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Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix have called it quits after he was caught having an affair with his Vanderpump Rules castmate Raquel Leviss. This news has sent Bravo watchers reeling, especially since the affairs managed to escape cameras for so long.
In 2014, Sandoval and Madix confirmed their relationship during the season 2 reunion episode of Vanderpump Rules. The couple got together after Sandoval learned his former-best friend, Jax Taylor, was secretly hooking up with his then-girlfriend, Kristen Doute.
Sources told People that this affair is nothing new. “This has been going on for upwards of 6 months — all the while, Tom was sleeping next to Ariana in bed,” one source revealed to the outlet. “She was completely blindsided by this; devastated doesn’t even scratch the surface of how she feels.”
“This is someone she thought she knew; someone she planned to spend the rest of her life with. You can’t even put into words that betrayal,” the source adds.
So, what happened to send Vanderpump Rules fans into meltdown?
9 When Did The Raquel Leviss-Tom Sandoval Affair Start?
The affair between Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss allegedly began in the summer of 2022, according to sources who spoke to Page Six and People in March 2023.
In August of the same year, amid Tom Schwartz’s divorce from Katie Maloney, Raquel Leviss and Schwartz share a controversial kiss during Scheana Shay and Brock Davies’s wedding in Cancún, Mexico. Some people have speculated that the kiss may have been a cover-up for the affair with the headlines being dedicated to Raquel and Tom Schwartz.
Oh, my God. [Sandoval] made me do it,” Tom Schwartz told “ET Canada” in a newly resurfaced February interview at the Vanderpump Rules Season 10 premiere party.
“I didn’t want to do it,” he continued. “He’s like, ‘If you don’t do it, you’re a wussy.’ … He steamrolled me.”
8 What’s Up With Raquel Leviss And Tom Sandoval’s Matching Necklaces?
After news of the affair broke, fans notice that Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss have been wearing matching lightning bolt necklaces.
Some speculate that these necklaces may have been a way for the couple to express their love for each other. TMZ reports that the necklaces date back to October 2022.
7 When Did Ariana Madix And Tom Sandoval Break Up?
TMZ reported that Ariana Madix broke up with Tom Sandoval in early March after discovering the affair. Madix was watching Sandoval’s cover band perform on March 1 when she stumbled upon a sexually explicit video of Raquel Leviss on his phone.
“It’s true that they split and cameras are rolling,” a source told Page Six, while another added, “The majority of the cast is expected to gather and film tomorrow to share their reactions to Raquel and Sandoval’s affair. Mostly everyone is shook and completely heartbroken for Ariana.”
“They had been having problems for a while, but this was the final straw for Ariana,” an anonymous source told People. “She put up with a lot over the years, but she won’t sit back and be disrespected this way.”
6 How Did Ariana Madix Learn About The Tom-Raquel Affair?
According to People, Ariana Madix learned about the alleged affair “when a selfie video sexual in nature from Raquel Leviss popped up on his phone” on March 1. She allegedly “began scrolling and saw their history of inappropriate texts.”
“She was completely blindsided by this; devastated doesn’t even scratch the surface of how she feels,” the source revealed to the outlet. “This is someone she thought she knew, someone she planned to spend the rest of her life with. You can’t even put into words that betrayal.”
5 Why Is Raquel Leviss Suing Tom Sandoval?
It has now been revealed that Raquel Leviss is serving her castmate and alleged lover with a lawsuit. Her lawyer alleges that Tom Sandoval recorded an “intimate” FaceTime session with her without her consent.
In legal letters sent to the Vanderpump Rules star, his ex Ariana Madix and other members of the cast, the attorney warned them not to share the recording or risk breaking the law. It’s not revealed what the video was about.
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“We understand that sometime recently you and Ms. Leviss engaged in an intimate exchange on Facetime, which you recorded without the permission of Ms. Leviss,” the lawyer wrote to Tom. “California is what is called a ‘two party consent’ state, and accordingly such recording is illegal in California and can potentially expose you to both civil and criminal penalties.”
The lawyer continued, “On behalf of Ms. Leviss, we hereby demand that you delete the recording from your phone and from the cloud and from any other manner or method in which the recording may exist.”
4 Raquel Leviss Releases A Statement On Her Tom Sandoval Affair
After nearly a week of staying silent on the affair that Bravo fans can’t stop talking about,Raquel Leviss released an exclusive statement to Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
“I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships. There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana,” the statement opens with.
“I have begun counseling to end my unhealthy behavioral cycle, learn to set stronger emotional boundaries and learn to protect my mental health,” she wrote. “I don’t expect sympathy, understanding or forgiveness. Right now, I must focus on my own health and well-being and as I strive to be a better person moving forward, I will prioritize my mental health and learn from my mistakes.”
She did try to apologize and connect with Ariana before releasing a public apology. “Before publicly apologizing to Ariana, Raquel tried to get in touch with Ariana privately,” a source revealed. “Raquel first reached out on Friday, March 3, after the news of the affair broke. Ariana responded to Raquel but wasn’t ready to receive the apology. Raquel also tried to apologize Wednesday before publicly releasing her statement, but she didn’t hear back from Ariana.”
3 Has Tom Sandoval Apologized To Ariana Madix?
The day before, Tom Sandoval issued a public apology to Ariana Madix and to all he has “hurt through this process.” Reflecting on his nine-year relationship with Madix, Tom wrote that he has remorse about the way their romance ended.
“Most of all, I want to apologize to Ariana,” 39-year-old Sandoval wrote in a March 7 statement shared to Instagram. “I made mistakes, I was selfish, and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly.”
“My biggest regret is that I dishonored Ariana. I never meant to disappoint so many people, including our loving families and friends,” he wrote. “I wish things happened in a different order and our relationship was not severely tarnished, and that it ended with the same respect for her that it began with. I owed Ariana better.”
2 How Does The Vanderpump Rules Cast Feel About Tom And Raquel’s Affair?
Stassi Schroeder believes Leviss’ hookups with Schwartz and Saunders were part of a “cover-up” for her months-long affair with Sandoval, which we’re told “began last summer.”
Show alum and Tom Sandoval’s ex Kristen Doute claims Tom Schwartz, found out about his friend’s illicit romance “a month ago.”
1 What Does Lisa Vanderpump Have To Say About The Big Affair?
It wasn’t just fans of Vanderpump Rules who were shocked at the alleged affair.
The Los Angeles restaurateur, told Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen on Wednesday’s episode that she was “gobsmacked,” “flabbergasted” and had “literally no words” after learning of the secret relationship between the couple.
“I didn’t see it coming, nobody saw it coming,” she said. The 62-year-old also confirmed that she had seen Ariana Madix since the news broke and that she was “devastated,” and “[there were] a lot of tears.”
“Ariana was always that ride-or-die girlfriend,” she continued, before joking, “It seems like Raquel was the ‘ride’ girlfriend, she was the ‘die’ girlfriend.”
“I want to see true contrition,” she later added, asking the cast of the Bravo show to take advantage of the “difficult” upcoming reunion when they “all sit down and have a better understanding of why this happened, how this happened and when.”
The former housewife added: “I think they had a game plan, I think it was to get through the reunion, then to let the bomb drop and if there was another season, then have a few weeks, a few months to get used to it. But just by the longevity, I mean … I thought he was in love with Ariana.”
