Sandoval previously stated he was 'very very close' to suicide after the scandal broke earlier this year.
Tom Sandoval is detailing an intense phone call he shared with mistress Rachel Leviss after the "Scandoval" situation unfolded earlier this year.
During an appearance on the Two Ts in a Pod with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge podcast, the Vanderpump Rules cast member, 40, said he and Leviss, 29, were on the receiving end of so much vitriol that they considered taking drastic options.
"I was on the phone with Rachel and literally debating on f**king killing ourselves," Sandoval claimed.
The news emerged in March that Sandoval had been cheating on his girlfriend of nearly a decade, Ariana Madix, with Leviss, allegedly since the previous summer.
After the couple's illicit affair became public, Leviss and Sandoval were inundated with thousands (if not millions) of angry messages and became internet pariahs for their actions and their betrayal of Madix.
Mellencamp, 42, and Judge, 56, told Sandoval they were shocked and disheartened by the level of hate aimed at him and Leviss.
"The hate got so bad," said Judge.
"Wishing death upon me -- creating a climate that pushes most people to f**king suicide," Sandoval said in response.
"I remember being at Watch What Happens Live! with Lala [Kent] it was right after your reunion had aired and there was so much horrible things that were said to both of you like 'go f**k yourselves with a cheese grater,'" Judge recalled of the WWHL reunion with the Vanderpump Rules cast.
"Andy [Cohen] and I were talking and I said, 'they're human beings, this is disgusting, yes they made a mistake but to be that hated by the entire world.' That's like -- you'd be suicidal, you'd be suicidal because of that," Judge said.
"When everybody else on the cast has done a similar type of thing," responded Mellencamp.
Following the controversy, Leviss sought treatment at a mental health facility for "mental health and trauma therapy." Just last week, she announced her new podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue, which will launch on Jan. 8, 2024, and dive into "the real story" behind the tabloid headlines that broke the internet during season 10 of the Bravo series.
Earlier this year, Sandoval opened up about dealing with suicidal thoughts during the inaugural episode of his own podcast, Everybody Loves Tom.
The Bravo star described the emotional turmoil that engulfed him, saying that he felt overwhelmed and unable to see beyond his emotions, which eventually led him to contemplate suicide.
Sandoval recalled a chance encounter with the late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington just days before Bennington's tragic suicide in July 2017 and said that he
"Literally, days later, he died. He had, you know, killed himself. And I couldn't, I could never understand why, but when you get into that headspace, it's like a domino effect. Your world starts collapsing on itself and you cannot see outside of your feelings," Sandoval said in September.
"Your peripheral goes away. Your sense of thinking about the future, your ability to snap out of it goes away. And there were some times where I was, you know, felt very, very close," he said.
Sandoval and Leviss have since parted ways, with Leviss choosing to exit Vanderpump Rules while Sandoval returned for season 11.
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