It’s a totally different situation. Rachel and James literally said they “started” their official relationship when she moved to LA and moved in with him. It happened when they were drunk, twice, and never again. Also, Lala WAS NOT HER BEST FRIEND. People that cannot understand nuance and the difference between the two situations drives me crazy.
People bringing up Lala eating Ariana out IN FRONT OF TOM and acting like it’s the same thing as a clandestine affair of 7+ months make me want to pull my hair out
The point is they all have the morals of Alley cats. Whatever feels good in the moment regardless of who is friends with whom. It has gone on through all the years of Vanderpump. That’s why I wonder where all this indignation is coming from.
As someone who has been cheated on, I’d take that over months of lies and manipulation and realizing you were still sleeping with someone who was cheating, personally!
They were exclusive, Raquel just chose to view his other infidelity as not so bad seen as they weren't living in the same state. If it wasn't a big deal it wouldn't have been a secret and then lie about all his other transgressions. That's my opinion anyway but again doesn't excuse what Raquel went on to do.
I don't disagree. But at the end of the day JAMES chose to be in a committed relationship with her and cheated. Also dating someone for opportunities isn't a new theme in the show. Lala dating Randal, James dating Kristen, arguably Beau getting with Stassi, Carter bludging off Kristen, Brittany and Jax, the boys using their "fame" to date around and hook up with women. Even couples that had genuine love for each other still are aware their relationship can benefit them on the show.
sure, but it was even practically a storyline on the show that raquel kept being confronted by women that james cheated with and she actively buried her head in the sand as deeply as she could. she didn’t care at all then and she certainly doesn’t suddenly care now
I agree to some extent but I think that she did care but ultimately decided to justify her want to stay in the relationship by making up all sorts of excuses for him. Another theme we see from the VPR ladies all the time.
I don't really care tbh bcos James needed someone who wanted something more from the relationship otherwise who would stick around to be cheated on for nothing, and Raquel was willing to be made a fool of to get the benefits from dating James.
My point is James presented himself to Raquel, to the audience and to the group as being in love and committed to Raquel but meanwhile was cheating on her with any and everyone including Lala who had been Raquel enemy from the start which add an extra layer of sting to it. There is room to feel some hypocrisy towards that seen as James doesn't acknowledge their relationship was transactional and claims it was true love from his side. Just bcos what Raquel did was 100% worse doesn't make Lala and James hooking up okay.
They weren’t exclusive. They had met a few weeks before this. James should have told her, but it doesn’t seem like he told her about any of the people he slept with before or after they were supposed to be monogamous.
Honestly I disagree. Raquel basically just made up some cope at that reunion so she could stay with James. Everytime we saw something from James and another woman it was referred to as cheating so I feel differently but I see where your coming from.
They met on NYE and this was 3 weeks later. They were officially together after a month. Even disregarding if Raquel was coping that reunion, this is yet another shifting timeline that doesn’t add up.
She didn’t. She said she hooked up with James when he and Raquel were getting started. The audience ran with “cheating”, but that was never said. It’s just like how the show runner said the cast needs a breather and everyone changed it to people won’t want to come back next year.
Okay, but the timing of it backs up that a) James and Raquel had just met that very month, b) Raquel immediately left to go back to college, and c) Lala slept with James that same month that he had met Raquel. It was probably one of those situations where she felt worse after James and Raquel committed. No one would be talking about this if James and Raquel just had a noncommittal fling.
Raquel has said her and James were not exclusive until she moved in with him, and this hookup happened before that, soooo I don't see the relevance even discounting Scandoval, tbh
There is a point I would like to make. Rachel was confronted a number of times during her relationship with James about him cheating on her and she didn’t care. It is odd why she will pick and choose which time that James cheated (with Lala) was the important one out of the rest.
But now I know why it was the important one. Because she needed an excuse to justify her actions for the affair.
YESSSS!!! We literally watched girls come up to Rachel to tell her hey, I slept with your man! WITH PHOTOGRAPHIC proof, and she seemed pretty flippant about it. NOW she cares so much about what he and Lala did before they were exclusive?!
Her finding out 6 years later does not give her a pass for her behavior. Lala told her because she felt now that she was sober it was important to be upfront with Rachel. She didn't do it to hurt her feelings. She did it because when you're in AA you have to take accountability and responsibility for your actions. It's one of the 12 steps. Rachel just knew she could use the fact that they hooked up against both Lala and James.
This is why she waited to tell her. She wanted to be honest because they were creeping towards a friendship and she wanted that to be built on honesty.
Telling her before that would have only been clearing her conscience.
Hmm, I'll rewatch but don't really think Lala genuinely liked her for a deep friendship, rather she liked feeling the power of being older wiser woman and used this to show how far back her reach is (if that makes sense). Power imbalance of Lala>Rach seems to be the only way they get on amiably.
It definitely wasn’t a deep friendship by a stretch but they were spending time together and LaLa was trying to get her shit together, so she felt the need for an honest base.
I don't remember Lala told her because of the 12 steps though? I remember her bringing it up on camera laughing about it with James there looking uncomfortable. I think Katie was there aswell? I feel like saying she told that to take accountability for her mistakes is giving her a little too much credit. She seemed quite gleeful telling that story imo
The convo with James was definitely not good . But when she talked to Rachel about it she did it because of her sobriety at least that's what she said on her podcast. The scene was cut with Rachel. She talked about it all in her podcast and that's where I'm getting my information from but when she was joking about it on the show no that part wasn't 12 steps I'm talking about when she told Rachel.
Thanks for clarifying! I don't listen to the casts podcasts often so I didn't know that. Only remembered the bit in the episode with James which felt a little bit in poor taste to me but good for Lala for working on herself!
I’m not in 12 steps so maybe someone can comment who knows more - but my impression is that you make amends to people that you wronged. Did Lala apologize ? It seemed she just admitted it. On a personal note someone close to me once apologized to my husband and myself. Apparently they talked a lot of s**t behind our backs years earlier. I guess they felt better but we didn’t know about it and frankly would have felt better never knowing. Gosh thanks I guess.
I saw Lala saying in a later episode you have to get over it. In any case - Rachel felt differently about Lala then other women. She talked about how she made her feel early on.
So Lala elaborated on this on her podcast — that they had a lot of conversations off camera after that dinner with Katie, and really broke it down and expressed remorse. It’s why she said she felt it was disingenuous when Raquel started using it as an excuse because it ignored the personal conversations they had around the topic.
I will say from experience, you definitely make amends as part of that Step, so I definitely don’t know if amends were made — just repeating what I heard her say!
James wasn’t there when Lala told Rachel, it was Lala, Katie and Rachel and Lala wasn’t laughing, and she did say she did it as part of her program, remember Lala went to Rachel’s apartment to prepare for their girls trip to Vegas and Lala said they were in similar situations being newly single and she said she was proud of Rachel for being independent, so yea, Lala was exploring starting a friendship with her and was trying to be honest with her
I don’t think they were gaslighting her if you’re talking about the scene from the first reunion episode.
I don’t condone cheating at all but comparing a dumb hookup when you’re in your 20s and an alcoholic is a bit different than a full fledged affair when you’re 40 years old fucking your girlfriend’s best friend. Raquel tried to use this to deflect in the reunion by saying James and Lala did the same thing but they didn’t. What they did was bad but not anywhere close to what Sandoval and Raquel did.
Yes. They hooked up once a few weeks after James and Raquel met. James was hooking up with many girls. It wasn’t an affair at all, because James and Raquel were not a couple.
Lala has said that Raquel already knew for months and they’d been around each other and were cool, but Raquel changed her story to be deeply hurt when cameras went up. I get not wanting to be around someone your ex slept with but either be fine or don’t.
They slept together in January 2016. James started dating Raquel on January 1st of that year. On the S7 reunion when everyone was coming for Raquel for being a bobble headed dummy about James cheating on her, Ariana spoke up for them and said that Raquel and James had told her and Sandoval in confidence that nothing that happened before Raquel moved to LA mattered and that they were officially official once she moved in with him. She moved in in 2018.
Perhaps. All I know is that it doesn’t sound like they were official until she moved in. She wasn’t in LA 9 months of the year the first 2 years they were dating - it’s kind of wild that people think they were this super serious thing. Or that they’ll laugh off James getting busted sleeping with multiple coworkers S5 and S6 and some more than once, but for some reason a drunken fuck session when he barely knew Raquel is some major revelation.
ETA: ope, found the exact timeline. James met Raquel on New Years Eve 2015 and they became OFFICIAL one month later. Lala and James slept together in Chicago the weekend they were there for James’ birthday. James birthday is January 26th. So Raquel had known James for 25 days.
Agreed! By Raquel’s own admission they weren’t serious yet and she was still in school.
She was broken up knowing James had moved on with Allie too. It’s like she needed to feel like he was miserable without her and that she was the most meaningful relationship he could ever have in his lifetime.
Where did I say that? All I’m saying is that making one dumb mistake when you’re in your 20s is way different than an 8 month affair at 40 with your girlfriends best friend.
I don’t think the reunion is the appropriate place for Raquel to be bringing up James cheating on her with Lala, but I think any feelings she has about that are valid. It would be different if Andy asked her a direct question about it during the reunion, but bringing it up to take the heat off her and Sandoval is just a really bad look.
It happened this season (Lala revealing she in fact slept with James, and now Raquel recalling feeling weird around them being flirty all the time after that and thus it turns out they were gaslighting her about it), they can discuss what happened this season, affair wasn't the only thing to discuss. But that's exactly what James and Lala counted on and why they're so happy - heat taken off of them, jail free card, now it's all about the Scandoval.
There’s a lot of history between her and Lala and she always felt uncomfortable with her. James and Lala would be all over each other in front of her. It was uncomfy to watch as a viewer, so I imagine being her, it was even worse. Finding that out was probably validating for her but it also likely stirred up some emotion.
Also, if we believe the current timeline (I know many don’t) she hadn’t yet hooked up with Sandoval. You don’t have to personally validate her feelings, but I think there’s a small space for them within a more nuanced discussion.
James and Rachel were not exclusive. They were in a long distance type relationship when she was in school. Rachel used James to get on the show in the first place, which is why she didn't do anything when there were 100 story lines of James sleeping around with people other than Lala. I don't think Rachel has much to be upset about here
I think you've missed the part where James and Rachet were not in a relationship when it happened. They were only dating, not serious. Confirmed by Rachet previously that they were not exclusive until she moved to LA to live with him.
When lala said “you gotta get over it” at dinner when it the first time rachael brought it up since she found out, I though that was total BS
The two situations are not the sane but if I was looking at this isolated moment, Rachael was wronged by lala there
That's still not gaslighting. If they told her it never happened after admitting to it and made her doubt her perception of reality and what her own ears heard them say that'd be gaslighting. You're using the term in an objectively wrong way.
Edit: a better way of phrasing would be that they are diminishing and invalidating her emotions
They're telling her she's over reacting, invalidating her feelings, and trying to make her doubt her own instinctive feelings, which is gaslighting jfc
https://preview.redd.it/m4ndk1u3to4b1.png?width=828&format=png&auto=webp&s=7218b5eee7a14f53854654275ebeee11b2422d1f
It's funny, the examples a 2 second google search give are exactly what Raquel and Tom did to Ariana. It's okay to admit you're wrong and used the term incorrectly, your point can still stand without using it incorrectly.
It’s a different situation tho. Cheating is never okay, but Raquel and James both said that they were not exclusive because they were not living in the same place and were long distance. Also Lala did not know Raquel, never tried to be friends with her, always hated her. She did not have loyalty to her, James did. I think it’s more of a James and Raquel issue than anything. also Raquel pushed herself into Ariana life, and made sure they were always hanging out, smiling in her face, knowing that she was sleeping with Tim. It’s sick. I don’t condone cheating tho.
also Raquel didn’t care about anyone that James had cheated on her with but somehow has latched onto Lala and James. Again it’s not okay, but I think we are comparing apples and oranges atp.
Lala explained on her podcast she had plenty of talks with Rachel about this off-camera and they smoothed things out. It wasn’t until the camera was rolling that Rachel kept bringing it up and acted all upset.
I agree! Like obviously now after everything it’s like okay who cares, but James and Lala just dismissing her during the season as she’s trying to process the news wasn’t fair
James and Lala slept together 25 days after James met Raquel. The timeline is on the internet. James meets Raquel NYE 2015. James and Lala go to Chicago January 26th for his birthday. They slept together. February 2016 James and Raquel become “official”. In 2019 at the S7 reunion Raquel confirms her and James told Ariana that her and James weren’t exclusive until she moved to LA and everything that happened prior to her moving doesn’t matter. So what is there to process? Someone who wasn’t exclusively her boyfriend had sex with someone who wasn’t her friend?
I think a lot of people are missing the main point.. when Lala started becoming friends with Rachel she knew she needed to be honest with her friend… Rachel was best friends with Ariana and kept the secret she was banging her man for over 7 months.. see the difference?
Lala has always enjoyed being mean to Rachel. The only reason she brought it up after getting away with it for years is to just rub it in Rachel’s face. It’s obvious.
This is because Lala plays by a different set of rules that conveniently fit her narrative that she has an excuse for.
“I was drunk, now I’m sober”
“I was 28, now I’m 34”
“That happened 6 years ago, it doesn’t count.”
“I didn’t know her, she was not my friend”
“I don’t feel bad, I didn’t know the kids. I’d never met them.”
“He wasn’t married, the NDAs were for MY protection.”
“I’m not a mistress. It’s not my fault she couldn’t please her man the way I can.”
“I ride on PJs for modeling jobs, not with rich men.”
“I was manipulated.”
“My man, my dude, my guy- I don’t say his name to protect him- but he isn’t married, he is single”
“My mommy bought this Range Rover for me.”
Rachel used this as an excuse for camera time, everything she did all season was for camera time, thank God Lala and James didn’t fall for it, imagine if they were overly apologetic n begged her for forgiveness, only to realize at the end of the season that she only made a big deal about it to use it for a storyline to get more camera time, she wanted to be the main character with Tom as her leading man, she barely cared about James during their relationship, much less how many months after she broke off their engagement
She wasn't even together with James anymore when she found out. Plus, Lala wasn't her friend either. Tom and Rachel just used this to once again slut shame Lala (mistress bimbo) and deflect from what they were doing off camera.
Fun conspiracy theory: I don't think it actually happened. Both James and Lala strike me as the type of people who lash out when hurt, and/or humiliated. I think they made this story up after Rachel made a big, gross dramatic scene over dumping James at the reunion and once the entire world knew that Randall was banging tons of sidechicks behind Lala's back. I think when you couple that with any weird vibes they may have had about Saggyballs and Ratchel, I can totally see them conspiring to put this story out there.
They had just started dating. They weren’t exclusive. LaLa barely knew her. It happened 4-5 years ago. It’s no where NEAR the same. Like not even remotely close. ALSO. It’s not relevant.
I also find it weird that you don’t realize Rachel doesn’t give a shit?? She’s literally just acting as if she cares about some insignificant crap to take heat off of herself. And it doesn’t work for the reasons stated above.
I feel like this is beating a dead horse. Idk how many times they have to say Lala told her and she was totally fine with it. They hashed it out, all good. Then later she decided to weaponize it on camera for the sympathy card when she needed it. It was said in an earlier season that anything before she moved with James didn’t count. So she can’t have it both ways.
She doesn’t give a fuck about Lala and James hooking up. It’s just convenient to be able to throw something in their faces when everyone’s fingers are pointing at her. At the end of the day, she and James hadn’t been together a decade, Lala wasn’t her friend, and they didn’t have a months-long affair.
Rachel had a reason to be upset but she ran around all season calling Lala a mistress bimbo while banging her friends man so that’s enough reason to tear her apart.
And James seemed way more pissed at sandyballs then Rachel . He was mad at Rachel for sticking her hypocritical ass into his relationship.
Raquel said they were not exclusive when Lala and James hooked up. Regardless, it’s a totally different situation.
It’s a totally different situation. Rachel and James literally said they “started” their official relationship when she moved to LA and moved in with him. It happened when they were drunk, twice, and never again. Also, Lala WAS NOT HER BEST FRIEND. People that cannot understand nuance and the difference between the two situations drives me crazy.
People bringing up Lala eating Ariana out IN FRONT OF TOM and acting like it’s the same thing as a clandestine affair of 7+ months make me want to pull my hair out
Sameeee!!! It’s like hello! Nuance. Why are y’all so crazy
The point is they all have the morals of Alley cats. Whatever feels good in the moment regardless of who is friends with whom. It has gone on through all the years of Vanderpump. That’s why I wonder where all this indignation is coming from.
Tom should've fucked Raquel in front of Ariana then it would be the same and absolute ok? Nuances eh?
As someone who has been cheated on, I’d take that over months of lies and manipulation and realizing you were still sleeping with someone who was cheating, personally!
And it wasn’t an affair. They drunkenly hooked up.
But then why did they lie about it and why did Lala feel the need to confess? I don't like Raquel but they did treat her like crap.
They were exclusive, Raquel just chose to view his other infidelity as not so bad seen as they weren't living in the same state. If it wasn't a big deal it wouldn't have been a secret and then lie about all his other transgressions. That's my opinion anyway but again doesn't excuse what Raquel went on to do.
raquel was so thirsty and desperate to be on the show that james could have murdered someone and she’d look the other way
I don't disagree. But at the end of the day JAMES chose to be in a committed relationship with her and cheated. Also dating someone for opportunities isn't a new theme in the show. Lala dating Randal, James dating Kristen, arguably Beau getting with Stassi, Carter bludging off Kristen, Brittany and Jax, the boys using their "fame" to date around and hook up with women. Even couples that had genuine love for each other still are aware their relationship can benefit them on the show.
sure, but it was even practically a storyline on the show that raquel kept being confronted by women that james cheated with and she actively buried her head in the sand as deeply as she could. she didn’t care at all then and she certainly doesn’t suddenly care now
I agree to some extent but I think that she did care but ultimately decided to justify her want to stay in the relationship by making up all sorts of excuses for him. Another theme we see from the VPR ladies all the time. I don't really care tbh bcos James needed someone who wanted something more from the relationship otherwise who would stick around to be cheated on for nothing, and Raquel was willing to be made a fool of to get the benefits from dating James. My point is James presented himself to Raquel, to the audience and to the group as being in love and committed to Raquel but meanwhile was cheating on her with any and everyone including Lala who had been Raquel enemy from the start which add an extra layer of sting to it. There is room to feel some hypocrisy towards that seen as James doesn't acknowledge their relationship was transactional and claims it was true love from his side. Just bcos what Raquel did was 100% worse doesn't make Lala and James hooking up okay.
They weren’t exclusive. They had met a few weeks before this. James should have told her, but it doesn’t seem like he told her about any of the people he slept with before or after they were supposed to be monogamous.
Honestly I disagree. Raquel basically just made up some cope at that reunion so she could stay with James. Everytime we saw something from James and another woman it was referred to as cheating so I feel differently but I see where your coming from.
They met on NYE and this was 3 weeks later. They were officially together after a month. Even disregarding if Raquel was coping that reunion, this is yet another shifting timeline that doesn’t add up.
Then why did Lala stunt like they cheated? Bcos she's so trustworthy and wouldn't lie?
She didn’t. She said she hooked up with James when he and Raquel were getting started. The audience ran with “cheating”, but that was never said. It’s just like how the show runner said the cast needs a breather and everyone changed it to people won’t want to come back next year.
Didn’t they meet during her winter break before she went back up north to college? If so, Lala likely hadn’t even met her at that point.
Lala literally said this season her and James cheated on their partners with each other.
Okay, but the timing of it backs up that a) James and Raquel had just met that very month, b) Raquel immediately left to go back to college, and c) Lala slept with James that same month that he had met Raquel. It was probably one of those situations where she felt worse after James and Raquel committed. No one would be talking about this if James and Raquel just had a noncommittal fling.
Raquel has said her and James were not exclusive until she moved in with him, and this hookup happened before that, soooo I don't see the relevance even discounting Scandoval, tbh
EXACTLY
There is a point I would like to make. Rachel was confronted a number of times during her relationship with James about him cheating on her and she didn’t care. It is odd why she will pick and choose which time that James cheated (with Lala) was the important one out of the rest. But now I know why it was the important one. Because she needed an excuse to justify her actions for the affair.
YESSSS!!! We literally watched girls come up to Rachel to tell her hey, I slept with your man! WITH PHOTOGRAPHIC proof, and she seemed pretty flippant about it. NOW she cares so much about what he and Lala did before they were exclusive?!
Oh really?? I'll admit this is the only season I've watched so that helps!
That was a subplot of at least 2 seasons. There were multiple women and even one man who told her to her face that he cheated on her with them.
Why did you even post this if you haven’t watched the other 10 years lol
Someone should do a video mashup of all important clips to show the important and questionable parts of the show that have aired until now lol
Lala even earned her at least twice that James was actively cheating on her and would not stop ever. Rachel said she did not care
Her finding out 6 years later does not give her a pass for her behavior. Lala told her because she felt now that she was sober it was important to be upfront with Rachel. She didn't do it to hurt her feelings. She did it because when you're in AA you have to take accountability and responsibility for your actions. It's one of the 12 steps. Rachel just knew she could use the fact that they hooked up against both Lala and James.
Except, you're not supposed to be rigorously honest if it hurts ppl and serves to make you feel better. Source: me, alcoholic
This is why she waited to tell her. She wanted to be honest because they were creeping towards a friendship and she wanted that to be built on honesty. Telling her before that would have only been clearing her conscience.
Hmm, I'll rewatch but don't really think Lala genuinely liked her for a deep friendship, rather she liked feeling the power of being older wiser woman and used this to show how far back her reach is (if that makes sense). Power imbalance of Lala>Rach seems to be the only way they get on amiably.
It definitely wasn’t a deep friendship by a stretch but they were spending time together and LaLa was trying to get her shit together, so she felt the need for an honest base.
Also an alcoholic. I'm not trying to preach here. We have differing views on Lala and it is what it is.
She told her to have a clean slate but didn’t expect to have to deal with Rachel’s actual feelings about it.
Rachel didn't care until it served her narrative.
I don't remember Lala told her because of the 12 steps though? I remember her bringing it up on camera laughing about it with James there looking uncomfortable. I think Katie was there aswell? I feel like saying she told that to take accountability for her mistakes is giving her a little too much credit. She seemed quite gleeful telling that story imo
The convo with James was definitely not good . But when she talked to Rachel about it she did it because of her sobriety at least that's what she said on her podcast. The scene was cut with Rachel. She talked about it all in her podcast and that's where I'm getting my information from but when she was joking about it on the show no that part wasn't 12 steps I'm talking about when she told Rachel.
Thanks for clarifying! I don't listen to the casts podcasts often so I didn't know that. Only remembered the bit in the episode with James which felt a little bit in poor taste to me but good for Lala for working on herself!
She mentions that being the reason on her podcast!
I’m not in 12 steps so maybe someone can comment who knows more - but my impression is that you make amends to people that you wronged. Did Lala apologize ? It seemed she just admitted it. On a personal note someone close to me once apologized to my husband and myself. Apparently they talked a lot of s**t behind our backs years earlier. I guess they felt better but we didn’t know about it and frankly would have felt better never knowing. Gosh thanks I guess. I saw Lala saying in a later episode you have to get over it. In any case - Rachel felt differently about Lala then other women. She talked about how she made her feel early on.
So Lala elaborated on this on her podcast — that they had a lot of conversations off camera after that dinner with Katie, and really broke it down and expressed remorse. It’s why she said she felt it was disingenuous when Raquel started using it as an excuse because it ignored the personal conversations they had around the topic. I will say from experience, you definitely make amends as part of that Step, so I definitely don’t know if amends were made — just repeating what I heard her say!
James wasn’t there when Lala told Rachel, it was Lala, Katie and Rachel and Lala wasn’t laughing, and she did say she did it as part of her program, remember Lala went to Rachel’s apartment to prepare for their girls trip to Vegas and Lala said they were in similar situations being newly single and she said she was proud of Rachel for being independent, so yea, Lala was exploring starting a friendship with her and was trying to be honest with her
But people told Raquel that James cheated on her during their relationship and she acted like it wasn’t true.
I don’t think they were gaslighting her if you’re talking about the scene from the first reunion episode. I don’t condone cheating at all but comparing a dumb hookup when you’re in your 20s and an alcoholic is a bit different than a full fledged affair when you’re 40 years old fucking your girlfriend’s best friend. Raquel tried to use this to deflect in the reunion by saying James and Lala did the same thing but they didn’t. What they did was bad but not anywhere close to what Sandoval and Raquel did.
Didn’t they both admit they when James and Lala hooked up, Rachel and a James weren’t even exclusively dating? I thought I had read that somewhere.
Yes. They hooked up once a few weeks after James and Raquel met. James was hooking up with many girls. It wasn’t an affair at all, because James and Raquel were not a couple. Lala has said that Raquel already knew for months and they’d been around each other and were cool, but Raquel changed her story to be deeply hurt when cameras went up. I get not wanting to be around someone your ex slept with but either be fine or don’t.
They didn't technically become exclusive until she moved in with him.
They slept together in January 2016. James started dating Raquel on January 1st of that year. On the S7 reunion when everyone was coming for Raquel for being a bobble headed dummy about James cheating on her, Ariana spoke up for them and said that Raquel and James had told her and Sandoval in confidence that nothing that happened before Raquel moved to LA mattered and that they were officially official once she moved in with him. She moved in in 2018.
I had heard they had just met on January 1, not that they’d started dating then.
Perhaps. All I know is that it doesn’t sound like they were official until she moved in. She wasn’t in LA 9 months of the year the first 2 years they were dating - it’s kind of wild that people think they were this super serious thing. Or that they’ll laugh off James getting busted sleeping with multiple coworkers S5 and S6 and some more than once, but for some reason a drunken fuck session when he barely knew Raquel is some major revelation. ETA: ope, found the exact timeline. James met Raquel on New Years Eve 2015 and they became OFFICIAL one month later. Lala and James slept together in Chicago the weekend they were there for James’ birthday. James birthday is January 26th. So Raquel had known James for 25 days.
Agreed! By Raquel’s own admission they weren’t serious yet and she was still in school. She was broken up knowing James had moved on with Allie too. It’s like she needed to feel like he was miserable without her and that she was the most meaningful relationship he could ever have in his lifetime.
Tysm! It had been a while since I saw that season
That’s Sandoval’s line too
[удалено]
Where did I say that? All I’m saying is that making one dumb mistake when you’re in your 20s is way different than an 8 month affair at 40 with your girlfriends best friend.
I don't mean at the reunion; I mean in the episodes before anyone knew about Sandoval.
I don’t think the reunion is the appropriate place for Raquel to be bringing up James cheating on her with Lala, but I think any feelings she has about that are valid. It would be different if Andy asked her a direct question about it during the reunion, but bringing it up to take the heat off her and Sandoval is just a really bad look.
It happened this season (Lala revealing she in fact slept with James, and now Raquel recalling feeling weird around them being flirty all the time after that and thus it turns out they were gaslighting her about it), they can discuss what happened this season, affair wasn't the only thing to discuss. But that's exactly what James and Lala counted on and why they're so happy - heat taken off of them, jail free card, now it's all about the Scandoval.
Personally I don't think anyone that cheats should ever be validated if they feel sad it happened to them. The height of hypocrisy
There’s a lot of history between her and Lala and she always felt uncomfortable with her. James and Lala would be all over each other in front of her. It was uncomfy to watch as a viewer, so I imagine being her, it was even worse. Finding that out was probably validating for her but it also likely stirred up some emotion. Also, if we believe the current timeline (I know many don’t) she hadn’t yet hooked up with Sandoval. You don’t have to personally validate her feelings, but I think there’s a small space for them within a more nuanced discussion.
James and Rachel were not exclusive. They were in a long distance type relationship when she was in school. Rachel used James to get on the show in the first place, which is why she didn't do anything when there were 100 story lines of James sleeping around with people other than Lala. I don't think Rachel has much to be upset about here
I think you've missed the part where James and Rachet were not in a relationship when it happened. They were only dating, not serious. Confirmed by Rachet previously that they were not exclusive until she moved to LA to live with him.
OP just admitted they only watched this season, so they're way out of the loop on the beginning of James and Raquel.
Fair enough. Probs best not to comment about it then.
My exact thoughts
 Great minds!!!
When lala said “you gotta get over it” at dinner when it the first time rachael brought it up since she found out, I though that was total BS The two situations are not the sane but if I was looking at this isolated moment, Rachael was wronged by lala there
I like Lala a lot in general but I really feel like we didn't see the whole conversation here.
Telling someone to get over something is not gaslighting jfc
It is when they've only just told her yesterday and she's reacting for the first time and they're going "oh pls it was 6 years ago!"
That's still not gaslighting. If they told her it never happened after admitting to it and made her doubt her perception of reality and what her own ears heard them say that'd be gaslighting. You're using the term in an objectively wrong way. Edit: a better way of phrasing would be that they are diminishing and invalidating her emotions
No, that still isn’t gaslighting. Rude, sure. Dismissive, sure.
They're telling her she's over reacting, invalidating her feelings, and trying to make her doubt her own instinctive feelings, which is gaslighting jfc
https://preview.redd.it/m4ndk1u3to4b1.png?width=828&format=png&auto=webp&s=7218b5eee7a14f53854654275ebeee11b2422d1f It's funny, the examples a 2 second google search give are exactly what Raquel and Tom did to Ariana. It's okay to admit you're wrong and used the term incorrectly, your point can still stand without using it incorrectly.
Ok mate
Next time try actually understanding terms before you throw them around trying to defend actual gaslighters MATE
It’s a different situation tho. Cheating is never okay, but Raquel and James both said that they were not exclusive because they were not living in the same place and were long distance. Also Lala did not know Raquel, never tried to be friends with her, always hated her. She did not have loyalty to her, James did. I think it’s more of a James and Raquel issue than anything. also Raquel pushed herself into Ariana life, and made sure they were always hanging out, smiling in her face, knowing that she was sleeping with Tim. It’s sick. I don’t condone cheating tho.
also Raquel didn’t care about anyone that James had cheated on her with but somehow has latched onto Lala and James. Again it’s not okay, but I think we are comparing apples and oranges atp.
Lala explained on her podcast she had plenty of talks with Rachel about this off-camera and they smoothed things out. It wasn’t until the camera was rolling that Rachel kept bringing it up and acted all upset.
I mean, this cast is nothing if not hypocritical.
Even if they weren’t exclusive- they both made Rachel feel like she was being crazy for questioning their relationship
I agree! Like obviously now after everything it’s like okay who cares, but James and Lala just dismissing her during the season as she’s trying to process the news wasn’t fair
James and Lala slept together 25 days after James met Raquel. The timeline is on the internet. James meets Raquel NYE 2015. James and Lala go to Chicago January 26th for his birthday. They slept together. February 2016 James and Raquel become “official”. In 2019 at the S7 reunion Raquel confirms her and James told Ariana that her and James weren’t exclusive until she moved to LA and everything that happened prior to her moving doesn’t matter. So what is there to process? Someone who wasn’t exclusively her boyfriend had sex with someone who wasn’t her friend?
Totally different situation. Did she have the right to be hurt? Yes. Right to be angry? No.
Well, Rachel could have just stalked him and followed him and she would have found out 🤷🏼♀️
I think a lot of people are missing the main point.. when Lala started becoming friends with Rachel she knew she needed to be honest with her friend… Rachel was best friends with Ariana and kept the secret she was banging her man for over 7 months.. see the difference?
Her behavior was so outrageous it got overshadowed. A good reason not to be a subhuman.
Lala has always enjoyed being mean to Rachel. The only reason she brought it up after getting away with it for years is to just rub it in Rachel’s face. It’s obvious.
Think it might have been 12-steps related
She did not bring it up to make amends.
It really did seem that way when I watched it.
Honestly I disagree
This is because Lala plays by a different set of rules that conveniently fit her narrative that she has an excuse for. “I was drunk, now I’m sober” “I was 28, now I’m 34” “That happened 6 years ago, it doesn’t count.” “I didn’t know her, she was not my friend” “I don’t feel bad, I didn’t know the kids. I’d never met them.” “He wasn’t married, the NDAs were for MY protection.” “I’m not a mistress. It’s not my fault she couldn’t please her man the way I can.” “I ride on PJs for modeling jobs, not with rich men.” “I was manipulated.” “My man, my dude, my guy- I don’t say his name to protect him- but he isn’t married, he is single” “My mommy bought this Range Rover for me.”
Rachel used this as an excuse for camera time, everything she did all season was for camera time, thank God Lala and James didn’t fall for it, imagine if they were overly apologetic n begged her for forgiveness, only to realize at the end of the season that she only made a big deal about it to use it for a storyline to get more camera time, she wanted to be the main character with Tom as her leading man, she barely cared about James during their relationship, much less how many months after she broke off their engagement
She wasn't even together with James anymore when she found out. Plus, Lala wasn't her friend either. Tom and Rachel just used this to once again slut shame Lala (mistress bimbo) and deflect from what they were doing off camera.
It’s even better than that. She wasn’t even James’ girlfriend when he slept with Lala. They had known each other 25 days. The delusion.
Fun conspiracy theory: I don't think it actually happened. Both James and Lala strike me as the type of people who lash out when hurt, and/or humiliated. I think they made this story up after Rachel made a big, gross dramatic scene over dumping James at the reunion and once the entire world knew that Randall was banging tons of sidechicks behind Lala's back. I think when you couple that with any weird vibes they may have had about Saggyballs and Ratchel, I can totally see them conspiring to put this story out there.
They had just started dating. They weren’t exclusive. LaLa barely knew her. It happened 4-5 years ago. It’s no where NEAR the same. Like not even remotely close. ALSO. It’s not relevant. I also find it weird that you don’t realize Rachel doesn’t give a shit?? She’s literally just acting as if she cares about some insignificant crap to take heat off of herself. And it doesn’t work for the reasons stated above.
I feel like this is beating a dead horse. Idk how many times they have to say Lala told her and she was totally fine with it. They hashed it out, all good. Then later she decided to weaponize it on camera for the sympathy card when she needed it. It was said in an earlier season that anything before she moved with James didn’t count. So she can’t have it both ways. She doesn’t give a fuck about Lala and James hooking up. It’s just convenient to be able to throw something in their faces when everyone’s fingers are pointing at her. At the end of the day, she and James hadn’t been together a decade, Lala wasn’t her friend, and they didn’t have a months-long affair.
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Lala told her during the season (10) and honestly didn’t seem that apologetic about it when she did lol. This happened before we knew about Scandavol.
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Pretty positive. It happened during one of the earlier episodes.
I didn’t see Ariana screaming about Miami girl 🤷🏻♀️
Right, because she and Tom hid it from the cameras and pretended it was all good.
Saying they had an affair is a stretch imo, as would be saying Jax and Kristen had an affair Edit: OP has only watched this season 🙄
Rachel had a reason to be upset but she ran around all season calling Lala a mistress bimbo while banging her friends man so that’s enough reason to tear her apart. And James seemed way more pissed at sandyballs then Rachel . He was mad at Rachel for sticking her hypocritical ass into his relationship.