Vanderpump Rules fans who made the connection that Tom Sandoval and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss hired siblings to represent them on opposite sides in their revenge porn case are getting new details on the connection.
Rachel, 29, had her attorney, Mark Geragos, as a guest on the Tuesday, September 10, episode of the “Rachel Goes Rogue” podcast where they discussed her decision to sue Sandoval, 42, and Ariana Madix for revenge porn, eavesdropping and invasion of privacy.
“We then had a situation when Mr. Sandoval hired my brother,” Mark recalled before Rachel asked him to clarify the situation. “Matt is my little brother and Sandoval hired him. I can’t blame him because Matt is a hell of a lawyer.”
Mark speculated on Sandoval’s motives for hiring Matt, adding, “I think he thought Matt was going to whisper in my ear at Thanksgiving or something. Who knows what he thought?”
Despite the connection, Mark clarified that he had “no inside information” on why Matt was brought on as Sandoval’s counsel.
“I have no inside information as to what transpired or how that transpired. I will tell you that for [the people asking] if that is a conflict of interest, if Matt worked with me then yes. It would be a conflict of interest,” Mark added. “If we were partners in a law firm, it would be a conflict of interest.”
He continued: “It’s not like we’re at Christmas dinner saying, ‘OK, I’ll do this on Rachel’s end and you do this on Tom’s end. It’s not a conflict of interest. It’s an interesting choice.”
Sandoval hired Matthew after Rachel sued Sandoval and Ariana, 39, in March. Sandoval and Ariana, who called it quits in March 2023 after Sandoval’s affair with Rachel came to light, individually petitioned the court to dismiss Rachel’s suit.
Us Weekly broke the news in July that Sandoval subsequently sued Ariana. In documents obtained by Us, Sandoval claimed that Ariana “obtained access” to his phone on March 1, 2023, and reviewed videos of Sandoval and Rachel amid their affair without his “authorization or permission.” The filing alleged that Ariana “made copies” of the NSFW video and distributed it to “Leviss and third parties” against his authority.
Ariana has denied multiple times that she shared the video of Rachel with other people. Days after making headlines for his lawsuit, Sandoval walked back his decision and claimed he didn’t know he was suing Ariana.
“Late Tuesday afternoon, my attorney, Matt Geragos, whose advice I trusted, called me about the Cross-Complaint in the lawsuit against myself and Ariana,” Sandoval wrote via Instagram. “He assured me that the action was customary and strictly preventative in these types of lawsuits and urged me to agree to it. The words ‘New Lawsuit’ or ‘Suing’ were not articulated to me. I should’ve done more of my due diligence on the matter.”
Sandoval said he has since “removed” Matt from his legal team.
“In no way am I suing Ariana. The action against Ariana brought on my behalf is being removed. I had no ill will or vindictiveness toward Ariana,” he continued. “Now, by removing both the Cross-Complaint and the attorney who recommended it, I hope to get through this case quickly, so that Ariana and I can both finally MOVE ON with our lives.”
