Tom Sandoval Once Again Blames Ariana Madix for His Cheating and Their Lack of ‘Intimacy’
Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix were in a relationship for nearly a decade before their breakup following the news of Sandoval’s affair with VPR co-star Raquel Leviss. Since the news broke, cast members have been taking sides, as have fans. Sandoval himself has spoken sparingly about “Scandoval,” but when he has, he’s repeatedly placed blame on Madix and not on himself.
Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix were dating for nearly a decade
Tom Sandoval has been a part of Vanderpump Rules since its premiere in 2013. He was a main cast member, while Ariana Madix made cameos in the first two seasons. In season 3, she was promoted to main cast member.
The two confirmed their relationship at the season 2 reunion of Pump Rules in 2014. They remained together until March 2023 when the news of Scandoval hit the fan.
Tom Sandoval has repeatedly blamed Ariana Madix for their lack of intimacy
When it comes to his infidelity, Sandoval seems to have little to no self-awareness. In a mid-season preview in March 2023, after the news broke, fans were eager to see what clues signaling impending disaster they could pick up on.
In the preview clip, Sandoval appeared to claim that he and Madix had sex four times a year. It remains unclear if this scene was filmed before or after the affair came to light, but Sandoval seemingly blamed their lack of intimacy on her. He also tells Madix in another clip, “I wish we both would have tried harder.”
Sandoval doubled down on his feelings in a bombshell April 2023 interview with Howie Mandel on the comedian’s Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast.
“Like many relationships, it felt like it became more of like a best friends, family [thing] — sometimes roommates,” Sandoval admitted. “There were a lot of ways where the relationship was just lacking the intimacy, the connection. We would travel more by ourselves than we would together. I would go to weddings by myself.”
“I love Ariana. I still love Ariana and I care about her very much so, but we for a while had been sort of having our own lives,” the Bravo personality said. “We were together for nine years. We built a business and we had a house together, we were a brand.”
“I love Ariana. I still love Ariana and I care about her very much so, but we for a while had been sort of having our own lives,” he continued. “We were together for nine years. We built a business and we had a house together, we were a brand.”
Sandoval’s 40th birthday in July 2022 led the Tom Tom entrepreneur to reconsider his life and where it was at the moment. “As I turned 40, I started to look at my life and it looked very bleak,” he told the comedian. “I started to lose my optimism in life and my drive. I started to feel trapped. I started thinking like, ‘I don’t need this house, I don’t need this s***, but I feel like I need to make a change to feel motivated, to feel optimistic again.'”
The ‘Vanderpump Rules’ reunion will be one for the history books
The season 10 reunion of Vanderpump Rules was filmed in the weeks following the affair becoming public. The drama around Scandoval led to Raquel Leviss getting a temporary restraining order against one of her castmates, which led to a unique seating situation involving two separate seating charts to avoid having them on stage at the same time.
With Madix set to face Sandoval and Leviss, it’s sure to be an unforgettable affair (no pun intended) and a highlight of reality TV in recent memory.
