How on earth did Tom Sandoval think saying this would improve public opinion? In fact, the entire interview on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast seemed to have backfired. There is talk among Bravo executives about potentially firing him. Not only that but Sandoval has been called out for his questionable statements.
Like this gem, as reported by Page Six, about Ariana Madix turning a “blind eye” to his affair with Raquel Leviss. It sounds like Sandoval is trying to shift the blame. Vanderpump Rules co-star Lala Kent quickly called him out on it.
“She had heard things and seen things about Raquel but was very much turning a blind eye or just trusting me, I guess,” Sandoval claimed about Ariana’s supposed complacency. The Schwartz & Sandy’s co-owner then explained how “distant” he and Ariana had become. Sandoval said, “I was seeing Raquel as often as I could — which I know that sounds horrible — and FaceTiming her all the time and, like, Ariana didn’t even notice because that’s just how separate our lives were.”
There’s no good reason to be saying any of this. It’s not an excuse for cheating. It hasn’t garnered any sympathy for Sandoval either.
But he continued, “I had to actually tell her, ‘Have you not noticed how distant I’ve been lately?’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, you have?’ … She didn’t even notice because that’s just how our relationship was. We had separate lives.”
Raquel and Sandoval’s affair goes way back to August 2022. His bestie, Tom Schwartz, confirmed that the pair had a “one-night stand” at that point. And Sandoval said he broached the topic of breaking up with Ariana prior to her finding out about the affair.
Sandoval claimed, “When I said hypothetically, ‘If we broke up,’ she basically was like, you know, ‘Definitely not going to the reunion, quitting the show, f—k the sandwich shop’ — which she’s supposed to open up with Katie [Maloney].”
Ariana reacted dramatically, he alleged. Sandoval continued, “And [she said], ‘We’re selling the house and I’m deleting all social media and I’m moving away.’” His claims have not come to fruition. Ariana is living her best life. And in case you didn’t know, she dressed in a dynamite red revenge dress for the reunion taping. She and Katie are sticking to their business plan of opening the sandwich shop they named Something About Her.
Ariana did quit social media after she found a sexually explicit video of Raquel on Sandoval’s phone. When she did return to social media, it was to thank the public for the support she received.
“I want to express my most sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support i have received from friends, family, and people i’ve never even met in the last two weeks,” she posted to Instagram.
Sandoval and Ariana will sell their home in Los Angeles’ Valley Village. They have yet to put it on the market. Instead, they are living together and communicating through a mediator.
Ariana told an insider about feeling “betrayed by her friend.” She and Raquel became close even as the former beauty pageant contestant started sleeping with her boyfriend of almost a decade.
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT TOM’S INTERVIEW? DOES IT MATTER THAT ARIANA “TURNED A BLIND EYE?” IS CHEATING EVER JUSTIFIED?
[Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo]
