Vanderpump Rules: A Timeline of the Tom Sandoval–Ariana Madix–Raquel Leviss Cheating Scandal

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Back in March 2023, news that Vanderpump Rules cast member Tom Sandoval cheated on Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss shook the Bravo community to its core.

On the third of the month, TMZ reported that Madix, then 37, discovered her partner of nine years had been having an affair with their costar Leviss, then 28. The headlines spiraled from there as sources claimed Leviss and Sandoval, then 39, had been going behind the reality star’s back for at least six months—perhaps even before Leviss’s controversial kiss with Katie Maloney’s ex, Tom Schwartz, in August 2022.

From fans boycotting Sandoval’s new bar to Vanderpump Rules cast members sharing their reactions on social media, everyone has remained strictly Team Madix. “Hope you all feel as sick as I do,” Leviss’s ex-fiancé, James Kennedy, responded on Instagram at the time. “This explains everything.”

According to People, Lala Kent replied to Kennedy’s post, “I’ve been telling y’all! Everyone said I was a ‘bully.’ It’s called YOU TRIGGER ME AND I SEE YOU FOR WHO YOU ARE! I’ve known these two are disgusting from the jump.”

But how did this all go down? Here’s a complete timeline of the Tom Sandoval–Ariana Madix–Raquel Leviss cheating scandal.

February 10, 2014: Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix confirm their relationship during the season-two reunion before going Instagram-official. At this point, Sandoval has been a member of the Vanderpump Rules cast since the very beginning, while Madix joined the show in season two.

[While Sandoval’s Instagram post is still up, Madix’s has since been deleted.]

January 28, 2019: Madix says Sandoval “betrayed my trust” by telling his friends about a sexual experience between Madix and Kent in season seven. “I’m not embarrassed or ashamed of what happened between Lala and I, but I do feel like Tom betrayed my trust by telling this story to his guy friends,” she says in a confessional, per People. “My sexuality is not something that is meant to sound cool to a bunch of dudes.”

“When you talk about anyone’s sexuality without their consent, it’s, like, really not okay,” she tells him directly.

October 26, 2021: Madix reiterates her feelings about marriage. “I think the big thing for me is that I’m not really into the whole fanfare of it,” she says on Watch What Happens Live. “It’s really more about the two people. So if it was just about us, you know, I honestly think I would be more open to it. I just don’t want it to be like a big thing about having a giant wedding and a bachelorette party and all that bullshit.”

November 16, 2021: During an episode of Vanderpump Rules, Madix reveals she froze her eggs. “This does not mean that I’m jumping on the baby train,” she says, per People. “It’s about having agency over my own body and my own future. It’s also kind of a nice, fun ‘fuck you’ to anybody who questions my values or my choices.”

December 5, 2021: Raquel Leviss and James Kennedy call off their engagement around seven months after his May proposal. “After these 5 wonderful years we had together, we decided we have two different goals and made the decision to call off the engagement,” Leviss and Kennedy wrote in a statement. “We love each other very much, but we aren’t in love anymore. We want nothing but the best for each other so please keep any thoughts positive. Sending Love.”

Summer 2022: The affair between Sandoval and Leviss allegedly begins, according to sources who spoke to Page Six and People in March 2023. According to a clip released in May 2023, the beginning of their relationship was “right after the girls’ trip” and “right after Charlotte died.” The dog passed away on August 2, 2022.

August 26, 2022: Amid Tom Schwartz’s divorce from Katie Maloney, Leviss and Schwartz share a controversial kiss during Scheana Shay and Brock Davies’s wedding in Cancún, Mexico.

Later, some fans speculate that the kiss was actually a cover-up for Sandoval and Leviss’s affair.

In a VPR deleted scene released in April 2023, Madix joked that she, Sandoval, and Leviss looked like a “throuple” while taking a series of hot tub photos together. “It looks like we’re a throuple,” she said while looking at the pics. “It looks like we’re in a throuple on a romantic vacay.”

Leviss added, “These photos better never surface.”

August 2022 (Part II): According to Schwartz, who spoke on Watch What Happens Live on April 5, 2023, Sandoval confesses to having had a “one-night stand” with Leviss in August. “I learned in late August about the affair, the one-night stand,” Schwartz says but denied that he had been acting as a decoy for the couple. “And then it became, from my point of view, like an emotional affair—which is still inappropriate.”

October 2022: After news of the affair breaks in March 2023, fans speculate that Sandoval and Leviss have been wearing matching lightning-bolt necklaces to express their love for each other. TMZ reports that the necklaces date back to October 2022.

January 9, 2023: Madix denies rumors that she and Sandoval have an open relationship. “We don’t have an open relationship. I’m really not that cool. Thought that was obvious,” Madix tweets, per People. “Bisexual ≠ polyamorous.” [The tweet has since been deleted.]

January 2023 (Part II): In his April 5 WWHL appearance, Schwartz said that he was told about the full-fledged affair in January, at which point it had become something of an "open secret."

“[Sandoval] came to me in January and he told me.…” Schwartz said, lowering his voice to a barely audible stage whisper, “that he's in love with Raquel.” Schwartz said he was “flabbergasted but not surprised,” because he thinks there are a lot of people out there who “kinda know it was an open secret.” According to Schwartz, at least, after his January confession, Sandoval got “flagrant” and “brazen” about the illicit relationship. He added, for the record, that he had been told that Sandoval and Madix were either already broken up or that a breakup was imminent.

January 2023 (Part III): Schwartz may not be the only person who knows the truth.… In April 2023, TMZ reports that Sandoval's mom Terri Green knew about the affair in January and even met Leviss. According to TMZ, Green “wasn’t cool with their situation.”

March 1, 2023: Sandoval is asked by Page Six for the secret behind the “most stable relationship in Vanderpump Rules history.”

“We definitely have our ups and downs for sure,” Sandoval says of his relationship with Madix. “I think we’ve been really good about respecting each other and having each other’s backs in a reasonable way.”

In the evening Madix and Sandoval are reportedly spotted kissing at a gig for his band, Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras. “She was supporting his new single,” a source later tells People. “She had no idea any of this was happening behind her back.”

This is reportedly the night Madix discovers the alleged affair. It’s also the night Leviss comes clean to Schaena Shay after their taping of Watch What Happens Live. More on all of that in a minute.

March 2, 2023: Page Six posts a clip of Leviss discussing a text thread she has with Schwartz and Sandoval.

Leviss also tells Page Six she’s “dating herself” during the interview for their Virtual Reali-Tea podcast. “[I’m] not opposed to dating, but I’m not on, like, dating apps or anything,” she says. “I just, I don’t know, but I’m kind of, like, dating myself and I enjoy being single and I feel like being single has allowed me to really reflect on myself and spend quality time on myself and I feel like that was much needed for me to grow into.”

March 3, 2023: TMZ reports that Madix broke up with Sandoval earlier in the week after discovering an alleged affair with Leviss. “It’s true that they split and cameras are rolling,” a source tells Page Six, while another adds, “The majority of the cast is expected to gather and film tomorrow to share their reactions to Leviss 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,” a source tells People. “She put up with a lot over the years, but she won't sit back and be disrespected this way.”

According to People, Madix learns about the alleged affair “when a selfie video sexual in nature from Leviss popped up on his phone” on March 1. She reportedly “began scrolling and saw their history of inappropriate texts.” A source claims the affair has been going on for “upwards of six months.”

“She was completely blindsided by this; devastated doesn’t even scratch the surface of how she feels,” the source says. “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.”

After the news breaks, Sandoval is photographed packing his bags into a car outside their home. Later in the evening he seemingly responds to the scandal during a concert at City National Grove in Anaheim, California. “Have you ever been one of the most hated people in America?” he asks the audience, per Us Weekly.

Meanwhile, Madix spends time with Sandoval’s ex Kristen Doute. Doute and Sandoval dated from 2007 to 2013. In 2020, Doute and Stassi Schroeder were fired from Vanderpump Rules following racist actions against costar Faith Stowers.

“I stan Ariana. This is in real time,” Doute says in the Instagram video on March 3 while hugging Madix. “I love you so much.”

The pair share a kiss before Madix says, “I love you.”

Doute continues, “I love you more than anything in the whole wide world, and I’ll kill people for you.”

March 4, 2023: Lala Kent cuts the price of her makeup collab with Leviss by more than half. Give Them Lala’s Bambi Eyed B*tch Pallett, which dropped last year for $42, is now priced at $20. “Everything must go,” Kent captions an Instagram story of the sale, per People.

Sandoval, meanwhile, shares an Instagram statement that was mostly devoted to defending his best friend and business partner, Tom Schwartz, whom he says found out about the situation only “very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions.”

“I fully understand and deserve ur anger and disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz my friends and family out of this situation,” he writes. “This was a very personal thing.”

In the statement, Sandoval says he’s “so sorry” for how this will effect his business partners and employees but does not address Madix. “I need some time to address everything else,” he writes. “Sorry for everything.”

March 6, 2023: Page Six reports that Madix felt “gaslit” by Sandoval during a taped confrontation about the affair. “He gave her several excuses as to why he never copped to cheating,” a source says of the conversation. “Tom said he didn’t tell her about the affair with Raquel because he was worried about how it would impact her mental health, even claiming that he was especially concerned after her grandma died last year.”

Another source adds, “The fact that they own a home together was also brought up, and how he thought that would make their breakup even more complicated.”

His excuses allegedly did little to sway fellow Vanderpump cast members to his side. According to a source, Madix’s friends and castmates are “disappointed Tom seems unable to take accountability for his actions or express substantial remorse.”

March 7, 2023: Regarding the intimate video found on Sandoval’s phone, TMZ reports that several Vanderpump Rules cast members received a letter from Leviss’s lawyers on March 6. The explicit video, captured during a FaceTime session between Leviss and Sandoval, was the smoking gun that revealed the affair when Madix reportedly discovered it on her ex-partner’s phone, as well as several months’ worth of sexts.

Leviss’s attorneys warned in their letter that the video was recorded “illegally without Raquel’s knowledge or consent” and noted a California law that prohibits “nonconsensual pornography,” otherwise known as revenge porn. The letter reportedly warns that sharing the video would potentially violate this revenge porn law and orders anyone in possession of it to immediately delete it. The letter does not accuse Sandoval of illegally recording or sharing the FaceTime video, but as he and Leviss were the only two people on the FaceTime call, this would seem to be the implication.

March 7, 2023 (Part II): Leviss files for a temporary restraining order against Vanderpump Rules castmate and former friend Scheana Shay, per Page Six. This comes after a reported “heated confrontation” between the two after Leviss came clean to Shay about the affair with Sandoval following their Watch What Happens Live appearance. Shay has been publicly supportive of Madix ever since.

March 7, 2023 (Part III): In a statement shared on Instagram, Sandoval apologizes for his actions and to Madix directly. “I am beyond sad that it ended the way it did,” he writes. “The choices I made hurt so many people. I acted in a way that clashes with who and how I want to be. I will continue to reflect and work on myself. I have work to do. I always have, and I always will.”

Read the full statement here:

March 8, 2023: Leviss breaks her silence with an exclusive statement sent to Entertainment Tonight. “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,” she writes. “There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana.”

“I don't expect sympathy, understanding, or forgiveness,” she adds. “I will prioritize my mental health and learn from my mistakes.” See the statement in full on ET’s Instagram below:

On March 8, TMZ also published photos of Leviss’s black eye, which she allegedly received from Shay. According to the publication, the legal documents claim Shay punched Leviss in her left eye.

During her own appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Lisa Vanderpump says she believes Shay “slapped her around the chops” because of her feelings for Madix. “But you know what, her feelings would be running really high because Ariana was her best friend for like 12 years,” Vanderpump says. “You forget it’s not just the show. They were together working four or five years before the show. They grew up together. She very much kind of has Ariana’s back.”

March 11, 2023: Schwartz denies kissing Leviss to cover up her affair with Sandoval. “That’s not true. Unless I was a pawn in the game,” he told TMZ at the airport. He also commented on how his business partner is fairing right now. “[Sandoval’s] okay, I think. Relatively speaking, I mean, he has a sense of profound sadness, rightfully so, that he’s a piece of shit. And to some extent, maybe he is,” Schwartz says. “But he knows he fucked up, and the whole thing is just really sad.”

He continues, “Luckily, Ariana has a really good support system, and she’s with her friends. I hope she’s living a good life, just indulging. Hope she goes on a living spree. I’m just hoping this whole thing blows over.” Schwartz doesn’t say how long he knew about the affair: “You’ll see it play out on the show.” He adds: “Just sad about the negative impact it’s having on our business.”

March 13, 2023: People publishes photos of Madix celebrating a friend’s wedding in Mexico. The reality star is all smiles. (This is reportedly where she meets her new boyfriend Daniel Wai.)

March 16, 2023: Ariana Madix makes her first official statement on Instagram.

March 20, 2023: Madix tells Sandoval she wants him to “die” in the midseason trailer for Vanderpump Rules.

March 22, 2023: Lifetime announces that Madix will star in the network’s upcoming movie Buying Back My Daughter. Meanwhile, Leviss gives her first Scandoval interview to TMZ outside a nail salon in Valley Village, California. “I apologized to [Ariana] over text, but she didn’t receive it very well,” she says, in part. She also says that she and Sandoval are on a “break.”

Madix’s response? “I don’t pay attention to any of that,” she tells paparazzi when asked about Leviss’s interview, per Page Six.

March 23, 2023: During the season-10 reunion taping, Leviss and Shay film separately due to the restraining order. Later, Leviss “likes” a video of her speaking with Sandoval on set, which was posted on the fan account @pumprules. Madix arrives at the reunion taping wearing a bright yellow sweatsuit with the words “1-800-BOYS-LIE” on it. The hoodie is now sold out.

In the evening Dayna Kathan shares an Instagram story of Madix and friends booing a news clip of Sandoval and Leviss at a bar. In the video, Madix boos loudly while giving a thumbs-down, while others point their middle fingers and shout, “Fuck you.”

Meanwhile, Sandoval and Leviss go out for dinner together after the taping, according to photos published by TMZ on March 25. While they reportedly “didn’t engage in any PDA,” the pair are seated very close together and are not joined by any other members of the cast, per TMZ.

March 24, 2023: Leviss drops her restraining order against Shay a day after filming. “My team tried to work with Scheana on a mutually beneficial agreement hoping to get the TRO dropped earlier so we could film [the Vanderpump Rules reunion] together,” Leviss says in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “The TRO was intended to provide a cooling-off period after I was punched but I didn’t want to continue with the permanent RO nor did I want to cause Scheana further agony and stress.”

“I don’t know what they do,” Madix says when asked about the new Scando-couple. “At this point, I don’t care about anything that either of them does.”

March 27, 2023: Sandoval mirrors his perhaps star-crossed lover Leviss by giving a TMZ interview outside a Los Angeles strip mall. He doesn’t say much, though—mostly just different versions of “no comment.” And while he regrets the way the scandal played out, he adds, “Hindsight’s always 20/20, man.”

March 28, 2023: Madix launches revenge merch. “Hey guys! I’m on set so I have to be quiet, and I can’t talk long. But I really wanted to share something exciting with you. If you go to this link, something cool is there. Okay, I love you guys,” she says. The link brings you to a merch store with products inspired by iconic lines she’s said on Vanderpump Rules including “born fucking cool” and “bad bitches only.”

March 29, 2023: Leviss is photographed leaving Sandoval’s home with multiple bags while Madix is out of town. The photos spark sleepover rumors, but a rep for Sandoval tells E! News that Madix “did not stay the night.” The rep claims Leviss was “out shopping in the area” and just “stopped to say hi and bye to Tom” for about 20 minutes.

March 30, 2023: After the photo of Leviss leaving Sandoval’s house with the Béis Weekender Bag goes viral, the luggage company owned by Shay Mitchell goes on defense. “PSA: This is not a sponsored post,” the brand’s Instagram account posts above the image. The caption reads: “We provide the bag, not the baggage.”

April 3, 2023: Bravo shares a glimpse of the upcoming Vanderpump Rules reunion on Instagram—and Madix is dressed to kill in the ultimate revenge dress.

April 9, 2023: Madix is rumored to be joining the cast of Dancing With the Stars in September. “ABC is in late-stage conversations with [Madix] to be a contestant to join DWTS this fall,” a source tells Page Six. The source also claims that Madix “has already received all of the approvals and sign-offs” from Bravo’s parent company, NBC Universal.

April 11, 2023: Cue Ross Gellar screaming, “We were on a break!” Sandoval goes on Howie Mandel’s podcast to address the status of his relationship with Leviss, saying, “We’re not putting any label on it,” and “We’re just kind of taking a break.” He clarifies that they are friends but not with benefits, i.e., they’re not bangin’, per Page Six.

Later the same day, the doyen of reality TV inserts himself into the narrative. After the Mandel-Sandoval interview drops, Andy Cohen brings it up on April 11’s Watch What Happens Live, expressing his disappointment in Mandel for not knowing enough about his guests before talking to them. “Howie, you have to be careful before you take a side. Bravo fans are very passionate,” Cohen warns, noting that the former Deal or No Deal host didn’t seem to know who Scheana Shay was. And he’s not the only one who thought the interview didn’t go well. Vanderpump costar Lala Kent calls it “fucking weird” on her Instagram Stories, and behind-the-scenes sources say the Vanderpump producers were blindsided by Sandoval’s decision to talk to Mandel since they want all drama saved for the reunion.

April 14, 2023: A rep for Leviss confirms the reality star has checked in to a mental health facility, per Page Six and Entertainment Tonight. “Raquel and her family decided months before the relationship was discovered that she needed mental health treatment and ultimately decided she would enter a voluntary facility for mental health counseling,” the rep tells the outlets.

According to the rep, Leviss postponed her original treatment plan to film the season-10 reunion after everything went down. “She was scheduled to go in prereunion but decided she wanted to finish her filming commitment,” the rep continues. “Bravo and production were aware and in support of her journey toward better mental health.”

Also April 14, 2023: Madix says she’s feeling “amazing” and agrees that she’s “thriving” in a Coachella TikTok video post by Farai Bennett.

April 16, 2023: Madix bounces back better than ever at Coachella, locking lips with personal trainer Daniel Wai. The steamy makeout happened during Bad Bunny’s set, and the two were all over each other. Wai also posted a couple of photos with the reality star on his Instagram Stories and they seemed smitten.

April 18, 2023: Madix is photographed kissing the personal trainer while dropping him off at LAX airport. Meanwhile, Sandoval tells TMZ how he feels about Madix’s Coachella hookup: “I love that.”

Otherwise, Madix has the last laugh—literally. Comedian Hanna Dickinson sat down with Madix for a sort-of interview in which Dickinson cracked joke after joke about the Scandoval situation.

The interview dives right into jokes about the ongoing drama. “Which do you think is worse: Lori Loughlin paying for her kids to get into USC or a fellow cast member fucking your boyfriend of nine years?” Oop. “Next,” Madix directed. Dickinson compared herself to Madix for the entire video duration, even commenting on how they both “date the worst guys.” Though the interview is pure comedy, truth bombs were definitely dropped.

April 19, 2023: The newly aired VPR episode sheds some more light on the situation. Sometime between the wedding and the Scandoval of March 2023, Ally Lewber tells boyfriend James Kennedy that she saw Sandoval and Leviss dancing at The Abbey in West Hollywood. “I thought it was kind of weird,” Lewber told Kennedy, per People. “It was like 1 a.m., and we were like, ‘Where’s Ariana?’”

Maloney also brought it up during an argument with Sandoval about Leviss. “You get a lot of joy out of Raquel as well, I think,” she said, adding, “You go to The Abbey together at one o’clock in the morning.”

His response, per People: “Dude, what the fuck are you saying, dude? Get the fuck out of here, man.”

April 26, 2023: During another new VPR episode, we learn Sandoval blatantly denied hooking up with Leviss after being confronted by the cast (including Madix) about their night at The Abbey. “At the fucking Abbey? We know everybody there,” he said, per Page Six. “It’s not a place where I would take a secret fucking rendezvous.”

"Nothing has happened between Raquel and I,” Sandoval later told a producer. “Like, nothing that wouldn’t happen between, you know, like, me and Katie [Maloney].”

During her own confessional, Maloney called Sandoval “very manipulative,” and also said, “If Tom and Ariana do have an open relationship, Ariana knows nothing about it.”

In a preview for the next episode, it’s revealed that Lisa Vanderpump once confronted Leviss over a sleepover at Sandoval’s home, which took place while Madix was away. “I overslept. I stayed up late. I went back to Tom’s place, and we went in the jacuzzi with Schwartz,” Leviss once told Vanderpump after arriving an hour and a half late to work.

Though Leviss told her boss that “nothing happened,” Vanderpump replied, “It doesn’t matter if anything happened—it’s just the fact that you were there.” Vanderpump then FaceTimed Sandoval, who tried to claim Leviss “dipped out” early before admitting that she stayed the night.

When asked point blank if Leviss stayed over, he replied, “Yes, but like, dude, like, I have people crash at my house.”

April 29, 2023: Madix attends the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with Lisa Vanderpump and Lala Kent as host Roy Wood Jr. takes a swipe at Sandoval.

May 2, 2023: Bravo posts a dramatic Vanderpump Rules finale trailer after a slightly altered version leaked online.

May 3, 2023: Doute claims that Leviss wasn't the only woman Sandoval cheated on Madix with. Read more details here.

May 4, 2023: It seems Madix has well and truly moved on as the reality star is photographed kissing her Coachella hookup Daniel Wai in New York City.

May 16, 2023: In the lead-up to the VPR finale, more clips are released. In a frank conversation, Madix recalls how she found out about the affair and confronted Leviss. She reveals that Leviss and Sandoval had sex in Madix's car shortly after her dog Charlotte passed away on August 2, 2022.

May 16, 2023 (Part II): Sandoval reportedly spends time with a “mystery woman” in Austin, Texas.

May 17, 2023: Buckle up for finale day. But first, Page Six reports that Sandoval and Leviss have split. “Raquel dipped out. Sandoval is not the one for her,” the source said. Meanwhile, a source told People there was no breakup "because they were never a couple.”

May 17, 2023 (Part II): Now let's break down that finale. "I regret every moment that I stood up for you, defended you, supported you," Ariana told Sandoval. “You're worth nothing and I want you to feel that deep in your soul. I want you to hear those words coming from the mouth of the woman who fucking stood by you and loved you and was ready to build the rest of my life around you.”

Basically, Sandoval sobbed and apologized to everyone except Ariana, including Schwartz, Lisa Vanderpump, and Shay. "Me and Raquel had every intention of telling Ariana before the reunion," he promised. “There's no way we could feel like a human being, either one of us, to have Ariana defending Raquel and me.” During a confessional, Vanderpump said she is “not going to turn my back” on Sandoval.

Sandoval also went over to Leviss' place, where they both said “I love you” on camera. Leviss wondered if Sandoval would ever turn around and cheat on her, which he assured her wouldn't happen. “I can't predict the future. Maybe things will work out with Raquel and I, maybe they won't,” he later said in a confessional. "But, when I kissed Raquel I felt hope, I felt like, 'Wait a minute, you're not washed up. Your best days aren't behind you, maybe they're just beginning.'"

It wasn't all heart-eyes and smiles for Leviss, though her screentime was minimal. At one point, James Kennedy confronted Leviss over the phone with Maloney and Kent listening in. "You lied to everyone's face," James said. "All the people you were building friendships with, you've literally just trashed it for Sandoval's little cocky cock? His stinky, 40-year-old cock? Seriously, Raquel? You're not the brightest chick."

Meanwhile, Maloney confronted Schwartz, who admitted to knowing since the summer of 2022. "I knew about the one-night stand, OK? It was fucked up," he said, adding, "He's tried to communicate this to Ariana multiple times, he tried to break up with her and it just didn't work out." Maloney didn't buy the excuses and told Schwartz, "By being associated with him, you're going to lose a lot of friends."

This proved true when Schwartz attempted to apologize to Madix in person and she told him she wouldn't associate with anyone who is friends with Sandoval. "I will not have mutual friends with him," she said, “so I am not your friend anymore.” Remember, she was one of his groomsmen.

During one last conversation with Schaena, Sandoval admitted to cheating on Ariana with one more person other than Miami Girl and Raquel, though he didn't share their identity.

May 17, 2023 (Part III): Ariana Madix wears a “slutty funeral dress” for her appearance on Watch What Happens Live. Madix says she and Sandoval still live in their home together but have no contact and she intends to sell the house.

Madix also took one last opportunity to address Tom Sandoval directly. During the finale, Sandoval told Schwartz that Ariana could've followed him to discover his affair. “I had the password to his iPad,” she tells Andy Cohen before looking into the camera to speak to Sandoval. “So I did look at your location and you were at Schwartz's,” she said, implying he was carrying on his affair at his friend’s home. Madix says she believes Schwartz not only helped cover up Sandoval's affair but “was actively participating in my downfall.”

She also admitted to knowing the truth about Sandoval's hookup with Miami Girl. “They slept together, it was before he and I were exclusive,” she said. “I didn’t want people to think the worst about the man I was planning to spend the rest of my life with.”

When it comes to the third woman Sandoval cheated with, Madix says she has a theory, but it has not been confirmed. When asked about her own new relationship, Madix says she's “very happy and very satisfied.” When leaving the taping, she's photographed smiling as Wai carries her bags.

Life After Scandoval

Karma's a relaxing thought.

May 17, 2023 (Part IV): Executive producer Alex Baskin reveals that VPR has not sent out any contracts to cast members and has paused production in the wake of the reunion. “I had thought that we needed cameras on them right away,” Baskin tells Variety. “And I now think we need a minute.”

According to Baskin, “new information” about Scandoval was revealed during one-on-one interviews with Cohen that the entire cast needs to watch before deciding whether or not to come back. “The reunion is not just a recap of what you know, and it’s not just an intense version of the emotions,” he said. “I will put it this way: There are revelations, and they are revelations that not all of them know now. So we need a little space.”

May 18, 2023: Ariana Madix is spotted on a double date with Daniel Wai, Schaena Shay, and Brock Davies. According to a source who spoke with Page Six, Madix and Wai were “making out” and the group toasted to “new beginnings and good times in New York City.”

May 21, 2023: Paps catch former Vanderpump star Billie Lee walking Ariana's dog, and fans and tabloids alike point out that Lee seemingly supported Tom when the scandal was breaking, per Us Weekly. This prompts Ariana to comment on a Daily Mail story that described the dog as belonging to Tom, posting on social media, “Billie helping out when I am out of the state for work is a nice thing to do, but Mya is my dog and that article should correct itself. ❤️.”

May 22, 2023: After taking the weekend off, the gossip machine came back in full force to update the masses. Page Six reports that Sandoval is dating influencer Karlee Hale, while Us Weekly catches Madix moving her things out of the house she shared with Tom.

May 23, 2023: Not so fast! Sandoval's rep says that the star and Hale are “just friends,” while Madix's big move is revealed to be a spon-con photo op for personal finance company SoFi. She also opened up to People about learning to trust again, all the while promoting some razors. Get that bread, Ariana.

May 24, 2023: Part one of the reunion breaks the internet. Filmed in March, the sit-down with the main cast, hosted by Andy Cohen, is a lot of yelling, and Raquel watches from an RV (remember that whole restraining order situation? Yeah…).

One of the most dramatic moments is Sandoval appearing to well up while trying to make an apology and immediately being called out by multiple costars for his “crocodile tears.”

And if you thought Ariana had moved on at all…no.

Other highlights include Kennedy wanting to punch Sandoval.

In the longer version, on Peacock, Scheana says that Sandoval was using the line that he and Madix were in an “open relationship” at Coachella, though Stache Worm denied this again and again.

May 26, 2023: Leviss’s rep tells Page Six that her family is seeking FBI protection after receiving “violent and graphic” death threats online and over the phone. A spokesperson for the FBI couldn't confirm or deny any investigations, but tells TMZ, “Obviously, we review all allegations reported to us and encourage anyone who believes their life is in imminent danger to call 911.”

June 7, 2023: Tom Schwartz tells former Vanderpump costars Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright on their podcast When Reality Hits, that he’s taking a friendship break from Sandoval. “He made a big mess. And then, you know, he left it for us to clean up back at the businesses,” said Schwartz. “And it's hard for me not to be resentful of him…. I’m taking a break from Tom right now. I haven’t seen him in a while.” After Scandoval hit, Schwartz was the one friend and cast member who stayed in Sandoval’s corner, but Schwartz now feels Sandoval “exploited” his loyalty. “[Sandoval] exploited me because, you know, I do love Tom, and I took to heart everything he told me.”

June 7, 2023 (Part II): This evening, the final reunion special airs on Bravo. The gist: Everyone got to yell at Leviss, who apologized to Madix but remained stony-faced and tearless throughout the inquisition. Oh, and Sandoval made a disgusting comment about his sex life with Madix that seemed to make Schwartz’s life flash before his eyes.

“She kept her T-shirt on. It was super hot,” Sandoval said when Madix pointed out that she and the worm with a mustache had sex while he was having his affair with Leviss. Even Kennedy and Kent were left speechless for a moment.

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Even the *Vanderpump Rules* cast was rendered momentarily speechless.

In the final five minutes of the special, Leviss sat down for a tearful interview with producers, which took place six days after the reunion was filmed. She admitted that she and Sandoval lied about the timeline during the reunion and that they even had sex during the Mexico trip and in Madix’s home while she was attending her grandmother’s funeral.

She also admitted to floating the idea that she join Sandoval and Madix’s relationship and form a throuple, which she said Sandoval turned down. “I even suggested, I was like, ‘What would Ariana think of having me as an addition?’” Leviss said. “And he was like, ‘No, no, no, no, she would not be into that.’”

June 8, 2023: When asked by paparazzi if she feels for Leviss “a little bit, even” following the explosive reunion, Madix replies, “Sure, yeah.” Per Page Six, she also revealed how she felt about Leviss’s final confessions, replying, “I’m sure you can imagine.… Not great.”

On June 8, Madix also makes her debut as a Glamour cover star.

June 9, 2023: After watching the reunion special, Kent tells TMZ her thoughts on Leviss have shifted. “In the moment, during the reunion, after I left, I felt dirty,” Kent says, per People. "After watching last night when [Leviss] had finally had the breakdown—just as a human, because, for me, it’s a reality TV show—I feel like we’re all kind of playing the same game, but when I watched that, I was like, Oh, we’re maybe dealing with someone who maybe shouldn’t be on this type of platform.’”

Kent continues, “It can be rough, and you have to know when you’re on a show like this and you make bad decisions, these are the kind of things that happen, especially when you're throwing daggers at people while you’re doing something like that.” She adds, “You're gonna get the smoke. I don’t know how other people feel about the last five minutes, but I did sit there and go, Oh shit, she needs some real help—and I'm hoping she got it.”

June 14, 2023: In the “Secrets Revealed” episode of Vanderpump Rules, which aired on June 14, fans learned that the morning after Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss slept together for the first time (in her car), Leviss brought Madix flowers.

At the time, Madix was mourning the death of her dog, Charlotte, who passed away on August 2, 2022. In the newly released footage, Leviss walks into Madix and Sandoval’s Los Angeles home with a bouquet in hand, and Sandoval greets her with a hug. The pair then share a flirty exchange: “I haven’t seen you in so long,” Leviss tells Sandoval, to which he replies, “You got me flowers? Oh, my God, I love it.”

August 16, 2023: In “part one” of a conversation on Bethenny Frankel’s podcast, Leviss speaks out for the first time since completing treatment at a mental health facility. Leviss explains that she was spiraling after a breakup when the affair started and gently pushes back on the idea that her betrayal was more severe than other cast members’ affairs because of her friendship with Madix, calling her an acquaintance turned friend rather than a close confidante, per People.

“I was not thinking long-term,” she said. “I was completely wrapped up in heartbreak and wanting to get certain needs met…. I was still healing from a relationship from somebody who I thought I was going to marry, and in ending that [relationship with James Kennedy] I still haven’t healed yet. So, when I was filming, I was drinking a lot to ease that anxiety, and in a reality TV environment, I wasn’t getting that safe space for me to express my emotions in a healthy way.”

After significant reflection and therapy, Leviss said, “It took me a while to accept, but I learned about love addiction and it's a real thing…. Those chemical changes in the brain are the same chemical changes that happen when you take drugs. So it is addictive and it explains why I couldn’t stop seeing this person—but it also doesn’t excuse the fact that it happened, but now I know better.”

As for what she did to Madix (well, it’s really what Sandoval did to Madix, but still), Leviss says, “It's painful to think that I hurt her in this way because that wasn’t my intention. I wasn’t trying to be a malicious person. I just got wrapped up in this and wasn’t thinking clearly. But we were not best friends…. I don’t expect her to forgive me. I think once trust is broken with somebody, from personal experience, it’s really hard to come back for that. And the fact that I was able to keep those secrets from her, I don't expect her to ever forgive me.”

Leviss also confirms that the former couple are still living together. Despite Madix saying in May that she wanted to sell the house she bought with Tom and find her own place, neither of them has moved out or even gotten an Airbnb. “I actually gave Tom the key to my apartment while I was away at the Meadows [mental health facility], and he had a free place to stay and chose to stay in the house with Ariana,” Leviss told Frankel. She continued, “I don’t know their situation, but I do know that it really isn’t that surprising that they’re living together in my eyes because it’s been this way. They haven’t been an authentic couple, romantic, intimate.”

August 25, 2023: Madix appeared on Dear Media’s Scheananigans With Scheana Shay to call out Frankel for lending her platform to Leviss in a three-part podcast interview. Madix confessed that while she hadn’t listened to Leviss's interview with Frankel firsthand, she did read synopses of their conversation. Frankel, Madix said, should have done “more research" instead of conducting the interview without “know[ing] what the fuck” she was talking about.

“Bethenny actually upset me more [than Leviss] in the things that were said,” Madix told Shay. In particular, Madix took issue with Frankel’s seeming assertion that Sandoval’s cheating mattered less because he and Madix were unmarried and without children.

“In many states, [he was my common-law spouse],” Madix noted. “I find that hurtful in regards to other women in relationships who don’t have children. Maybe they can’t have children or don’t want children or don’t want to get married.… None of those people’s relationships are less meaningful because of that. She should know better than to say that about anybody.”

September 12, 2023: If Sandoval was trying to mend things, it backfired spectacularly. Leviss, who has readopted her birth name, Rachel, posted an Instagram Reel of herself spending time in a beautiful garden on September 10. For once, the comments weren't a complete dumpster; a lot of people commented with messages of support for her “healing era.”

But on September 12, Leviss's 29th birthday, Sandoval decided to step into the arena and wrote, “Happy Birthday Rachel, I really hope ur finding peace and happiness. Miss u friend,” per Page Six. Coulda been a DM, seems like a weird PR move, didn't go as planned…he got a little bit roasted, and in response? Leviss fully blocked him, as she revealed on her Stories. A birthday present to herself!

January 30, 2024: New year, same drama. As Ariana Madix fulfills her lifelong dream of performing on Broadway, Tom Sandoval fulfills his lifelong nightmare of really putting his foot in his mouth on a podcast. Sandoval decided to open up to fellow reality star Nick Viall on Nick's Viall Files podcast, but if his plan was to sow the seeds of a redemption arc…consider that earth self-scorched. The episode is two and a half hours long, but most of the attention is on the two moments Viall highlighted on Instagram, the first being that Sandoval forgot about the recording and was subsequently super late….

And once he got there, he did not have his talking points ready. Sandoval claimed that he felt “belittled” during his relationship with Madix and that the affair was him “acting out” due to “low self-esteem,” according to Page Six. All of which may be true, but when pressed to explain what he's learned in the half a year since the scandal broke, he couldn't come up with a single thing.

February 20, 2024: You thought the Viall interview was bad? Sandoval continues to attempt to rehabilitate, or at least profit from, his image with a New York Times profile. It goes over like a lead balloon. Asked why the scandal got so big, Sandoval gives a truly Rachel Hollis–worthy answer:

“I’m not a pop culture historian really,” he said, per Variety. “But I witnessed the O.J. Simpson thing and George Floyd and all these big things, which is really weird to compare this to that, I think, but do you think in a weird way it’s a little bit the same?”

NO, TOM, NOT REALLY.

This post will be updated.

Originally Appeared on Glamour