Rachel Leviss Recalls Having a Photo of Ariana Madix in Her 'Shame Backpack' During Her 2 Month Stay in Rehab
"I was instructed to write down every mean thing that I could recall being thrown my way," Leviss said about an activity she did in the rehab facility
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Rachel Leviss (left) and Ariana Madix (right)Rachel "Raquel" Leviss is offering insight into her time in rehab.
In the latest episode of her podcast, Rachel Goes Rogue, the reality star, 29, opened up about how she healed in treatment after “Scandoval.” She said she used one activity to let go of the conflict she had with former costar Ariana Madix.
“One of my individualized assignments was a shame backpack,” she explained. “Where basically, I was instructed to write down every mean thing that I could recall being thrown my way. All the insults, all the name calling, all the derogatory comments that I could remember.”
She said the rehab facility created a book out of each paper Leviss wrote on, which she then carried around.
“It was very, very heavy,” she said. “And I was assigned to wear that backpack everywhere that I went for that week.”
While she admitted “it did hurt my back,” she said she began to understand why this was helping her on her healing journey.
“When I was processing through this assignment with my therapist, I had to read all of the comments, and then my therapist asked me if I wanted to take them on and to carry them with me for the rest of my life,” she shared. “I said, ‘No, I don't.’ And I was instructed to tear up all of the pieces of paper.”
That same week, the Vanderpump Rules alum revealed that a fellow resident at the center found a newspaper with a headline about Leviss’ affair with Madix’s then-boyfriend of nine years, Tom Sandoval. She said the picture on the front was of the two women.
“I actually had this in my shame backpack, and it's just so wild that it literally made its way into The Meadows [rehab facility],” she said. “It was kinda surreal that this came into my possession that week of my assignment.”
She continued: “That taught me not to take on all of the hate, all of the shame that was being spewed onto me because life is much harder when you take that on.”
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One year post-Scandoval, Leviss has moved on with businessman Matthew Dunn.
“It's a little too soon to jump to any labels,” Rachel Leviss’ publicist told PEOPLE in April. “They met a little over a month ago and are friends just getting to know each other. They met and are hanging out.”
Leviss also shared a clip on social media of herself riding in an ATV alongside Dunn, who owns Dune Investment Group in Spokane, Washington, according to his LinkedIn.
“More of this, please, 🫶🏼🌵✨” she captioned the clip.
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