Tom Sandoval Talks Bringing ‘Some Honor Back’ to His Family Name

Getty Images Tom Sandoval talks about "Special Forces."

Tom Sandoval of “Vanderpump Rules” fame is competing on the second season of “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.”

On the show, he talks a bit about the affair that he had that changed his life and he explained how that played into the reasons he decided to do the show.

“One of the big reasons why I’m here is I let down my family and other people whose last name is Sandoval. I tarnished the name, and I want to bring some honor back to that name,” he said on the show.

Sandoval is an OG cast member on “Vanderpump Rules.” He’s been on the show full-time since its inception in 2013. According to IMDb, he’s also done some acting.

Here’s what you need to know:

Tom Sandoval Gets Roughed Up on ‘Special Forces’

On the Fox show, celebs from different walks of life take on challenges that are set up for them by trained staff sergeants. Tested physically and mentally, some celebrities are eliminated due to injury while others quit because the pressure and stress ends up being too much.

On the season 2 trailer of “Special Forces,” Sandoval was seen with blood under his nose and above his upper lip, getting injured during one of the upcoming challenges.

In the trailer, Sandoval can be heard telling one of the staff sergeants that he wants “to get punished” after the rough year that he had.

Sandoval had been in a longterm relationship with his “Vanderpump Rules” co-star, Ariana Madix, when he started hooking up with another co-star, Raquel Leviss. Madix found out about the affair when she saw an inappropriate photo of Leviss on Sandoval’s phone in March 2023.

Although filming for “Vanderpump Rules” had already wrapped for the season, Bravo cameras picked back up to get footage of the aftermath of the affair, which aired on season 10.

While filming “Special Forces,” Sandoval missed a couple of weeks filming season 11 of “Vanderpump Rules,” but he was able to eventually rejoin the rest of the cast, including his now ex, Madix. Leviss is not returning to the show.

Tom Sandoval Says He Was ‘Suicidal’ Amid Scandoval

On his new podcast, Sandoval said that the fallout of his affair with Leviss was so bad that he contemplated suicide.

He started off by talking about Chester Bennington’s suicide in 2017, and how he couldn’t believe how someone who seemed so happy could take his own life. However, he admits that Scandoval made him understand it better.

“When you get into that headspace, it’s like a domino effect. Your world starts collapsing on itself and you cannot see outside of your feelings. Your peripheral goes away. Your sense of thinking about the future, your ability to snap out of it goes away. And there were some times where I was, you know, felt very, very close,” Sandoval said on the September 28, 2023, episode of the “Everybody Loves Tom” podcast.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you can reach the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  by dialing 988. 

READ NEXT: Jamie Lynn Spears Gets Booed by Cody Rigsby