\n<\/p>\n
A little more than a year since TMZ reported<\/a> that the \u201cVanderpump Rules\u201d stars Ariana Madix<\/a> and Tom Sandoval<\/a> had broken up because he had been having an affair with another co-star, Rachel Leviss, it remains the defining story in the greater world of reality TV.<\/p>\n The short version of the story goes: Sandoval was performing a show with his band, he lost his phone, and someone handed it to Madix for safekeeping. She went through the phone and found a screen recording of a FaceTime between Sandoval and Leviss that confirmed the affair. The long version \u2026 well, let\u2019s reflect on the state of the Scandoval, one year later, with the help of a \u201cVanderpump\u201d executive producer, Alex Baskin.<\/p>\n Since the beginning of the show, cheating has been part of the landscape \u2014 arguably, a vital part of the drama. But none of the indiscretions between other castmates made it to the headlines of CNN<\/a>, The New York Times<\/a> and Time magazine or got a dedicated name and hashtag like #Scandoval.<\/p>\n So what made this affair different?<\/p>\n Baskin sees the scandal as a few different factors \u201cswirled together to make it something that had a far greater impact than the numerous cheating scandals that had come before it on the show.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n First, it was a long-term affair, meaning that Sandoval had been living a bit of a double life. That\u2019s somewhat more intriguing for viewers and more devastating for real-life participants than a one-off kiss or one-night stand.<\/p>\n The magnitude of the scandal also set it apart, since producers resumed shooting, despite Season 10 filming having wrapped.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like this had a significance such that we should cover it in real time if we could,\u201d Baskin said. So they borrowed the camera teams from \u201cThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hills\u201d and got back to filming.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really chilling to watch because you were seeing in the moment the group come to terms with what had just happened,\u201d Baskin noted.<\/p>\n Additionally, Baskin noted that Season 10 was still airing when the news broke, so \u201cit became then a series of Easter eggs that the audience was spotting in the show itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Of course, the scene of Ken Todd, Lisa Vanderpump\u2019s husband, staggering into the kitchen to say, \u201cI can\u2019t believe Tom had Raquel over while Ariana is away, in the Jacuzzi as well, and she stayed all night,\u201d immediately comes to mind.<\/p>\n (And just in case you were wondering, Ken was confused but not that<\/em> confused: Raquel and Rachel are the same person \u2014 on the show, she went by Raquel but has since switched back to her given name, Rachel.)<\/p>\n The Fallout:<\/strong> Leviss left the show after the end of Season 10 shooting, and in February she filed a revenge-porn lawsuit<\/a> against Madix and Sandoval, in relation to the distribution of the FaceTime footage that revealed the affair. Lawyers for Madix and Sandoval have asked a court to toss the claim. Season 11 kicked off in January with the most-watched season premiere in Bravo\u2019s history.<\/p>\n Though production of Season 11 resumed as usual, the show exists in a time period of its own making, B.S. or A.S. \u2014 before or after Scandoval.<\/p>\n As the season opened, Madix refused to speak to Sandoval at all, though they were still sharing their Valley Village home. With each episode we have seen Madix and Sandoval tolerating each other more and more socially.<\/p>\n Of late, \u201cVanderpump Rules\u201d has returned to some of its normal, ensemble-oriented shenanigans that made the show so beloved in the first place. There was Lala Kent\u2019s sperm donor party, James Kennedy\u2019s weeping breakdown over his dog Hippie (formally known as Graham), whom he considers a fur baby, and of course the race between the exes Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney to date a 25-year-old singer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt still was important for us to serve all the other story elsewhere because we wanted everyone else to still be alive and as important to show as they were before,\u201d Baskin said. \u201cAlso, tonally, I think that watching a series of episodes of Scandoval would grow really wearing to the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s Not About the Pasta:<\/strong> There is still a Scandoval-related conversation in almost every scene.<\/p>\n To no one\u2019s surprise, the increased publicity has led to a significant expansion of the Vanderpump universe.<\/p>\n Bravo is currently airing the first season of \u201cThe Valley,\u201d which stars the former \u201cVanderpump\u201d cast members Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright and Kristen Doute as they try to \u201cadult.\u201d<\/p>\n Then there is \u201cVanderpump Villa,\u201d airing on Hulu, which follows the staff of Vanderpump\u2019s French chateau.<\/p>\nA Uniquely Disastrous Affair<\/h2>\n
\u2018A Point of Demarcation\u2019<\/h2>\n
\u201cVanderpump Rules,\u201d \u201cThe Valley,\u201d \u201cVanderpump Villa\u201d \u2014 oh my!<\/h2>\n