Rachel Leviss scored a new gig—and it’s strangely similar to something that her former “Vanderpump Rules”  bestie Scheana Shay just did.

In August 2024, Leviss announced on Instagram that she will be a judge for the Miss Grand USA pageant. The pageant-judging gig comes more than a year after Leviss became embroiled in a shocking cheating scandal with her “Vanderpump Rules” co-star Tom Sandoval. Leviss exited the Bravo reality show soon after and is no longer in contact with her former cast mates.

In an August 2024 interview, Leviss also talked about what it would take for her to return to “Vanderpump Rules.”

Rachel Leviss’ Pageant Role Was Announced Just After Scheana Shay Was a Judge For the Miss USA Pageant

On August 8, 2024, a dual post by Leviss and the @offivialmissgrandusa Instagram account introduced Leviss as “MISS GRAND USA 2024 JUDGE.” Leviss was described as a reality star and activist, but her past as a beauty pageant contestant was not mentioned in her bio.

The pageant will be held on Monday, August 12 in Miami Beach, Florida, per EventBrite.

Leviss’ role as a pageant judge was announced days after Shay served as a judge for the 73rd annual Miss USA Pageant in Los Angeles, California. On August 7, Shay posted to Instagram to thank the pageant organizers for having her. “From growing up watching pageants to being a judge for one was so surreal,” she captioned a photo from the event.

Fans thought it was interesting that Leviss was judging a pageant right after Shay.

“Scheana is judging and pageant and now Rachel is…what weird timing 🙄. Rachel is always trying to make moves but her moves are always 20 step behind the VPR casts moves,”  one commenter wrote on Instagram.

“This is literally Rachel’s thing,” another wrote. “Rachel (Raquel) has a career in pageants. Not Scheana. I love Scheana. …But this is not Scheana’s thing. So its way more weird she’s participating in something that’s not her lane.  …It’s Rachel’s thing. So who’s really stepping on whose toes?”

Others questioned the description of Leviss as an “activist.”

“She has been bashing a tv show that paid her to be on. She has been bashing her ex and his ex. That is not an activist 😂 that is someone who is fame thirsty,” a commenter wrote.

“Every woman who participates in pageants has to do some type of philanthropy or activism. Her affair with Tom lasted 7 months not her whole life,” another fired back.

Rachel Leviss Revealed What It Would Take For Her to Return to ‘Vanderpump Rules’

BravoThe cast of “Vanderpump Rules” season 10.

Leviss has been estranged from Shay ever since March 2023. At the time, Leviss filed for a temporary restraining order from Shay after alleging that she pushed her after she found out about her affair with Sandoval.

Speaking with Us Weekly in August 2024, Leviss said she is living in Arizona and still in therapy. The former bar star added that she is committed to anstaining from alcohol and surrounding herself with “positive” people.

“This is how it should be like,” she said of her new life. “It should be healthy friendships. It shouldn’t really be people tearing each other down in order to get power over one another. I feel like I was in that dynamic and that dysfunctional friend group for so long that that did feel normal to me.”

Still, she admitted that she does miss some of her friendships with the “Vanderpump Rules” cast members. “Of course I miss those friendships,” she said. ‘I haven’t heard from anyone.”

The future of “Vanderpump Rules” is still in limbo as filming has been put on an indefinite pause. Leviss told Us that it would be a hard sell to get her to ever agree to return to the Bravo reality show. “It would take all-expenses paid therapy,” she said of a poential returni to the  Bravo hit. “I would need a therapist on call and therapy sessions after every single filming session! I just don’t know if I see a path forward because it’s not a healthy dynamic.”

“I actually don’t need the show and I’m healthier without it,” she added. “I don’t see myself returning because there wouldn’t be anything positive coming from that.”

Victoria Miller is a contributor for Heavy specializing in TV and celebrity news. She can be reached at [email protected]. More about Victoria Miller