Vanderpump Rules EXCLUSIVE: Raquel Leviss’ ex James Kennedy supports Ariana Madix

Vanderpump Rules star and Raquel Leviss’ former fiance James Kennedy pledged his support for Tom Sandoval’s ex Ariana Madix in the wake of the pair’s explosive cheating scandal.

The show has been thrown into uproar after it emerged Leviss, 28,  had an affair with heartthrob Sandoval, 39, while he was still dating their co-star Madix, 37.

Leviss then claimed Madix’s friend and fellow reality star Scheana Shay, 37, punched her in the face and filed for a restraining order against her. Shay’s lawyer has denied these claims.

Ahead of the show’s explosive reunion special for season nine, Kennedy, 31, who is now dating Ally Lewber, showed his allegiance to both Madix and Shay in an exclusive DailyMail.com video.

He said: ‘I’m here for Ariana and she’s definitely a great friend of mine, she always has been and we’re here to support her no matter what.

Comment: Ahead of the show’s explosive reunion special for season nine, Kennedy, who is now dating Ally Lewber, showed his allegiance to both Madix and Shay in an exclusive DailyMail.com video

When asked if he supported Shay, he added: ‘Yep she knows well… I don’t know much about it because I’ve not been able to speak to Scheana in person.

He added that he ‘doesn’t even remember’ the last time he spoke to Leviss or Sandoval. 

When asked if he thought it was ‘weird’ that Sandoval had got involved in his May 2021 proposal to Leviss, Kennedy said: ‘I don’t know, everyone has to wait for the reunion to hear what I have to say…

‘It’s gonna be very interesting, everyone’s gotta watch it to see what happens.’

Leviss announced her split from Kennedy in January after five years together. In the wake of the hook-up revelations, he wrote on Instagram: ‘Hope you all feel as sick as I do. This explains everything.’ 

This comes after Shay joked that the cast will ‘need to have cages’ when they film their next reunion.

Madix dumped Sandoval last week when she discovered his infidelity and the women on the show have rallied around her, including Shay.

Amid the mounting drama, Shay quipped on her podcast Scheananigans that each cast member will need ‘their own personal bodyguard’ at the reunion.

Love triangle: The show has been thrown into uproar after it emerged Leviss, 28, had an affair with heartthrob Sandoval, 39, while he was still dating their co-star Madix , 37 – Sandoval, Madix  and Leviss are seen together in November 2022

Over: Sandoval and Madix were in a relationship for nine years  (Tom and Ariana pictured February 7)

In the wake of the hook-up revelations, he wrote on Instagram: ‘Hope you all feel as sick as I do. This explains everything’ with Dayna Kathan branding the pair ‘cowards’

Feud: Leviss then claimed Madix’s friend and fellow reality star Scheana Shay, 37, punched her in the face and filed for a restraining order against her. Shay’s lawyer has denied these claims 

The black eye: Leviss claimed that Shay gave her a black eye after being shoved against a brick wall

There for her: He said: ‘I’m here for Ariana and she’s definitely a great friend of mine, she always has been and we’re here to support her no matter what’

Shay was discussing the ‘Scandoval’ on her podcast with her fellow reality stars Kristen Doute and Lala Kent, who shot to fame with her on Vanderpump Rules. 

When the reunion came up, Kent vamped: ‘Security will definitely be amped up,’ and Doute chimed in: ‘I was literally thinking the same thing.’ 

‘Oh, like we need to have cages,’ Shay cracked, adding: ‘Everyone needs their own personal bodyguard because…oof!’ 

A lawyer for Shay has blasted claims made by Leviss after the latter accused her co-star of giving her a black eye during an altercation.  

The Vanderpump Rules stars engaged in a ‘heated confrontation’ on March 2 in which Shay allegedly punched Leviss in the face over her affair with Sandoval, which resulted in Leviss filing a restraining order against Shay.

Fans of the show and friends of the cast have seemed to side with Shay, believing that Leviss had the black eye before encountering Shay.

Scheana’s attorney, Neama Rahmani, slammed the allegations in a blistering statement obtained by DailyMail.com. 

‘This case is a fabrication by a known liar and a cheat who has betrayed everyone close to her. Scheana never punched Rachel [Raquel], period. The supposed dark markings around her left eye have been there for months.’

Rahmani continued, ‘Neither Scheana nor other cast members want anything to do with Rachel going forward. The judge has only heard a one-sided account of what happened, and we look forward to presenting the full and true story at the March 29 hearing.’

After the supposed altercation, Leviss claimed Shay attacked her following a taping of Andy Cohen’s late-night talk show Watch What Happens Live, in which they both appeared.

An enraged Shay allegedly shoved Leviss against a brick wall before punching her in the left eye.

In response to Leviss’s original claims, members of the Vanderpump Rules community and fans have come forward to share their thoughts on the situation.

Whose side: ‘This case is a fabrication by a known liar and a cheat who has betrayed everyone close to her. Scheana never punched Rachel [Raquel], period’

Kael Ramsey Ackerson, a close pal of many of the show’s stars, took to Instagram Wednesday to share his take.

‘Sooooo I’ve tried to stay out of this whole thing but one thing we’re not about to do is lie,’ he wrote.

He accompanied his post with several photos of Leviss taken before March 1, when the alleged incident took place.

‘All these photos were before #wwhl and in all of these this so-called ‘black eye’ was present @raquelleviss this is not how you treat family but again everything comes to light.’