Filming for the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion is underway, where the Scandoval that has made the reality series into must-see TV again will be the centerpiece. But Raquel Leviss, who engaged in an affair with her castmate Tom Sandoval unbeknownst to Ariana Madix—his girlfriend of nearly a decade and her close friend—chose to give her first interview about the scandal in a far less elegant forum.

It was TMZ, not Bravo, that spoke to Leviss outside of a nail salon in Valley Village, California, on Wednesday. Wearing a hoodie, the reality star admitted the fallout has “been a little rough, but I’m hanging in there.”

During the nearly five-minute chat, Leviss addressed several of the most shocking developments to emerge since TMZ broke the news of her and Sandoval’s deceit—including where she stands with Madix, who has recently booked a Lifetime movie. “I apologized to her over text, but she didn’t receive it very well,” Leviss said, before declining to divulge her exact words. 

She also acknowledged castmate Scheana Shay, who allegedly punched Leviss in the face upon learning of the affair. Leviss reportedly filed a restraining order against her. Shay denied this incident via her attorney Neama Rahmani, who told Page Six on March 9: “This entire case is a fabrication by a known liar and a cheat who has betrayed everyone close to her. Scheana never punched Rachel, period.” (Rachel is reportedly Raquel’s legal name, as has been noted both in legal documents and an apparent resurfaced high school yearbook photo.)

“Scheana knows what happened that night,” Leviss insisted, noting the “permanent scar” on her eyebrow. 

Then there was the matter of Leviss’s current relationship with Sandoval, who released a statement apologizing to “everyone [he’s] hurt,” days after news broke. “I don’t know where our relationship is going to be,” Leviss said. “We’re just kind of trying to get through these next few steps and trying to, you know, make amends, hear everybody out.” She concluded that while they are “not putting a label on” things, they are “taking a break for now.

Leviss’s low-key confessional comes after a period of silence outside of a statement she released apologizing to Madix and promising to work on her “patterns of codependency and addiction to being and feeling loved.” The 28-year-old was reportedly “weighing her options” about participating in the reunion, according to TMZ. But she confirmed on her Instagram Story this week that she “will be attending the reunion tomorrow in person.”

Someone who knows a thing or two about reality-TV backlash is The Hills star Spencer Pratt, who criticized Leviss for her interview on TikTok. “What were you thinking? The reunion is tonight. You were gonna have half a million dollars in lighting budget, hair, makeup, a beautiful gown, and you chose to pretend like TMZ randomly found you sitting in this chair in front of Blush Nail Bar?” he said. “I know you’re not good at making choices, clearly, but this, this is where I just draw the line.”

But plenty of the drama will still transpire onscreen, says Andy Cohen, who wrote on his Instagram Story Wednesday that “speaking as a fan”—as he has nothing to do with this show besides hosting the reunion—“I will say without hyperbole that the second half of the season is some of the best TV I’ve seen on Bravo.”