Ariana Madix Reflects on Her Relationship Before Vanderpump Rules: "I Was Scared of Him"

Ariana Madix has been sharing her life with the world on Vanderpump Rules for many years now, but there was a time when she was considering not being a part of the experience. Before joining the show, she was dating a controlling actor who had very negative feelings about reality TV.

She explained in an interview with Glamour that at the time, she was leaning on him for support after dealing with several setbacks including bed bugs, MRSA, and issues like near homelessness. So when the opportunity to share her life on the show came along, it was an acting coach who pushed her to try it.

“The guy I was with was so against even me being friends with anyone on the show," she told Glamour. "I was scared of him. Even now I think I am a little bit."

She noted in the interview, “I know that on the show I've not necessarily had a whole lot of crazy and specific stuff that happened, but that’s because it all happened before. There was no Vanderpump Rules when it happened to me.”

She previously touched upon the subject with The Daily Dish podcast in 2017, adding he was particularly critical of her friendship with Scheana Shay: "[He] told me Scheana was a piece of s--t, that I shouldn't be friends with her, she's fake. He literally hated every single thing about her and every single thing about reality television in general."

In Season 6, Ariana opened up about her difficult romantic past, including a "mentally and emotionally abusive relationship." She confided about it to Lala Kent — and later thanked her for showing her support even as she was struggling at the time to find confidence in her relationship with Tom Sandoval following that previous relationship (Season 6 clip above).

She later spoke to The Daily Dish about their heart-to-heart and how they've bonded over serious topics in the past, in the video below.

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