Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay misses who Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss ‘used to be to me’

Seeing Scheana Shay on Vanderpump Rules season 11 may be Rachel (a.k.a. Raquel) Leviss' "thorn," but Shay wishes Leviss would have returned to the show to have some of the hard conversations that need to be had – especially with her.

In a recent podcast, Leviss said the most difficult part about watching the show now was specifically seeing Shay.

“It is hard seeing Scheana and Ariana [Madix], two people that I did call friends,” she shared on her new podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue. “I think I have a lot more resentment towards Scheana, so I think the thorn for me is just seeing Scheana’s face. I’m working through that and I think with time and more therapy and just more I don’t know."

Surprised after hearing the remark for the first time, Shay tells EW, "I hope she's getting the help she needs, honestly."

Leviss and Shay were close friends until "Scandoval" broke. When news emerged that Leviss was having a months-long affair with Tom Sandoval — who was cheating on Shay's best friend Ariana Madix — Shay had a strong reaction.

Shay learned about the affair shortly after an appearance alongside Leviss on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen and the women ended up having a physical altercation.

Days later, Leviss hit Shay with a restraining order. This meant Leviss and Shay couldn't be in the same room during the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion, so Shay never got closure with Leviss.

"I felt like we definitely needed to have a conversation," Shay says. "Things with her and I ended very abruptly, and so I didn't think at the reunion, I didn't have an option. I had a temporary restraining order on me, and that also wouldn't have been the place. I would've liked to have had a private conversation with her."

In case you missed it, the reunion was an explosive mess of anger, where Leviss and Sandoval were peppered with insults and vitriol. That's why Shay's glad she wasn't able to confront Leviss at the reunion.

"I was thankful for how the reunion worked out because that wouldn't have been the time or place. I think I was really heated in that moment. I still had a court date I had to go to, and it just wouldn't have been right in front of that many people to have that conversation," she says.

Once everyone cooled off (a little), Shay thought she'd be presented with the opportunity to talk to Leviss. "And then she chose not to come back. But I completely understood why if it was her mental health and she still had some work she needed to do on herself. This definitely can be a toxic environment at times, and it's not for everyone," the reality star notes.

"And I completely understood, but I just felt like there were still some conversations she needed to have, not just with myself, but with Ariana, with Lala [Kent], with Lisa [Vanderpump]. And so yeah, it was disappointing that we didn't get to have any of those, but maybe one day or maybe it's for the best," she adds.

While Shay makes it clear she's moved on, does she ever miss the friendship she once had with Leviss and also Sandoval?

"It's hard to say that because after what [Leviss] did and her actions, I am team Ariana ride or die for that girl," she says. "So that was not something that I was really willing to forgive at the moment. I felt like it was a very big betrayal on both of their parts. This was one of her best friends. This was her boyfriend, and it was going on for so long, not just behind her back, but kind of in front of her face."

Shay continues: "So I miss who [Leviss and Sandoval] used to be to me. We used to have a great friendship. They were people I enjoyed going to music festivals with and had so much fun with, but I don't see them as that same version of themselves anymore. But sure, it's easy to miss who people used to be."

Vanderpump Rules airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.

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