Rachel Leviss shared why she stayed with her ex James Kennedy throughout his alleged abuse, addressed feeling “vindicated,” and hinted at “coercive control.”
Last week, the Vanderpump Rules star was reportedly arrested for domestic violence on the night of Kathy Hilton’s holiday party. In the past, James’ exes Rachel and Kristen Doute have alluded to alleged abuse, though fans at the time seemed more preoccupied with Tom Sandoval‘s cheating.
After the arrest last week, both Rachel and Kristen indicated that they weren’t surprised.
On her Instagram Stories, Rachel recently shared a 2018 post in which she clapped back at people calling her “dumb” for staying with James. At the time, she was still in a relationship with the DJ, who was facing cheating allegations.
“Using the word dumb to describe why I choose to stay with James is completely inappropriate,” said Rachel in the 2018 post. “I grew up not knowing I had a learning disability and wasn’t diagnosed with ADD until college. Learning was always difficult for me and not passing my ice cream multiplication test was one of the earliest challenges I faced. However I am NOT stupid. In fact in college I figured out the way I learned best and worked very hard for my degree graduating with honors. Words like STUPID and DUMB are just as offensive as the word FAT. Some other adjectives that more accurately describe the situation are patience, understanding, empathetic and forgiving.”
Above the post, Rachel shared how she now feels about it.
“I stand by what I wrote here,” wrote Rachel. “Being in an abusive relationship is confusing because you believe in the potential of your significant other and can’t comprehend how someone who says they love you is intentionally hurting you.”
“Bad times can be few and far between,” she explained. “It’s easy to minimize the abuse and want to believe the person is capable of change.”
Image credit: @rachelleviss/Instagram
In another post, Rachel addressed her mixed feelings.
“I’ve experienced so many emotions this past week. Feeling happy and vindicated and also so sad and broken,” she said. “I don’t want this to be brushed under the rug like the times before. So much of my podcast talks about my experience with coercive control and gaining the insight to overcome it. I am grateful to have had a voice this past year. Abuse can be heavy to talk about and re-examine.”
