What is ‘Vanderpump Rules’ star Raquel Leviss’ connection to Sonoma County?

A reality TV star who has rocked the West Hollywood world of “Vanderpump Rules” started out on the pageant stage in Sonoma County.

Over the past few months, “Vanderpump Rules” star Raquel Leviss has made headlines in tabloids and the New York Times for having an affair with co-star Tom Sandoval, who was in a nine-year relationship with another co-star Ariana Madix.

Madix and Sandoval broke up in March over the affair.

According to the Times, the affair has renewed interest in the long-running Bravo series about the employees and former employees of West Hollywood restaurant SUR, owned by Lisa Vanderpump, a breakout star from another Bravo reality show “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

While Leviss’ future with the show is in question following the news, her past is intertwined with Sonoma County.

Born in 1994 in Sonoma, Leviss revealed on the show in 2021 that she was adopted at birth, according to Yahoo Entertainment.

Growing up, Leviss competed in beauty pageants, eventually winning Miss Sonoma County in 2016.

Leviss attended Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology in 2018.

While at SSU, Leviss joined the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and volunteered as a counselor at The Painted Turtle summer camp in Southern California, according to a 2016 article by the Sonoma State Star.

After graduation, Leviss moved to Hollywood and made her first guest appearances on the fifth season of “Vanderpump Rules” in 2017. She returned as a series regular the following season and has been a featured part of the show since then.

The question now is; will Leviss return for season 11?

Recently, Madix — a fan favorite on the show — told the New York Times that she had no interest in filming the show with Leviss or Sandoval.

“I have nothing to say to either of them. Our show is very real and follows a real group of friends, and neither of them are in the group of friends, so, good luck,” Madix told the Times.

When news of the affair broke in March, Leviss apologized to her friends and fans for the affair in an Instagram post, writing that she “deeply regret” hurting Madix and that she had begun counseling “to end my unhealthy behavior cycle.”

Leviss has not posted on her Instagram since March 8.