Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix trusted that she and Tom Sandoval could turn their relationship around before they abruptly split after nine years due to his months-long affair with their costar Raquel Leviss.
On Wednesday’s episode of the Bravo show’s “Secrets Revealed” bonus special, never-before-seen footage shoed Ariana and Sandoval enjoying a roller-skating date last summer that inspired hope in her that they might be able to reset their dynamic despite growing emotional distance and a lack of physical intimacy in their relationship.
“I think Tom and I have the kind of bond that we started out as friends and that friendship bond is something that I feel like will help us be able to come back and rebuild those fun, romantic times now that we hopefully have more time together,” Ariana, 37, explained in a confessional.
“But I think that those sacrifices, even though they’re hard, they’re worth it because I want him to succeed when it comes to opening the bar, but I also miss being able to just really be together,” she added.
After skating on an outdoor rink with no one around, Ariana raised concerns about her friend and now business partner Katie Maloney ‘s negative perception of Raquel.
The 28-year-old pageant queen had kissed Katie’s ex-husband Tom Schwartz after the Something About Her co-owner, 36, asked both parties not to pursue anything romantic within their friend group.
Ariana told Sandoval at the rink: “I said to Katie, I’m like, ‘You’re gonna have to work really hard to get me to not just absolutely love Raquel.’ I love her so much. We’ve spent so much time together on trips. We really have this beautiful little friendship family and them saying stuff like, ‘Why would we trust Raquel around on my man?’”
At this point, without moving his head, the 40-year-old TomTom bar co-owner looked over at Ariana and raised his eyebrow.
She continued, “I’m like, ‘We’ve all stayed in houses together.’ It sucks that maybe you guys don’t have that kind of like friendship family that we have had the last few years with each other.”
Sandoval chimed in, “It’s like this is just transparent love that we have — all of us. There’s not even a thought about it.”
As Ariana went on to wonder how everyone would get along at the pool party she was about to throw at their home, Sandoval assured her, “it’s gonna be great.”
“I’m excited for everyone after tomorrow, I hope I never f — -ing hear about it ever again,” added Ariana.
In an exaggerated tone, Sandoval then said, “Let’s get it all out there.”
At the pool party, Raquel — who had hooked up with Sandoval by then — confronted costar Lala Kent, saying she gives off “mistress bimbo vibes.”
The 32-year-old Give Them Lala founder had previously made Raquel feel uncomfortable after she told her, “I would never trust you around my man.” An intoxicated Raquel fired back, “Thank God you don’t have a man to f — -ing have around.”
Ariana defended Raquel at the time, saying in a confessional, “It’s very difficult for me to wrap my mind around the idea that Raquel is fighting people and being crazy. I would think that Katie, Lala and Kristina [Kelly] gave the mean girl treatment to Raquel, like they’ve given to other people in the past.”
She then told Lala at the pool party: “I’m not down with ‘mistress’ comment, but I do feel like there is some unresolved s — — about the you and James stuff,” referring to the secret revealed earlier in the season that Lala and James Kennedy had hooked up while the 31-year-old DJ was dating Raquel.
However, that love is now long gone. The pair “had been having problems for a while,” a source told outlet at the time — but Sandoval and Raquel’s secret relationshipwas “the final straw.”
Though both Raquel and Sandoval ultimately apologized, the insider knew Ariana would not forgive or forget easily, saying, “She put up with a lot over the years, but she won’t sit back and be disrespected this way,”
Vanderpump Rules can be streamed in full on Peacock.
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