I thought of titling this Final Thoughts, but who knows? I may write another post. I never expected Scandoval to get the attention it did; I never expected to still be hearing about it at this time. I don't remember seeing so much coverage of reality TV filming dates and times.
I'll start by saying that I still believe Scandoval is real. Yes, some things were enhanced, others minimized, but overall the story is true.
Ariana was savvy to tell producers what was going on as soon as she learned about the affair between Sandoval and Raquel. She cut him off at the knees at his attempt to spin the story. I remember her telling Sandoval that she loved him when he had nothing. Now he had a bar and a little money: she described Raquel as a woman who takes identity from a man. Ariana asked if that was who he wanted around? I don't remember his response, but he didn't actually answer the question.
This is a typical Sandoval move. It happened when former girlfriend Kristen asked if he told Ariana he and Kristen were breaking up (after Ariana reported he had said that to her.) Tom's "denial" was another word salad. Similarly, Raquel questioned whether he and Ariana had been intimate as Ariana said during the reunion. Again, his answer did not include a response to the question.
Sandoval also has a pattern of casting his soon-to-be-exes as sexless and crazy.
He complained that he and Kristen rarely had sex, Then Kristen gave him a gift by sleeping with Tom's friend Jax. Tom could break up with Kristen and still be the good guy. Kristen's later quest to prove Tom cheated on Ariana with "Miami Girl" cemented her role as the crazy-ex.
Back to Raquel and Sandoval: Sandoval is more to blame for the affair than Raquel. He was the one who was in a relationship, regardless of how healthy that relationship was. Did Sandoval take advantage of Raquel? Yes, but she was 27-28 at the time, not 17-18. At one point, she said something to the effect that she had to take into account how her actions effected others. Most people learn that in childhood. Remember Katie asking Raquel, "Who raised you?" There have been mentions of her weird family behavior/setup. Is that why Raquel has no empathy for others?
Recently Raquel did some podcast with Bethenny Frankel. She insisted that she and Ariana weren't friends. I did get annoyed when everyone and their brother called Ariana and Raquel best friends. Scheana was always described as Ariana's BFF pre-Scandoval. Of course a BFF status made the scandal worse.
When VPR first aired, it was unique in that most of the cast were already friends and hung out together. I don't claim to know the current status of friendships among the cast, but they seemed to be work friends at least. Maybe Raquel thinks she should get a pass on her crappy behavior because she and Ariana weren't as close as depicted. She didn't do herself any favors in this interview.
Ariana seems to be thriving post-Scandoval. When the news broke, friends gathered to support her, while Sandoval whined that no one called to check on him. She's gotten numerous opportunities and marketing deals--Glamour magazine cover, Dancing with the Stars contestant, commercials for Bic shavers and Uber Eats. But Ariana's gotten some pushback too. A recent online article listed reasons people didn't like her. Castmate Lala and former castmate Stassi were discussing why she got more sympathy than they did when they were cheated on.
Ariana's success may be the best revenge.
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