Ariana Madix feels relief over break-up from Tom Sandoval

Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix has opened up about her relief at ending her nine-year relationship with Tom Sandoval in the wake of his affair with their co-star Raquel Leviss – because she no longer has to give him ‘constant validation.’ 

In a thinly veiled jab at her ex, whose affair with Raquel, 28, has prompted a furious wave of controversy dubbed ‘Scandoval,’ Ariana, 37, admitted that she ‘feels a sense of freedom’ about their split, having spent almost a decade ‘worrying about’ him and serving as his ‘adviser.’ 

‘I definitely feel this sense of freedom because I was the adviser, the sounding board. And he didn’t like that he wasn’t getting constant validation from his adviser,’ she told Glamour in a candid interview to accompany a cover shoot for the publication.

‘Now I feel like I don’t have to worry about anybody but myself.’

The 37-year-old split from her boyfriend of nine years after discovering that he had been having a months-long affair with her co-star and former friend Raquel Leviss

In addition to her new-found sense of ‘freedom’ following the breakup, Ariana has also found herself with a host of very lucrative opportunities from brands and companies that are attempting to capitalize on the furious intrigue surrounding her March break-up and the subsequent Scandoval fallout. 

To date, it’s been reported that Ariana has racked up a fortune of more than $1 million thanks to sponsorship opportunities and brand deals – and she says she has no plans of slowing down any time soon. 

‘We have no generational wealth in our family,’ she explained. ‘I want to make enough money to be able to take care of my mom and my brother and any other family members who may or may not need it. I never want to worry about it ever, ever, ever. So I will work as much as possible to not have to.’

In the months since Tom and Raquel’s sensational affair was revealed to the world, numerous revelations have come to light about how the pair carried out their illicit romance behind Ariana’s back. 

One of the most shocking came during the third part of the Vanderpump Rules reunion, which aired last night and saw Raquel admitting that she and Tom had sex in the home he shared with Ariana while the latter was at her grandmother’s funeral. 

Ariana has publicly railed against ‘rotten’ Raquel and Tom throughout the three-part reunion – however she told Glamour that in the moments after she confronted her former partner over his affair, she was actually incapable of feeling anything but ‘shock.’

‘I think the shock prevents you from being sad immediately,’ she explained. ‘It was like the air was sucked out of my lungs. It was shock, disbelief on some level, but then also anger….’

As for Tom’s reaction, Ariana revealed that he initially got ‘mad’ at being found out, because he realized his ‘house of cards was crumbling.’

Ariana has also found herself with a host of very lucrative opportunities from brands and companies

To date, it’s been reported that Ariana has racked up a fortune of more than $1 million

‘We have no generational wealth in our family,’ she explained. ‘I want to make enough money to be able to take care of my mom and my brother and any other family members…’

‘When you’ve been caught red-handed like that, there’s no denying it. It’s cold, hard evidence. So I think he was struggling. I think he was really mad that his little house of cards was crumbling,’ she said.

And while she wasn’t able to confront Raquel, who was in New York filming Watch What Happens Live, immediately, she sent her a cutting four-word text: ‘You’re dead to me.’

The pair then got on a phone call, with Ariana describing her ex-friend’s response as ‘somewhat emotionless.’

‘And I was devastated,’ the 37-year-old added.

Ariana also spoke out against the conversation being had about the lack of sex in her relationship.

She said she was a person who craved intimacy outside of sex and it was ‘something that I was deprived of for so long.’

Raquel Leviss, Tom Sandoval and Brittany Cartwright Cauchi pictured in 2022

‘As women, we might bring something up a bunch of times and then we just stop. That’s where I was at. I was like I cannot keep nagging this man to want to come home and spend time with me,’ Ariana said.

She also slammed men who acted like they were entitled to a woman’s body and to sex because they were in a relationship with them.

‘I am not your [sex toy]. I spelled out what I needed, but hello. It’s a two-person situation,’ Ariana added.

As for why she thinks that people are so hooked on Scandoval, she believes it’s because they were able to relate to it.

‘There are layers to it. The best-friend layer, the fact that [he] and I were together for so long and so many people, including myself, saw us as endgame,’ she explained.

‘It’s the deception, the trying to manipulate a narrative, the fact that so many people have been through this themselves and they recognize parts of it.’