Tom Sandoval feels Ariana Madix turned a “blind eye” to his budding romance with their friend and “Vanderpump Rules” co-star Raquel Leviss.
“She had heard things and seen things about Raquel but was very much turning a blind eye or just trusting me, I guess,” Sandoval, 40, claimed Tuesday on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast.
The Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras frontman repeatedly claimed that he and Madix, 37, had become “distant” during the final portion of their relationship.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Sandoval, who admitted that he and Leviss, 28, kissed for the first time in August 2022, said that he had suggested breaking up with Madix before the Something about Her sandwich shop co-founder discovered the affair in March.
“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],” he alleged.
“And [she said], ‘We’re selling the house and I’m deleting all social media and I’m moving away.’”
Despite Sandoval’s comments, Madix is actively moving forward with her plans to open Something about Her with Maloney, 36. She also did not quit “Pump Rules” and recently attended the Season 10 reunion taping wearing a red-hot revenge dress.
She did, however, take a break from social media after the scandal made headlines on March 3 — but resumed posting nearly two weeks later to thank her loved ones and the public for their support.
“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 wrote via Instagram on March 16.
As for the home she shares with Sandoval in Los Angeles’ Valley Village enclave, Madix continues to cohabitate with her ex.
Follow Pvnew’s coverage of ‘Scandoval‘
- Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss, Ariana Madix drama, explained
- How Ariana Madix found out about Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss’ affair
- Ariana Madix rips ‘subhuman’ Raquel, ‘rat’ Sandoval in ‘Pump Rules’ reunion trailer
Madix dumped Sandoval once she found out he and Leviss had been “communicating inappropriately for months,” Pvnew reported last month.
A source told us at the time that Madix was “blindsided” by Sandoval, whom she had been dating since 2013.
Additionally, Leviss and Madix had grown close over the past year, leaving the latter feeling “betrayed by her friend,” an insider shared at the time.
The “Dead Want Women” actress “found out” about the pair’s “full-on affair” on March 1 while attending Sandoval’s cover band’s show, where he gushed about “respecting” his now-ex-girlfriend.
“Vanderpump Rules” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
