Heavy/Getty/NBCUniversal Tom Sandoval
Tom Sandoval finally broke his silence on the massive scandal he was involved in over a month after news first broke about it. On March 3, 2023, Bravo fans learned that Sandoval and Ariana Madix were breaking up after Madix discovered that her boyfriend of 9 years had been having an affair for months with their “Vanderpump Rules” co-star and her good friend Raquel Leviss.
The bar owner joined Howie Mandel on his “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast on April 11 and expressed his shock at how big the scandal got. “This whole situation has been just… I mean obviously, I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life,” he shared with Mandel. “It’s just crazy how big this story has gotten for who I am, like I’m not royal family, you know, I’m on a reality show.”
He gave an example of another reality star, Nicole Polizzi or “Snooki” from “Jersey Shore,” and wondered if news broke that she’d had an affair, “is that gonna be like national news?” he asked.
Sandoval said he was finally starting to reflect on what happened and process it and told listeners that he never thought he’d be involved in a situation like that, adding that he’d worked so hard to build his image and brand.
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Tom Sandoval Explained Why He Thought the Scandoval Got So Big & He Appeared Incredulous at the Scale of the Reaction
Mandel’s daughter and co-host Jackelyn Shultz asked the Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras singer why he thought the story blew up to the extent that it did. She pointed out that there’s been a long history of infidelity on “Vanderpump Rules.” For instance, former cast members Jax Taylor and Kristen Doute admitted to sleeping together while Doute and Sandoval were still dating.
“I don’t know, I think it was just really shocking,” Sandoval guessed in his response. “There’s a lot of s***ty things that happen in the news all the time, this happened [at] a time where there just wasn’t a lot going on,” he continued. “I mean, CNN’s covering this? CNN? I watch CNN, I don’t wanna watch this s*** on f****** CNN,” he exclaimed incredulously.
Sandoval described the time period immediately following the news of the “Scandoval” breaking and said it felt like he was a fugitive on the run. He said he didn’t have a change of clothes or his medication and didn’t shower for days but was just trying to “dodge paparazzi.”
Tom Sandoval Criticized Lala Kent & Scheana Shay & Accused Them of Taking Advantage of His Situation for Their Podcasts
While speaking with Mandel, Sandoval took the opportunity to criticize some of his VPR co-stars, namely Lala Kent and Scheana Shay, for trying to take advantage of the situation. He said they were doing entire podcast episodes about minor questions like what Madix and Sandoval were going to do with their animals. “I’m not gonna sit there and be interrogated by Lala or Scheana, like sorry, that’s not happening, especially with their behavior lately,” he called them out.
Kent responded to Sandoval’s comments on her Instagram Story after the episode dropped and denied his claims that she was “profiting” off him. “I’ve profited off of me saying funny s***,” she said. She added that she was profiting off her own heartbreak so she was of course going to “profit off [Sandoval’s].” Kent also pointed out that Madix was fine with the “Give Them Lala” host discussing the split and the affair.
Kent shaded Sandoval’s interview as a whole, saying Mandel was a strange choice of podcast host for his first interview given that the actor and comedian didn’t know anything about “Vanderpump Rules.”
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