Heavy/Getty Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval in 2014; Ariana Madix and Daniel Wai in 2023.
Ariana Madix made a new revelation about her early seasons on “Vanderpump Rules.”
Madix began dating Tom Sandoval in 2013, the same year the Bravo reality show premiered. But she was barely seen in the first two seasons of “Vanderpump Rules.”
In an October 2023 interview with Us Weekly, Madix explained why she was hesitant to be on camera in the early seasons of the show.
“Don’t date abusive men who won’t let you shine and be on a TV show — because that’s what was going on and why I didn’t want to be on camera,” she said, in reference to an ex-boyfriend she had before Sandoval.
Madix was not talking about Sandoval and has not answered interview questions about him in several months, a rep told Heavy.
Madix eventually became comfortable with the cameras. And in 2023, she is saying a new man who is really letting her shine.
Ariana Madix’s New Boyfriend Daniel Wai is So Different From Her Past Relationships
Madix, 38, began dating fitness trainer Daniel Wai shortly after Scandoval broke. In the Us Weekly interview, she confirmed she is exclusive with Wai, who lives and works in New York City.
Madix described Wai as “awesome” for flying from New York to California each week as she competes on the 32nd season of “Dancing With the Stars.” “He’s incredibly supportive,” she said. “He sacrifices his sleep and time to help me with anything I need, and then he takes a red-eye back and goes straight to work.”
She also said Wai cooks for her—and cleans up.
“He’ll clean up things that are left out and [does] little things you don’t really think about,” she dished. “When I come home from the show and everything’s clean and there’s food in the fridge that he made, it’s like, “Wow, that’s so nice.”
In August 2023, Madix talked about her relationship with Wai during an appearance on the “Scheananagins With Scheana Shay” podcast. “He’s a very grounding, calming, positive energy. He’s always trying to help with things,” she said.
Madix cited an example of Wai calling her credit card company for her when she had an issue. He told her, “I’m going to call them, I know you want to do everything yourself, but I’m going to just go ahead and do it.'”
“He is someone who does bring a whole lot of happiness and really just calming and positive energy into my life, so I’m going to keep him around,” Madix added.
Madix said she is unsure about marriage. When she was with Sandoval, she said she didn’t want marriage or kids. She froze her eggs in case she changed her mind. Madix told Us Weekly she doesn’t have plans to do anything with her frozen eggs at this time.
Tom Sandoval Complained That Ariana Madix Didn’t Do Things for Him
While Wai does things for Madix, Sandoval once complained that she never did anything for him. In a scene that aired on “Vanderpump Rules” season 10, Sandoval complained to Tom Schwartz about his relationship.
“It’s like, Ariana when’s the last time you’ve gone to the store and bought paper towels and toilet paper?“ Sandoval said. “Like, there’s pens in the drawer, there’s batteries in the drawer because I do that. You don’t go out of your way to do things for me and it f****** hurts me after a while.”
Madix later poked fun at Sandoval’s rant in a Duracell battery commercial that she filmed after the scandal. The battery ad filmed in the Valley Village home Madix still shares with Sandoval.
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