of Selena's post about having her brows over laminated. This is why I cannot keep up with Jones's beauty standards, like having to also laminate my brows in addition to getting my hair done nails. All of that is just exhausting. So Kylie and Hailey went under fire for this. People called them mean girls. Kylie eventually commented, This is reaching know. She taught Selena ever. And I didn't see her eyebrows post, You guys are making something out of nothing. This is silly. Selena commented on the same video. Agreed. Kylie Jenner, it's all unnecessary. I'm a fan of Kylie. So then Selena, though, went on to comment on a few other videos, specifically on an old video of Hailey on the show drive. The Mike Taylor is mentioned on the show, and Hailey reacts by a gagging motion. So Selena comments on the video So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game. So the question is why would Hailey react this way about Taylor Swift? Hailey is very good friends with Scooter Braun. Scooter Braun is on Justin's team, and obviously Taylor and Scooter Braun have this long standing feud over Taylor's masters. So after her comments Bring Selena announced a break from social media, she said, I'm good. I love the way I am. I don't care. And yeah, I'm going to be taking a second on social media. It's a little silly and I'm thirty. I'm too old for this. Kylie and Hailey then lost 800000 Instagram followers in a day and Selena gained 10 million, making her the most followed woman on Instagram house. And have it posted that a trusted source who has worked with both Selena and Hailey reports at all Hailey wants to do is talk about Selena. So why are people so obsessed with this? Well, there have been little cottage shady digs over time of Hailey towards Selena that really kind of all paint Hailey as a mean girl towards Selena. So Hailey posted a video singing Love Yourself by Justin Bieber at Justin's concert and added in at the end, he's moved on. Period. Oh my gosh. Selena adds validity to this shade when she likes a comment on a post defending Selena against Hailey. Old videos have surfaced of Hailey being mean about Selena's make up ads. Back in 2018, Hailey was seen following and then unfollowing a Selena account, as well as an account called Exposing Exposing SMG, which is basically a Selena hate account. And then there are strange coincidences that make it seem like Hailey is copying Selena, the YouTube cooking show. The script Sasha Burbidge on mental health awareness, etc. So is there this drama? Is this just all the internet making things out of nothing? Chandler, what do you think? OK, well, thank you for that great tldr on this, you know, ongoing feud. So a couple of things. I think the internet, you know, keeping track of every single detail and, you know, cross checking every single thing that Haley says, every single thing that Selina says 100 percent. It can make anything a mountain out of a molehill. I don't think that either Selina or Haley wakes up every day and things, how can I twist the knife a little bit and, you know, pour gasoline on this fire? But what I will say is that I do think this feud absolutely exists. I do think there are circles in Hollywood of girls who like each other and girls who don't like each other, women who like each other and women who don't like each other. We clearly saw that with, you know, Taylor Swift's Bad Blood. And I think that no one really outgrows being petty doesn't matter how many times you delete your Instagram, does it matter how many times you know you, you know, sign off of of all that s**t. I don't think you ever outgrow being a little bit petty, and I think sometimes the pettiness gets the best of both of them. Maybe more so, Haley, even though I like Haley and they go on and they go on Tik Tok and they like that one comment, because they just want to stir up a little bit of s**t. And, you know, and then they backpedal. And you know, I never I never comment on things like this, but, you know, be nice to everyone, blah blah blah. I don't think that they ever outgrow their pettiness, especially, you know, when it comes to ex-boyfriends. And, you know, like, this is my husband's ex-girlfriend who he clearly was in love with. If you look at there's one video of Selena and Justin dancing to this John Legend song, and you know, the chemistry is real. I do think they had a very toxic relationship. The two of them, I think that she was going through things. He was going through things. And I don't think that they were necessarily good for each other. But sometimes it's like, you know, if you're if your husband or boyfriend has this axe that clearly has some power over them, that they had this really hot and dangerous relationship like it would be kind of hard to let that go. Even if you think, Oh, I'm maybe we're a better partnership, I just don't know that you could ever. Maybe you would just feel always a little bit jealous of like the the Mr. and Mrs. Smith type relationship that your ex had or you're that your partner once had with their ex. Well, I also think that I think that Selena is such a global celebrity in her own right and is a lot more successful than Hailey Bieber. I mean, Hailey Bieber has amazing style, and I think she has so much cultural cachet. I think that, yeah, she is a cool girl and Selena is not. But Selena Gomez is an actual like superstar recording, right? It has a very real like she is on Justin Bieber's level in terms of success, in terms of fame, in terms of wealth, in her own right. And I think that if you look, if you compare like a Kendall Jenner and a Hailey Bieber to a Selena Gomez or a Taylor Swift. I mean, Taylor Swift is like so much more successful than Hailey and Kendall Bryant. And I think that when you're playing in this field, you can't help but feel that and feel that jealousy. And I think that there really is some animosity between these two groups. Oh, absolutely. I mean, to your point, like Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez are like doing arena tours, and Hailey Bieber is like a really interesting Instagram follow like she's who you get. Like maybe a little bit of like fashion or makeup inspiration from her, like you want to buy her lip balm like this is coming from someone who follows Hailey Bieber, who likes Hailey Bieber. But like, there's a completely different fan base for the two. And honestly, like you just can't like Taylor and Selena are superstars, and Hailey is like, It's like from a famous family, you know? Exactly. Yeah, I mean, I think to the really weird part about all this is that Hailey was obsessed with Selena and Justin. You know, when she was younger, when she was a teen, she was in this weird scenario where you start dating your teen, you know, celebrity crush Justin Bieber. And after you had posted on Twitter when you were just kind of a nobody, you know, Selena and Justin forever hashtag forever alone. Like when you were literally obsessed with him and then him and her as a couple. Like, it's just weird to see how the tables turn. And you know, the pettiness doesn't leave. I don't know. Yeah, I think that I think that this is all real, in my opinion. I think that Hailey and Kendall are probably mean girls. I think the one thing that they have over Taylor and Selena is that they are seen in the popular zeitgeisty as like the cool, hot girls. Know, I just in my view of this, there probably is some animosity and some throwing shade and some low. Bullying, and I think it's probably all legit. I really personally do not think that she would have posted those strange eyebrow face time pictures, I don't know. I just think it's all a little sa*s. Do you think though, like the cooking show thing, like all of those little tiny like places where everyone's feeling about mental health these days? So I don't think that what they're saying goes back to Selena. Yeah, but I think that there have been these subtle digs, and I think that Hailey incriminated herself if it was just a casual Tik Tok video between her and Kendall at a girls night. Why would she delete it right now? Right, and why are you ever liking comments? You know that back up that your petty or that back up the fact that you are, you know, that there is some type of big plan behind these comments and whatever it's it's honestly, really shocking to me and immature that they like comments like that. So a lot of drama this week, Chandler, between Hailey and Selena, between Raquel, Ariana and Tom Sandoval and the entire Vanderpump Rules cast by extension. So wow, a week where we didn't have to talk about ourselves. I know Shark Week in my in my book this week on Patron, you guys that we are going to be returning to the palace papers. So this is the best part of our palace papers. Deep dive on Patron, which is Tina's take on Meghan. The first episode that we put out about this, which is Part 11. This is a huge series we've done on Patron, which is the perfect road trip or a plane flight entertainment, in my opinion. Tina's take on Megan is so compelling. She is so good at, I think, really calling out the royal feud for exactly what it was. She sees the flaws in all parties in any way. We are recapping all of her thoughts on the Sussexes and their break down with the royals, the other royals, so that Part 12 will be out this Friday on Patron. That's where you can support the show and anything else shown before we head out now. Thank you, everyone for continuing to support us, leaving US reviews. Also, I guess I'll give a little exciting teaser if Lauren will let me merch is further along than it's ever been. And so just stay tuned, baby. Yes, I'm actually in one of our pieces of merch right now. It is the craziest thing ever. So excited about that. All right. Thanks you guys. So much for listening. Love you so much and we'll catch you next week. Bye bye. That's all for now, folks. Don't forget. Give us a five star review. Hit us up on Instagram at pharmacologists, and we will see you next week. Live every Wednesday. This is a ruin is a two kilometers or 42. Do you think it'll be a personal best, whether it's your first run or your first marathon? What matters is you are running. Find your pace with Irish life. Dublin Marathon a better life with Irish life.
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