Image Source: The Sun, Us Weekly, PNGWing
Vanderpump Rules star Raquel Leviss has finally addressed her split with ex-fiancé James Kennedy.
After spending his first three seasons as Kristen Doute’s boyfriend and later Lala Kent’s boy toy, James Kennedy introduced his serious girlfriend, Raquel Leviss, in the season five premiere episode of Vanderpump Rules in 2016, and the couple had to put their relationship to test as multiple cheating allegations resurfaced. A SUR employee accused James Kennedy of sleeping with her while in a relationship, but Raquel Leviss always stood by her man. The duo originally met during a New Year’s Eve party in 2016 and made their Instagram official a month later.
James Kennedy spoke to Bravo and said, "Obviously, I understand all the rumors and drama and everything that’s happened on the show. You know, we’ve basically gone through it together and I felt like these girls went to the end of the Earth to try and ruin my relationship. But we’ve stuck through everything and we love each other. But that’s what makes relationships stronger is going through hard times and good times."
The couple had to face a lot of challenges while James Kennedy attempted to get sober, and in July 2020, he celebrated one year of sobriety and credited his lady love, Raquel Leviss, for helping him and supporting him to get here. He said on a social media post, "Letting go of drinking was the best decision I ever made and I’m going strong. I don’t miss the booze…… I don’t miss the feeling…. I’m so grateful for everything now and life has become more beautiful in many ways. Thank you to my rock @raquelleviss for getting me here I couldn’t have done this without you my love."
In May 2021, Raquel and James got engaged during the filming of season 9 of Vanderpump Rules with a Coachella-themed proposal. Lisa Vanderpump shared her insights on how the couple has grown over the years, during an interview with Entertainment Tonight in June," [Raquel] is the best thing that ever happened to him. You do see Raquel kind of blossoming, blooming. You see her really having a voice. She was very much, like, a deer caught in the headlights before, but now she’s, like, actually kind of really comes out of a shell."
The couple announced their split via a statement that read, "After these 5 wonderful years we had together, we decided we have two different goals and made the decision to call off the engagement. We love each other very much, but we aren’t in love anymore. We want nothing but the best for each other so please keep any thoughts positive. Sending Love." It was two months after their proposal aired on Vanderpump Rules in October 2021.
Raquel has decided to put all the speculation to rest and address the breakup. During Raquel’s recent appearance on Friday’s episode of Scheana Shay’s Scheananigans podcast, she revealed that the couple broke up the night before the season 9 reunion episode started filming. She further explained that during the same time her co-star Lala Kent broke up with her fiancé Randall Emmett in October, she also realized that her ‘heart wasn’t in this relationship anymore.
Raquel further explained, "It was getting to the point where my family and him were not meshing well and the future of Thanks giving, Christmases, and holidays was looking like it was going to be either James or my family. Especially like if we had a baby, James would make my parents out as like the not-good grandparents and kind of put that in [our kids'] heads. Just foreseeing this future and what it was all coming down to and I was like, 'I don't want that’. It was kind of at Thanksgiving where I realized that I didn't want to be in this relationship anymore, and because James does have a history of acting out and being angry, my mom and I were both concerned that he wasn't going to have a good reaction when I told him. So I wasn't planning on saying anything until he went out of town. He doesn't even know this."
Raquel Leviss shared that she had to put on an act for the couple’s visit to Disneyland the day after Thanksgiving to make sure that she was safe. The reality TV star also shared, "It was the scene where Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz were having their [temporary friendship] breakup and James laughs and he's like, 'Why couldn't I have a funny storyline?' And I was like, 'Seriously, you could have if you wanted to’.He's like, 'What the hell does that mean?' I was like, 'Oh, I was just kidding. I didn't mean anything by it.' And he's like, 'No, tell me what you mean by that.' And I was like, 'Well, you have control over your actions and you decided that you were going to make whatever storyline about… [not] supporting me emotionally the way that I needed to be supported. I explained that to him and he was like, 'Oh, I didn't know that you felt that way.' And the conversation just kept going… and it was like word vomit. This is what I've been feeling and I can't keep it in any longer because I'm not being an honest person and I'm lying to you and I don't feel comfortable with this."
The reality TV star finally added that she ripped off the bandage and told James Kennedy how she felt which was, "I don't appreciate the way that you treat other people; it's not how I treat other people. And a piece of me dies inside every time you mistreat somebody.' So he's like, 'What do I need to do? Can I change your mind? Is there anything? Please give me another chance.' I was like, 'I gave you another chance and that led us here … and no, no.' He was like, 'Okay, I see it in your eyes. It's over."
Raquel Leviss also added that she was surprised with James Kennedy’s calm and listening to her that moment attitude that day as she had prepared for the ‘worst’. James Kennedy lastly said to Raquel Leviss "If your heart isn't in it anymore, then I understand. We need to go our separate ways."
