How ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Ariana Madix Discovered Tom Sandoval And Raquel Leviss’ Affair
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News of Ariana Madix’s split from Tom Sandoval amid allegations that the reality star was cheating on her rocked the “Vanderpump Rules” fandom over the weekend. Now, new details and claims are emerging about just how long the affair may have been going on, and how Madix learned about the dalliance.
Sandoval and Madix had been together since 2013, when she first joined the show. However, news broke on Friday that Madix had left Sandoval when she discovered he’d been sleeping with “Vanderpump Rules” co-star Raquel Leviss. Fans of the hit Bravo show will remember Leviss also once hooked up with Sandoval’s best friend and business partner, Tom Schwartz.
Multiple sources have come forward to numerous outlets claiming that the affair between Sandoval and Leviss has been going on for at least several months.
“This has been going on for upwards of 6 months,” a source claimed to People. “All the while, Tom was sleeping next to Ariana in bed.”
The source told the outlet that Madix was “blindsided” by the cheating, and that “devastated doesn’t even scratch the surface of how she feels.”
A source Page Six described as “an insider” told the outlet that Leviss “has slept over at Tom and Ariana’s house when Ariana’s been out of town,” and that the affair began “last summer.”
Sandoval and Madix have had issues for some time, a source recently told ET, and had been trying to work them out. The source said there had been “too many instances where Ariana felt like Tom disrespected her and she finally ended things. The friend group hopes the two can work things out but she’s telling friends it’s over.”
People reports that Madix learned of Sandoval and Leviss’ affair on Wednesday, when she came out to support his band — Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras — at a show. According to the report, a sexual selfie video popped up on Sandoval’s phone, which Madix saw. She subsequently scrolled through past texts and saw a long string of inappropriate messages.
Also on Wednesday night, Leviss made an appearance on Watch What Happens Live! alongside “Vanderpump Rules” co-star Scheana Shay. She addressed her controversial kiss with Schwartz, telling Cohen, “I’m just trying to live my life and I’m sorry if that offends people but it’s not going to stop me from doing what I’m going to do.”
A different source told People that, after the taping, Leviss admitted to her ongoing affair with Sandoval while speaking with Shay, who “was furious” about the confession.
On Saturday, Sandoval finally publicly addressed the news of their split and the cheating allegations in a lengthy Instagram post.
“Hey, I fully understand and deserve ur anger and disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz my friends and family out of this situation,” he wrote, seemingly confirming the cheating allegations. “Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions. This was a very personal thing.”
The 39-year-old reality star also urged fans to leave his bar, Schwartz and Sandy’s out of it, and stressed that his business partners and employees have done “nothing wrong.”
The posts come after on Friday night, Sandoval was showered with a chorus of “cheater!” chants when his band — Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras — hit the stage to perform at City National Grove in Anaheim, California.
According to an Instagram Live session that was later re-shared on social media, Sandoval had just finished performing a song when a group started chanting “Cheater! Cheater!”
Sandoval, wearing black shimmery pants and a black muscle shirt, seemed unphased at first, but then another person in the crowd shouted, “Ariana!” and that really got his attention, as he immediately responded with, “We love her.”
According to Us Weekly, Sandoval seemingly addressed the breakup, when he took the mic and asked the crowd, “Have you ever been one of the most hated people in America?”
Madix and Shay, meanwhile, hit up the famed Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles for a Tove Lo concert. Shay took to her Instagram Story and posted video of the outing and she added the text “We rally” to the video.
A source close to production confirmed to ET on Friday that cameras are back up and rolling as the drama plays out, with plans to include the fallout of the breakup in season 10, which is currently airing on Bravo.
A source told ET over the weekend, “Some cast members had suspicions that something went down with Sandoval and Raquel while filming, and are considering the split [as] confirmation.”
“Another source told ET, “Tom and Raquel’s incident has created a major split in the group with almost everyone against Tom and Raquel. The group feels like Tom has been going through some sort of midlife crisis, with the creation of his band and acting out at times. The girls are rallying around Ariana, but know in time she’ll be OK.”
For more on the ongoing drama, check out the stories below.
MORE FROM ET:
Tom Sandoval Speaks Out About Ariana Madix Split Amid Cheating Claims
Tom Sandoval Showered With ‘Cheater’ Chants After Ariana Madix Split
‘Vanderpump Rules’ Stars Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval Call It Quits
‘Vanderpump Rules’: Jax and Brittany on Quarantine Life and Drama With Tom Sandoval (Exclusive)
