Amid the Raquel Affair, Tom Sandoval's Love for Ariana Madix Endures

Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval recently opened up about his cheating scandal with Raquel Leviss and his relationship with ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix in a candid interview on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast. The 40-year-old reality TV personality revealed that he still loves Ariana but their relationship had transitioned into more of a friendship rather than a romantic connection.

Tom explained, “I love Ariana, I still love Ariana and I care about her very much so, but we were — for a while — had been sort of having our own lives. Like many relationships, it felt like it became more like best friends, family sometimes roommates. There was a lot of ways where the relationship was just lacking the intimacy the connection.” He also revealed that he and Ariana only had sex four times a year, as depicted in a VPR midseason teaser trailer.

Tom revealed that he broke up with Ariana on Valentine’s Day 2023, even though he had planned to seek therapy in hopes of working through their issues. “There is never a right time. What is the right time to end a nine-year relationship?” he questioned.

The TomTom club co-owner also shared that he and Ariana had become so distant that she didn't even realize that he was having an affair with Raquel. “I had to actually tell her, ‘Have you not noticed how distant I’ve been lately?’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, you have?’ … She didn’t even notice because that’s just how our relationship was. We had separate lives,” he said.

Tom admitted that when he started cheating on Ariana with Raquel, he felt a strong emotional connection with her. He stated, “We just kissed. It was magnetic.… I felt something that I hadn’t felt in so long, like emotionally. Those feelings that I had started to take over in a sense. Logic went out the window.”

It wasn't until Ariana discovered racy messages from Raquel on Tom's phone in early March that the couple called it quits. As for his relationship with Raquel now, Tom revealed that they are taking a break and not putting any labels on what is happening between them. When asked if they were in a “friends with benefits” situation, Tom said, “No, not right now.”