Despite the fact that Tom Sandoval took time off from filming Vanderpump Rules to be a contestant on the Fox series Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, he just couldn’t leave the drama of his Bravo show behind.
The Fox series, now in its second season, describes itself as a show “in which household names endure some of the harshest, most grueling challenges from the playbook of the actual Special Forces selection process.”
Apparently, given the hardcore nature of the show, the contestants are not allowed to bring in personal effects like photos during their time on set, but Sandoval reportedly broke the rule so he could keep pictures of Raquel Leviss (now Rachel) nearby.
According to Sandoval’s Special Forces co-star, former Bachelor star Nick Viall, Sandoval broke the rules while filming the competition series by bringing in photos of Leviss to show his co-stars. Viall explained on his on his Viall Files podcast, “He snuck in pictures of him and Rachel and he showed them to the cast, for what’s that worth.”
“You weren’t allowed to sneak things in. I would have loved to sneak in a picture of Natalie [Joy]… I guess I could have tried but I just didn’t,” he added, referring to his fiancée. “He went out of his way to bring in, like, endearing photos of him and Raquel/Rachel and show them around.”
According to Viall, Sandoval seemed to genuinely care about Leviss as he spoke about her with his Special Forces co-stars. “He came across to me…as someone who still had feelings and cared about Rachel… He seemed emotionally invested in Rachel in an environment where he wasn’t incentivized to portray that narrative.”
For a quick refresher on the timeline here, Leviss and Sandoval broke up in May, and Sandoval took time off from filming VPR in late June to be a part of Special Forces Season 2, which means that he was still — at least according to Viall — keeping his love for Leviss alive even after their public breakup. Maybe Ariana Madix was right all along and the pair never split?
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Season 2 will premiere Sept. 25 on Fox. Who knows, maybe it will it will be the VPR crossover series we need.
