SUR-ving up the tea. Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix and Raquel Leviss’ drama has quickly become one of Bravo’s biggest scandals ever.
Us Weekly confirmed on March 3, 2023, that Sandoval and Ariana had broken up after nine years together after he cheated on her with Raquel. The news stunned Pump Rules fans and stars alike, particularly in the wake of Raquel’s brief romance with Tom Schwartz.
A source exclusively told Us that Sandoval’s infidelity was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to his and Ariana’s relationship problems. “They were having problems for a while,” the insider shared, adding that things “only came to a breaking point” the day before the pair’s split was announced.
Ariana joined the cast of Pump Rules in November 2013, and a few months later, she and Sandoval announced they were dating during the show’s season two reunion in February 2014. Despite their long-standing relationship, the restauranteur exclusively told Us in December 2018 that he and the model would “probably never” get engaged. Ariana echoed her boyfriend’s words during the interview, adding, “It’s not on the agenda for us.”
At the time, Sandoval noted that they were more focused on buying a home together, stating, “To me, we’d rather put our money in that investment than, to us, marriage or a wedding and all that, an expensive ring.”
The couple gave Us another relationship update at BravoCon in October 2022. “We’re great. We’re doing really good,” Sandoval shared, after which Ariana addressed false rumors of them calling it quits online.
“I look at all those blind items [online] and things like that. I’m into it, so I totally get it,” the Fancy AF Cocktails — which she cowrote with her now-ex — author told Us. “If you were to follow all of those things — I mean, we’ve been together for almost nine years — you would think we’ve broken up like times 50 times.”
In January 2023, Ariana also addressed rumors that she and the Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras frontman had an open relationship, as costar Scheana Shay informed Sandoval in the Pump Rules season 10 trailer that Katie Maloney was making false claims about them. “We don’t have an open relationship,” she tweeted at the time. “I’m really not that cool. Thought that was obvious.”
While Sandoval was previously dating former costar Kristen Doute before his relationship with Ariana, Raquel has been romantically tied to several of her Bravo castmates over the years. She began dating James Kennedy in 2016 and later got engaged in May 2021. However, the two called it quits in December of that year.
In the summer of 2022, she went on several dates with SUR manager Peter Madrigal before hooking up with Schwartz during Scheana and Brock Davies’ Mexico wedding weekend in August, months after he and Katie announced their split in March 2022.
“In the moment, there was momentary passion in the air,” Schwartz told Us in February 2023. “I kind of disappeared into that kiss, I’ll be honest. It was kind of a transformative moment. In terms of any long-term romance with me and Raquel, I don’t know how much chemistry is there.”
Later that month, Raquel mirrored her former fling’s words, telling Us that they have “more of a friendship” than a romantic relationship.
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Paige Strout
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