'Vanderpump Rules' star Ariana Madix gives update on new romance, where she and Tom Sandoval stand now

Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix has given an update on her new romance and where she and her ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval currently stand following their explosive breakup.


Ariana broke her silence about "Scandoval" -- Tom's shocking six-month affair with the pair's co-star and Ariana's former best friend Raquel Leviss -- in her first TV interview last week on NBC's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

"I feel good," Ariana told Andy Cohen of life after her split from Tom, which first made headlines in early March.

"I definitely feel as though my friends have put me in the best position to be able to heal and grow, and I'm honestly just looking forward, only forward, and I'm not looking back."

Ariana said on Watch What Happens Live's May 17 episode that she thought Tom's apology was "laughable," before sharing, "We do not interact on any level."


Ariana claimed she and Tom only communicate through a third party now -- in which they have "go betweens" using mutual friends -- and that her family "hates" him and he's "dead" to her brother.

Ariana thinks Tom is having a mid-life crisis and that he'll cheat again on a future girlfriend. And Ariana said of Raquel, "I don't know her, and none of my friends know her anymore."

Raquel had checked into a treatment facility in mid-April, shortly after Vanderpump Rules filmed its Season 10 reunion special, to check her mental health.

As for what's next for Ariana, the blonde reality TV star shared how she plans to "sell the house" she shares with Tom.

"I want my money out of that house... and to move on," she noted.


But in the meantime, Ariana is still living in that house and wants to "get out as quickly as possible."

Vanderpump Rules fans watched a heated confrontation between Ariana and Tom about his infidelity on the show's Season 10 finale on May 17 in which Ariana said she regretted ever loving him.

And viewers also witnessed Tom and Raquel -- who essentially gushed about their sex being life-altering -- say, "I love you," to each other.

When asked what it would take for her to forgive Tom and Raquel, Ariana bluntly announced, "That's not happening."

After all, Tom's affair with Raquel wasn't the first time he had hurt Ariana deeply.


But Ariana seemed happy during her first TV interview, and it appears she's moving on.

Ariana has been spotted, multiple times, packing on PDA with fitness coach Daniel Wai in the aftermath of her breakup with Tom. Ariana and Daniel apparently began seeing each other in mid-April.

While Ariana played coy about her love life on Watch What Happens Live, she teased to viewers, "I'll just say that I am very happy and very satisfied."

A source recently told Us Weekly that Ariana is "definitely open to seeing where things go" with Daniel but she "isn't totally ready to jump into a serious relationship."

Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent recently said of the potential new couple, "[Ariana's] like 'Heartbreak what? Like, I'm solid. I'm banging a fine-looking man.'"


Meanwhile, Tom told TMZ in late April that he was "really happy" to see Ariana doing well.

An insider source told Us on March 3 that Tom and Ariana had been "having problems for a while." The insider claimed the pair's relationship "only came to a breaking point" the day prior to their split on March 1.

But Tom claimed he officially broke up with Ariana on Valentine's Day in February.

Tom also shared on the April 11 episode of the "Howie Mandel Does Stuff" podcast how his romance with Raquel started with a kiss in August 2022 that felt "magnetic."

"I felt something that I hadn't felt in so long emotionally," Tom explained. "The feelings were something very, very strong."


Tom claimed that he had attempted to break up with Ariana once he realized he had strong feelings for Raquel.

"Like many relationships, it felt like it became more of like a best friends, family [thing] -- sometimes roommates," Tom continued.

"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."

Tom said he was seeing and FaceTiming with Raquel "as often" as he could," even though that "sounds horrible."

"And Ariana didn't even notice because that's just how separate our lives were," Tom claimed. "I had to actually tell her, 'How have you not noticed how distant I've been lately?'"

Vanderpump Rules' multi-part Season 10 reunion will kick off Wednesday, May 24 on Bravo.


Ariana joined the cast of Vanderpump Rules in November 2013, and then she and Tom announced they were officially dating during the Season 2 reunion that aired in February 2014.

Raquel began dating James Kennedy in 2016, and the pair got engaged in May 2021. However, the couple broke up in December of that year.

Raquel proceeded to go on dates with Peter Madrigal in Summer 2022 before hooking up with Schwartz, who had split from Katie during August of that year.







About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski