Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval, and Raquel Leviss. Shutterstock (3)
Busted. Tom Sandoval claimed he couldn’t travel to see Ariana Madix as she was grieving the loss of her grandmother — but it didn’t take long for Lala Kent to poke holes in his story.
During a new episode of Vanderpump Rules, which aired on Wednesday, May 3, Lala, 32, questioned Tom’s behavior while Ariana, 37, was back home in Florida.
“Sandoval, go take your degenerate ass elsewhere. I am watching you and you are a f—king mess. I am at a barbecue over Labor Day and your girlfriend is at home dealing with the loss of her grandmother,” the beauty mogul told James Kennedy about the suspicious encounter she witnessed. “This was a dope Labor Day party and there were a lot of f—king people. Scheana [Shay] was there, Brock [Davies] was there, Raquel [Leviss] and Sandoval.”
In a separate scene, Lala broke down her concerns to Katie Maloney, Kristina Kelly and Lisa Vanderpump. “The day that Ariana’s grandmother died, Tom Sandoval came to the barbecue that I was at in Newport. Ariana was calling him furious, and he was like, ‘OK, I will come home right now.’ And he didn’t leave for another two hours. He was with Raquel all day long,” she revealed.
The former SUR bartender wasn’t thrilled to hear Lala’s side of the story later in the episode. According to Ariana, Tom, 40, claimed he didn’t visit her because he “couldn’t get a ride” home. Lala, however, recalled seeing the TomTom co-owner decide to stay at the bash instead of leaving with a friend.
“Jason said he was leaving the party and then you said, ‘No I am actually going to stay?’ And then you chose to stay longer?” Ariana asked Tom in front of Lala. “I found out that my grandmother died while you were there. You knew about that and then Jason said, ‘I am going to leave.’ So, you said, ‘I am going to stay.’”
The Missouri native admitted he thought Ariana “wanted to be alone” while dealing with the tragic loss. “I should have [went to you]. I just figured you kind of … I don’t know,” he said as he struggled for an explanation.
Ariana continued to push Tom on his claims that he wasn’t able to travel, adding, “When my dad passed away 10 years ago, we weren’t even together then and he thought it was such a huge priority to drop everything and be there for me. We have been together now for eight and a half years yet somehow somewhere it feels like maybe he doesn’t think I am as important anymore. I don’t know.”
The Fancy AF Cocktails coauthor noted she was initially fine with Tom’s explanation — until Lala shared new details about the party.
“You said you didn’t know Jason had left because you were taking a s—t. You realize that you put me in a position with this where people will think that I am a f—king idiot. Everyone thinks that you just wanted to hang out there for a few more hours after that,” Ariana told Tom before elaborating in a confessional. “I choose Tom over everyone. Like, I am ride or die for you. So I look like an idiot being Tom’s No. 1 stan when he isn’t mine.”
Tom’s inconsistent behavior became a major topic of conversation on screen as Us Weekly confirmed in March that he and Ariana called it quits because she learned about his affair with Raquel, 28.
Several past and present Vanderpump Rules stars have since recalled witnessing signs of Tom and Raquel’s unusual bond before their cheating scandal. Jax Taylor, who starred on seasons 1-8 of the Bravo show, previously mentioned the Labor Day party on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
“Last time we saw him was at a friend’s house in Orange County for Labor Day — and they were both together — now it makes sense,” the former reality star, 43, claimed in March. “I didn’t understand it at the beginning.”
Jax continued: “They were together and I don’t remember but I think Ariana called him and said, ‘Hey, my grandmother passed away or got sick.’ He didn’t go home — he didn’t leave. He used the fact that he couldn’t get an Uber. Meanwhile, people were coming in and out of the house all day long.”
A source close to Tom, however, told Us that Jax’s claims were untrue and the former coworkers haven’t seen each other in over a year.
One month later, Tom claimed he tried to pull the plug on his romance with Ariana in the past. “It scared me. [Her reaction] really scared me,” he said on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast in April, alleging his now-ex-girlfriend was “fully in denial” about their breakup. “That’s why, like you say, ‘Why didn’t you just break up with her then?’ It’s because of the threat of … self-sabotaging. And you know how f–king — how much that hurts me?”
Ariana, meanwhile, has publicly moved on after she was seen packing on the PDA with fitness coach Daniel Wai at Coachella. At the time, a second source exclusively told Us that Ariana isn’t in a rush to get into a serious relationship again.
“She’s enjoying her freedom and being single for the first time in years,” the insider shared, noting that Ariana is “single and is having the time of her life.”
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Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
