Photo:Cindy Ord/Bravo via Getty Images; Monica Schipper/Bravo via Getty Images
Cindy Ord/Bravo via Getty Images; Monica Schipper/Bravo via Getty Images
Rachel Levisshas begun to give back to the community that has aided her since the fallout of hermonths-long affairwith her formerVanderpump RulescostarTom Sandoval.
The affair between the two — which ended hisnine-year relationshipwithAriana Madix— became public on March 3, after just four episodes of the tenth season had aired on Bravo.
TheVanderpump Rulesstar recently auctioned off two of thetell-tale style items linked to their secret romance: her gold lightning bolt necklace and her infamousTomTom hoodie sweatshirt, as well as an additional TomTom hoodie.
Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix, Raquel Leviss at Los Angeles Mission Hosts Annual Thanksgiving Dinner To The Unhoused Community Of Los Angeles at Los Angeles Mission in Los Angeles, California on November 23, 2022.Faye Sadou/Media Punch/Alamy
Faye Sadou/Media Punch/Alamy
The recent auction was created in honor of World Mental Health Day, which is on Oct. 10, with the proceeds going toThe National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI).
The 29-year-old received a total of $14,800 for both items, with recipients spending $5,300 for the lightning bolt necklace and $9,500 for the two hoodie sweatshirts, a representative for Leviss confirms with PEOPLE.
After her treatment in Arizona, Leviss announced she was returning to her birth name, ditching the moniker “Raquel” that she had adopted when moving to Los Angeles, all in an effort to embrace her “healing era.”
Ahead of the $14,800 donation, Leviss shared in an Instagram story on Oct. 10 that while she’s been in the “process of letting go of the things that no longer serve [her] anymore,” she began cleaning out her closet and soon came across “a few items that are a little bit triggering.”
She explained, “I just don’t want to see them, I don’t want to have them in my possession. I will never wear them again.”
“It’s all about creating a better mindset, changing your environment so that you can set yourself up for success,” she added. “I can’t rewrite history, but I can use something from my darkest days towards a good cause.”
Raquel Leviss - BRAVOCON – Cocktails at Schwartz & Sandys from the Javits Center in New York City.Monica Schipper/Bravo via Getty Images
Monica Schipper/Bravo via Getty Images
The TomTom hoodie has become an infamous item in the Bravo sphere, after theVanderpump Rulesstar cheekily wore her TomTom hoodie to day three ofBravoConin October 2022, causing fans to speculate that she was referencing her rumored hookup with the bar’s other owner,Tom Schwartz.
Shortly thereafter, Sandoval repurposed the sweatshirt for his Halloween costume, where hedressed up in Leviss' BravoCon look.
Soon fans of the show took the earlier connection and began picking apart all of Leviss' past ensembles looking for signs — which led to the discovery of matching lightning bolt necklaces that she and Sandoval had worn to BravoCon.
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Then on May 10, two months after the affair had been revealed,Vanderpump Rulesaired the penultimate episode which followed Levissbuying the lightning bolt necklace.
Two weeks later during the tenth season’s reunion episode, Leviss confirmed that the necklace did in fact have “the meaning we all think it does.”
During filming she acted as though the jewelry was a “birthday gift” to herself, she then admitted, toAndy Cohenand her costars during the reunion, that she bought the piece because it “was significant to who [Sandoval] became in my life.” She added, “I know that’s not what anyone wants to hear.”
Raquel Leviss Blocks Tom Sandoval After He Wishes Her ‘Peace and Happiness’ on Her 29th Birthday.Rachel Leviss/Instagram
Rachel Leviss/Instagram
source: people.com
