There was a time — not all that long ago — when anyone other than diehard fans might have forgotten that Vanderpump Rules was still producing new episodes.

Several of the show’s most high-profile cast members were fired back in 2020, and viewers complained that the new, Jax-less version of Vanderpump was not as satisfying.

But then the #Scandoval erupted and everything changed.

Yes, in case you somehow haven’t heard, Tom Sandoval cheated on Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss, and every human being on the planet has spent the last week losing their minds over it.

Last night’s episode of Vanderpump was the first to air since the scandal broke, and scenes that normally would not have attracted much attention were downright shocking in the context of what we know now.

Take, for example, Ariana and Raquel’s swimsuit shopping excursion, in which Madix lectured Leviss about her attempts to hook up with Tom Schwartz.

“We’ve been encouraging Raquel, get out there, make mistakes, go crazy, but then when she says that she asked Schwartz to make out with her, it’s like, okay but not like that,” Ariana said in a confessional.

Yes, the episode featured a scene in which Ariana herself encouraged Raquel to “get out there” and “make mistakes.”

Later, the ladies of the cast (with the exception of Scheana) took a trip to Las Vegas.

It was there, during a dinner with Lisa Vanderpump, that Raquel deflected and attempted to blame Scheana Shay for “encouraging” her to make out with Schwartz.

It was a bad episode for Raquel all around, featuring, as it did, scenes in which Leviss pursued an eligible waiter, whom Lala Kent had already expressed interest in.

But the most shocking moment of the night might have come during a preview for next week’s episode.

In the scene, it looked as though the ladies were still in Vegas, and Ariana made a prescient comment about Raquel’s shady tendencies.

“I will say this: you drinking? I would never trust you around my man,” Kent said.

“Thank god you don’t have a man to, like, f–king have around,” Raquel viciously shot back.

It would be a low blow under any circumstances, but it was especially brutal in context, as Lala was still reeling from her breakup with Randall Emmett at the time the scene was filmed.

And of course, there’s everything that we know now about Raquel’s shady behavior toward her friend’s boyfriends.

Needless to say, the ladies of Vanderpump were shocked, and folks watching at home were even more appalled.

Many pointed out that Sandoval cited the death of Ariana’s dog as one of the reasons that he held off on dumping her for Raquel.

Since the dog’s death was featured in last night’s episode, it’s safe to assume that he and Raquel were already hooking up.

After the episode aired, Lisa Vanderpump appeared on Watch What Happens Live and shared her thoughts on her business partner’s infidelity.

“Flabbergasted. I mean, literally, no words. I didn’t see it coming. Nobody saw it coming,” Lisa said of Tom’s cheating.

“It really was so upsetting. I was laughing about it — I mean, if it wasn’t sad, it would be funny. But I can’t believe — because there’s so much fallout.”

Lisa revealed that her business ties with the Toms remain intact, but noted that she’s having trouble “trusting” Sandoval in light of recent events.

We’ll have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.

Raquel Leviss to Lala Kent: I’d Steal Your Man Too … If You Had One! was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.