'Special Forces' Stars Dish on Awkward Moment 'Vanderpump Rules' Scandoval Came Up (Exclusive)

Tom Sandoval’s Special Forces: World's Toughest Test costars have opened up about the awkward moment the Vanderpump Rules Scandoval came up during filming.

The term #Scandoval was created after Sandoval’s months-long affair with his former costar Rachel “Raquel” Leviss was exposed in March. The affair, which ended his nine-year relationship with costar Ariana Madix, sent shockwaves through the world of reality TV.

In season 2 of the Fox reality show, the Scandoval drama was brought up very early on thanks to Sandoval’s costar Jack Osbourne!

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Kelly Rizzo says that Osbourne, 37, was “the first person who uttered that word on the show,” and that it made her realize who Sandoval, 40, was. 

“We were all in the same transport vehicle bus,” Rizzo, 44, says. “And Tom was sitting next to me and he was like, ‘Hi, I'm Tom,’ and I'm like, ‘Hi, I'm Kelly.’ But I had no idea who he was. And so Jack goes a minute in, ‘Looks like we've got a Scandoval on our hands.’  And I was like, ‘Oh s---, it's Tom Sandoval.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah.’ ”

The actress admits that she “kind of felt bad” for the way in which she reacted. But awkward moments aside, Osbourne tells PEOPLE that the cast quickly went on to form strong friendships and bonds.

“We got to know each other so well and on such a deeper level," Osbourne, who recently married Aree Gearhart, says. “Not to sound cliché but we were all laughing together and there were times where we all cried together. Bode [Miller] shared his story about what happened with his family, and there wasn't a dry eye in the bunkhouse. We were all just bawling. And that's the kind of beautiful thing about this show. It's incredibly tough. It's a total ass kicker, but the bonds that are created are wild.”

Meanwhile, Sandoval tells PEOPLE that signing up for Special Forces was motivated by his desire to get away from the intense drama surrounding Scandoval. 

“I think that and getting away and just wanting to focus on something very different,” he says. “Take a vacation, go a different direction for a while and do something. Focus on a different aspect of myself, because sometimes when you go away, you focus on a whole different part of you. It can kind of teach you a lot about the other part of you.”

During the season premiere of the show, Monday, Sandoval revealed in a confessional that he was doing the show because he wanted to get “punished.”

“These past few months have been the darkest months of my entire life,” he said. “Sandoval has become Scandoval. Yeah, the whole country's pissed off at me.”

During his chat with PEOPLE, Sandoval reveals he also knows the public reaction to the affair isn’t going to die down anytime soon. 

“I would say that it's probably going to get worse before it gets better and don’t think for a second, ‘Oh, give it a week, give it a couple weeks, whatever,’ ” he says. “No, this stuff stays with you for a while. I'm in this for the long haul. I know it.”

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Sandoval and 29-year-old Leviss’s affair was exposed after Madix, 38, discovered an intimate video of the former SUR waitress on her then-boyfriend's phone while watching him perform. 

Days later, the TomTom co-owner issued a public apology to Madix.

“I made mistakes, I was selfish, and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love,” the Instagram statement read. “No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly."