Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix’s Relationship Timeline
The Vanderpump Rules couple split in March 2023 after nine years together, after he had an affair with a cast mate.
Though Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix ended their nearly 10-year relationship in March after she discovered he’d been cheating on her with her best friend, Raquel Leviss, Vanderpump Rules fans have had have had a front row seat to their relationship from the beginning.
The connection began in 2013, when Ariana joined the cast of Vanderpump Rules during Season 2; the pair confirmed that they were in a relationship at the Season 2 reunion. Since then, we’ve watched the couple share countless sweet and loving moments together including vacations, lots of costume parties, starting businesses and writing a book together, and even buying and moving into a $2 million house together. They’ve also shared hard times together including deaths, friendship rifts, and fights.
Below, we’ve outlined every major milestone in Tom and Ariana’s nine-year love story.
Ariana Madix joined Vanderpump Rules and a romance began
Fans first met Ariana in Season 2 of Vanderpump Rules, when original cast member Tom introduced her as a friend with whom he had worked in the past. Ariana had worked as a bartender at Lisa Vanderpump’s Beverly Hills establishment Villa Blanca before being transferred to SUR, where Tom was working as a bartender.
At the time, Tom was with Kristen Doute, whom he had been dating since Season 1 of the show. In Season 2, Kristen accused Tom of cheating on her with Ariana, which both Tom and Ariana denied.
Eventually in Season 2, Tom and Kristen called it quits, and fans continued to see Tom and Ariana’s chemistry play out on screen.
February 2014: Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix officially confirmed their relationship
At the Season 2 reunion, which aired on Feb. 10, 2014, Tom and Ariana confirmed they were dating. That same night, they made it even more official with Instagram posts to their respective feeds about their relationship.
Tom Sandoval cheated on Ariana Madix with “Miami Girl”
During Scheana Shay’s bachelorette party trip to Miami in Season 3, Episode 11, Tom was accused by Jax Taylor of cheating on Ariana during a previous trip to the city. In Episode 13, Kristen set up a confrontation between “Miami Girl” (Annemarie Maldonado née Kunkel), Tom, and Ariana over the alleged tryst He denied having slept with the woman at the time and Ariana defended him.
The controversy over the alleged fling continued throughout much of the rest of the season, which originally aired in early 2015.
During Ariana’s post-Season 10 finale appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on May 17, 2023, she confirmed that Tom had, in fact, slept with the woman and she’d known the whole time.
“They slept together,” Ariana revealed during WWHL. “It was before he and I were exclusive and I didn’t want people to think the absolute worst of the man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with, so I defended him.”
April 2015: Ariana Maddix moved into Tom Sandoval’s apartment
As their relationship progressed, Ariana moved into Tom’s West Hollywood apartment (the same one he previously shared with Kristen), which was announced at the end of Season 3. Though the place had its quirks — like the fact that the microwave and the air conditioning could not run at the same time — they made it work.
August 2018: Ariana Madix opened up about wanting to buy a house with Tom Sandoval
During Season 5, Ariana opened about her future with Tom to BravoTV.com, including her hopes of buying a house together.
“Tom and I are getting our finances in order,” she revealed in the video, which can be seen above. “We’ve both been saving for years… I think that with a loan, we’ll be able to have a great down payment. So, hopefully within a year.”
At the time, Ariana revealed she was envisioning a “craftsman style” abode with a front porch. “I think Tom and I would be open to something that’s a little bit of a fixer-upper and we would do a lot of stuff ourselves,” she shared. “I think that would be dope.”
October 2018: Ariana Madix's cancer diagnosis brought the couple closer
On Nov. 3, 2019, Ariana reflected in an Instagram post on a tough period, which included a skin cancer scare in 2018. The difficult time, she revealed, brought her and Sandoval closer together.
“I’ve been debating posting this for so long but whatever! I’m doing it,” she wrote. “A year ago, I wasn’t able to celebrate my favorite holiday [because] I had just undergone surgery for melanoma. Being told that cancer was living rent free on my body for years was scarier than any ’80s slasher movie. Thankfully, I had an amazing doctor [and] the amazing [Tom Sandoval] to take care of me.”
"Moral of the story: If you’re unsure of something on your body, GET CHECKED and then GET CHECKED AGAIN!" she added.
January 2019: Ariana Madix opened up about Tom Sandoval outing her as bisexual
In Season 7, Tom revealed to his cast mates that his then-girlfriend had once had a sexual encounter with Lala Kent. In a later interview, Ariana revealed that she felt “betrayed” by Tom sharing her private information.
"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 said in the episode. "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 really not OK," she told Tom at the time.
February 2019: Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix bought a house together
On Feb. 21, 2019, the couple's realtor, Douglas McFarland of Redesign Real Estate and Design, shared a post to Instagram after Tom and Ariana had successfully purchased their first home together, a gorgeous $2 million property in Valley Village. The 4,5000-square-foot farmhouse boasted five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, an open layout, an expansive white marble kitchen, a dreamy outdoor space complete with a pool, hot tub, and more.
December 2019: Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval published a book
Tom and Ariana’s book together, a cocktail recipe book titled Fancy AF Cocktails: Drink Recipes from a Couple of Professional Drinkers, was released in December 2019. Ariana spoke about working on the project with Tom prior to its publication to BravoTV.com. The cocktail book was previously a point of contention in Season 5, since the project started out as Ariana’s and Tom wanted to get involved.
Get more details by watching the video above.
June 2021: Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix revealed their redecorated house
Although Tom and Ariana never really got the “fixer upper” she originally imagined, they still decided to make sizable changes to their $2 million home. In June 2021, the Tom and Ariana debuted a fully redecorated space that embraced their eclectic and moody style.
October 2021: Ariana Madix shared her thoughts on marriage
Over the years, Ariana had repeatedly stated that she didn’t see marriage and kids in her future. During an Oct. 2021 appearance on WWHL, Ariana admitted she may have softened her stance on children, to host Andy Cohen.
"I think, the big thing for me is that I'm not really into the whole fanfare of it. It's really more about the two people, so if it was just about us, you know, I honestly think I would more open to it," she said in the Clubhouse. "I just don't want it to be like a big thing about having a giant wedding and a bachelorette party and all that bullsh-t."
Watch her appearance in the video above.
November 2021: Ariana Madix revealed she had frozen her eggs
In Season 9, Episode 8, Ariana opened up about the decision to freeze her eggs.
“Surprise! I froze my eggs,” she shared in an interview during the episode. “This does not mean that I’m jumping on the baby train. It’s about having agency over my own body and my own future. It’s also kind of a nice, fun ‘f-ck you’ to anybody who questions my values or my choices.”
January 2023: Ariana Madix responded to “open relationship” rumors
Ahead of the Season 10 premiere, Ariana clarified that she and Tom were not in an "open relationship" after the Season 10 trailer was released.
“We don't have an open relationship," she tweeted. "I'm really not that cool. Thought that was obvious.”
Ariana addressed the situation again at the Season 10 premiere party in Los Angeles in February.
“I think people see my relationship with Tom… as nontraditional in a lot of ways, and they think there’s got to be more to it, you know?” she told Page Six. “[Like] I’m in the closet or Tom’s in the closet.”
She also noted that she and Tom have always been “open about” their relationship, so they aren’t hiding anything from viewers. “There’s really no other layers,” she added.
March 2023: Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix ended their relationship
Ariana Maddix discovered Tom Sandoval was having an affair on March 1, 2023
Ariana explained to her friends that she discovered Tom was having an affair with Raquel during a concert by his band. Tom, she said, dropped his phone and someone gave it to her for safekeeping — and something told her to look on it.
“I found a screen recording of them on FaceTime. It was literally from the night before. That’s when I called Raquel and started making her tell me [when everything started],” Ariana recounts.
“[Raquel] said they kissed,” she said. “Well, later that night when we were out here I pressed Tom and he said they actually f-cked in her car that night.”
She said the affair had begun right after her beloved dog, Charlotte, passed away, and she left a girls’ trip early.
She broke up with Sandoval over the course of the night. Filming resumed on the show on March 2, according to Variety. The news that Tom and Ariana broke up after nine years together became public the following day.
Tom Sandoval issued statements about his break-up with Ariana Madix
In the days following, Tom issued two statements after his split from Ariana amid rumors of an affair.
“Hey, I fully understand and deserve [your] anger & disappointment towards me, but please leave [Tom] Schwartz, my friends, and family out of this situation,” his first post read. “Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions. This was a very personal thing.”
Moving forward, Tom noted, “I will be taking a step back & taking a hiatus out of respect for my employees & partners.”
“I need some time to address everything else,” he concluded. “Sorry for everything.”
On March 7, 2023, Tom's second statement focused on Ariana.
“I made mistakes, I was selfish, and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly. I can only imagine how devastating this has been for Ariana and everyone around us. I feel really horrible about that."
"My biggest regret is that I dishonored Ariana," he continued. "I never meant to disappoint so many people, including our loving families and friends.”
Ariana Madix issued a statement about the break-up
Ariana addressed the split from Tom on March 16, 2023, thanking friends, family, and viewers for support. "I am so f-cking lucky to have the best support system in the world and I hope I can repay every single person for the love you have shown me," she wrote.
“What doesn’t kill me better run,” she added.
March 2023: The Vanderpump Rules reunion filmed
Ariana and Tom came face to face to discuss their breakup at the Vanderpump Rules Season 10 reunion when it filmed on March 23, 2023. The official reunion trailer shows a peek at the reckoning, including Ariana calling Tom out for his infidelity.
“Don’t even look at me. You don’t deserve to look at this,” she said.
You can watch the trailer above.
May 17, 2023: The aftermath of the break-up aired during the Vanderpump Rules finale
Months after their split originally made headlines, the Vanderpump Rules Season 10 finale gave fans an inside look at the downfall of Tom and Ariana’s relationship.
During the episode, Ariana was consoled by a friend after finding out about the affair.
“I hate him, but I’m very quickly becoming completely indifferent. He gives me the ick,” Ariana said.
Soon after, Tom entered their shared living room. After telling him she’d like him “to die,” Ariana mentioned she still hasn’t received a true apology.
“Every time I try to apologize to you it just makes you more angry,” he said.
“Good. Let me be angry. You should still f-cking apologize,” Ariana replied.
As their fight escalated, Tom mentioned that his decision to have an affair had something to do with the way the younger woman supposedly “respects” him and how he felt his “mojo” had been lost sometime during his 9-year relationship with Ariana.
“I was ride or f-cking die for you. And I had her back as well,” Ariana countered. “I regret every moment that I stood up for you, defended you, supported you. 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 that f-cking stood by you and loved you and was willing to build the rest of my life around you. Hear my words and know that that’s how I feel about you. I regret ever loving you.”
May 17, 2023: Ariana Madix appeared on WWHL after the Season 10 finale
In a post-finale clubhouse appearance, Ariana told Andy that there is no truth to Tom’s claims — seen in the finale — that he tried countless times to break up with her after starting his affair with Raquel.
She also noted that they’re still living in the house they bought together, though they have no contact with one another.
May 24, 2023: Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval confronted one another at the Vanderpump Rules Season 10 Reunion
In a tension-filled three-part reunion, Ariana (and the rest of the cast) angrily confronted Tom about the affair.
“I just want to say that I appreciate everybody being there for Ariana," he said to the cast in Part 1. "No matter what was going on in our relationship, she didn’t deserve it. No one deserves to have that happen.”
“I’m sorry for doing the one thing I swore I wouldn’t do," he added to the group. "And I did it in the worst way possible.”
But during several subsequent hours of confrontations, he made several other statements that seemingly belied his initial one.
In the uncensored and extended Pumped Up Edition of Part 2 of the reunion, Tom blamed Ariana for making him feel stupid while they were together.
“Throughout the relationship, you were always telling me I’m dumb,” Tom said.
Ariana denied his accusation.
“I’ve never told you you were dumb,” she said. “I never said you were dumb until today. ‘Cause you’re acting dumb today.”
In Part 3 of the reunion, while being grilled by Andy, Tom was asked if he’d slept with anyone else since beginning his affair.
“You know who he did sleep with after him and Raquel started sleeping together? Me,” Ariana noted, prompting Tom to take a dig at her.
“She kept her T-shirt on. It was really hot,” Sandoval responded sarcastically.
Immediately, Andy and Ariana’s fellow cast members reacted with head shakes and horrified looks.
November 2023: Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval appeared at BravoCon 2023
During BravoCon 2023 panel "SUR'ving Up the Latest with Vanderpump Rules," Ariana revealed that the two continue to live in their home since their split, but she is currently “staying somewhere" else for the time being due to her "chaotic" work schedule — which includes competing on Dancing With The Stars. However, she said, "[I’m] actively trying to change the ownership of the house situation.”
Tom, meanwhile, revealed that he has been sober for six months. He also reflected on the events that led to the split, and shared if he had any regrets about the events that unfolded. “Yes, of course, I would have done things differently, but I can’t really look towards the past," he said.
Ariana, when asked if Tom had ever apologized for the affair, said, “Any apology was essentially rescinded with whatever the hell was said after that.”
She later noted, "We’re not going to be acquaintances or friends. No thanks.”
After the panel ended, Sandoval gave a red carpet interview with Access Hollywood during which he made a negative comment about his perception of Ariana's demeanor during the panel. She then shared her take on that comment to E! News, telling the outlet that "I don't think he was planning to [apologize]."
As for if he believes he and Ariana have had closure in the wake of the panel, Tom said in his Access Hollywood interview, "No, not really."
Originally published Mar 25, 2023.
