Vanderpump Rules star Raquel Leviss is dropping her restraining order against Scheana Shay after taping the season 10 reunion on Thursday, March 23.
“I can confirm that my attorney took my case off the court calendar Wednesday and is filing the appropriate paperwork requested by the court today to dismiss the TRO from moving forward after the 29th,” Leviss, 28, said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight on Friday, March 24. “We let the court know I will not be moving forward with a permanent restraining order.”
Us Weekly previously confirmed that Leviss and Shay, 37, were forced to rotate segments during Thursday’s taping due to the “Good As Gold” singer being ordered to stay 100 yards away from Leviss until their March 29 hearing.
“My team tried to work with Scheana on a mutually beneficial agreement hoping to get the TRO dropped earlier so we could film together,” Leviss’ statement continued. “The TRO was intended to provide a cooling-off period after I was punched but I didn’t want to continue with the permanent RO nor did I want to cause Scheana further agony and stress. The document was a dismissal form that the court asked us to submit and I wanted to show Scheana my intentions and that we had informed the judge we weren’t moving forward – and it was an explanation at the reunion to alleviate Scheana’s concerns.”
Following Thursday’s shoot, Shay’s lawyer spoke out about the papers Leviss brought to the reunion.
“Rachel had Andy ‘serve’ Scheana with a document during the reunion, but the papers have no legal meaning. It was a request to dismiss a complaint or a civil lawsuit, but Rachel had requested a permanent restraining order, which is something completely different,” Neama Rahmani told Us. “There is no way for Rachel to ‘drop’ the temporary restraining order before next week’s hearing. This is California law and even on the court’s website. Even if Rachel had the correct document, which she didn’t, it wasn’t filed with the court. There is no file stamp in the top right corner.”
Rahmani added: “This was just another public relations stunt by Rachel and her team. If Rachel really wanted to make this go away, she would come out and publicly say the ‘punch’ never happened and she is sorry for all the harm she caused Scheana, Ariana, and her other friends.”
The California native originally filed an order of protection on March 7, after rumors swirled of a physical altercation between her and Shay after their joint appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen earlier that month. The speculation came as news broke about Leviss’ affair with Tom Sandoval. At the time, Shay “liked” a tweet alluding to a potential fight.
After photos of Leviss’ alleged injuries surfaced online, Rahmani denied that his client hit her costar. “This case is a fabrication by a known liar and a cheat who has betrayed everyone close to her. Scheana never punched Raquel, period,” Shay’s lawyer told Us. “The supposed dark markings around her left eye have been there for months. … Scheana is obviously upset. [She] and Raquel were friends for years. She actually invited Raquel into her home where she lived for six months. So, for her to betray her like this, she’s devastated.”
Us confirmed that Sandoval, 40, and Ariana Madix called it quits after nearly a decade together due to his infidelity. “Ariana found out [about the affair] after looking at Tom’s phone while he was on stage performing his new song,” a source shared with Us at the time. “It’s still unclear when Tom Schwartz knew or if he was blindsided.”
Shay, for her part, quickly unfollowed Leviss in response to the drama. The “Good as Gold” singer also took to social media to weigh in on the situation, tweeting, “Every morning when I wake up, I realize it wasn’t just a nightmare. It’s real. 😭💔 #TeamAriana.”
Meanwhile, Madix took a social media break shortly before the scandal made headlines. The TomTom co-owner, for his part, initially issued a statement asking fans not to take their anger out on his Los Angeles restaurants. After facing backlash for not mentioning Madix in the message, Sandoval shared another post about the drama.
“I want to first and foremost apologize to everyone I’ve hurt through this process. Most of all, I want to apologize to Ariana,” he wrote via Instagram the same day Leviss filed the court documents against Shay. “I made mistakes, I was selfish and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly.”
The Missouri native continued: “I can only imagine how devastating this has been for Ariana and everyone around us. I feel really horrible about that. My biggest regret is that I dishonored Ariana. I never meant to disappoint so many people, including our loving families and friends.”
Leviss broke her silence the following day by sharing her own lengthy statement online as well. “I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships,” she wrote via Instagram on March 8. “There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana.”
In the message, the Bravo star noted she was planning to speak to “a counselor” about her issues. “I have sought emotional validation through intimate connections that are not healthy without regard for my own well-being, sometimes negatively affecting others and often prioritizing the intimate connection over my friendships,” she added. “I am taking steps to understand my behavior and make healthier choices.”
Leviss called out the aftermath of her romance with Sandoval going public, adding, “Although I chose to be on a reality show accepting the good and bad that comes with it, beyond my own actions I have been physically assaulted, lost friendships, received death threats and hate emails in addition to having had my privacy violated. I have begun counseling to end my unhealthy behavioral cycle, learn to set stronger emotional boundaries and learn to protect my mental health. I don’t expect sympathy, understanding or forgiveness.”
