Rachel Leviss Has ‘So Much More Control’ with Podcast Than “Vanderpump Rules”: ‘I Have a Voice’ (Exclusive)

"I’m able to speak freely," the Bravo star tells PEOPLE

Rachel Leviss is in control.

PEOPLE caught up with the Vanderpump Rules alum, 29, at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday where she opened up about the difference between being a cast member on a reality show and having her own podcast.

“Oh, I have so much more control when it’s my own podcast,” the Rachel Goes Rogue host told PEOPLE on the red carpet.

“When you’re on a reality TV show, you’re just living your life and you don’t know what they’re going to air, or how they’re going to edit you to look a certain way, so with my own podcast, I’m able to speak freely — I know what I’m going to say won’t be edited out, and I just have a voice,” the Bravo star added.

Her podcast debuted on iHeartRadio in January.

“After navigating through a tumultuous year of intense public scrutiny, Rachel has emerged resilient and committed to personal growth,” a November 2023 press release announcing the show read.

Related: Rachel 'Raquel' Leviss Owns Her 'Betrayal' but Wonders While Picking Up the Pieces: 'Did He Ever Really Love Me?'

Leviss made headlines last year when it was revealed that she was involved in a months-long affair with her Vanderpump Rules costar Tom Sandoval.

At the time, the 40-year-old had been in a nine-year relationship with Ariana Madix, 38, Leviss’ costar and friend.

While speaking to PEOPLE at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, Leviss said her podcast “is all about my mental health journey.”

She explained that it focuses on “what I’ve learned through this toxic experience of being on a reality TV show, and what I’ve learned through the time that I’ve taken myself in a treatment facility.”

In one of Leviss’ most recent podcast episodes, she detailed a therapy session she experienced.

“It wasn’t until I had my one-on-one trauma therapy session in The Meadows that I was able to really start decompressing what he did and how he violated a personal boundary," she said, referencing the mental health facility she stayed in following the backlash she faced for secretly dating her friend’s boyfriend.

Earlier in the episode, Leviss talked about how Sandoval allegedly recorded her without consent during an intimate FaceTime call and crossed her boundaries in the process.

“It took me a while to process Tom recording me without me knowing,” Leviss admitted during the episode, adding that the situation “was so chaotic.”

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PEOPLE reached out to Sandoval's rep for comment at the time, but did not hear back.

While speaking to PEOPLE at Monday’s red carpet, Leviss shared what she believes listeners can gain from her podcast.

“Just a bunch of mental health [conversations], and bringing on experts that know about those certain topics, and friends — people that I can talk to about similar experiences. It’s a positive place,” she said.

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