Scandoval has birthed countless rumors and online theories — but Raquel Leviss’ purported pregnancy was one of the wildest, according to “Vanderpump Rules” executive producer Alex Baskin.
“The pregnancy one was wild,” Baskin exclusively told Pvnew ahead of an FYC event held Tuesday night at The Aster in Hollywood, Calif., where he and Lisa Vanderpump discussed the show on stage before attending Emmy voters.
“She’s not pregnant by the way,” he continued, shutting down social media speculation that the former pageant queen was expecting a child with her affair partner, Tom Sandoval.
Just days ago, a TikTok user said in a now-deleted video that she got a message from someone who claimed to know Leviss’ sister.
She alleged that the former pageant queen was pregnant and “hiding out” at her grandmother’s house in Tucson, Ariz.
Conversely, Leviss, 28, has been seeking treatment at a mental health facility amid ongoing backlash from her sordid romance with Sandoval, 40. The cover band frontman had been dating Leviss’ close pal Ariana Madix for nearly a decade when their months-long dalliance came to light in early March.
“I have not directly spoken with her. She’s been a little bit cut off,” Baskin told us of Leviss, though he is relieved to hear she is “doing well.”
He elaborated, “We’ve gotten good reports back from her team — who are taking care of her — and from her family as well. I think it’s a good thing for her to take a minute down and sort of assess where she is.”
Vanderpump, for her part, has not been in contact with Leviss since filming the explosive “Pump Rules” Season 10 reunion on March 23 — when the cast obliterated her and Sandoval for their indiscretions.
“I think she’s off the grid. I respect that too,” the SUR matriarch and series EP, 62, said of Leviss. “People need to go away. It has been a lot, so maybe she just needed to literally retreat and get herself together.”
Weeks into Leviss’ treatment, a source told Pvnew that she decided to call it quits on her complex relationship with Sandoval, who is currently on tour with Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras.
“Raquel dipped out,” an insider recently told us. “Sandoval is not the one for her.”
While Sandoval has denied rumors that he is dating Texas-based influencer Karlee Hale, Madix has since moved on with fitness trainer Daniel Wai.
Such new developments will likely be explored on Season 11 of “Vanderpump Rules,” which is expected to begin production this year.
Although Madix has asserted she will not film with either Sandoval or Leviss — with other cast members expressing similar positions in solidarity — Baskin told Pvnew that he is hopeful the cast will “find its way back together” when cameras go back up.
“I think that all of that is going to sort itself out over the next several weeks. It’s hard to plan because we’re sort of subject to real-life forces. But one thing that I’ve seen is this cast is very resilient and they end up finding their way back together. It’s just sort of hard to see that at this point,” he explained.
“Look, Tom and Ariana still live together. So even sort of just the logistics of that connect them.”
In the meantime, Vanderpump and Baskin hope the vulnerability displayed by their cast in Season 10 — along with Bravo’s dedication to capturing the aftermath of Scandoval — will earn them recognition when Emmy nominations are announced July 12.
“That would be extraordinary. It’s been a labor of love the last 11 years on this show,” said Vanderpump, who, alongside Baskin and Evolution Media, launched the unscripted hit in 2013.
“It’s been so intense. But we must acknowledge the incredible behind-the-scenes work as well, all of those people in post-production and how innovative they are.”
Baskin, CEO of the newly launched 32 Flavors Entertainment, can’t imagine a more worthy season.
“What more do we have to do?” Baskin said with a laugh, noting the intensity of the cheating scandal. “In all seriousness, though, I’m really proud of this season and I think it is just riveting and gripping for the audience that’s embraced it for a number of years. We’re giving it our best run.”
“Vanderpump Rules” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
