VANDERPUMP Rules fans have been left stunned by Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval’s split and they’re not alone.
On Friday news broke that the bar owner allegedly cheated on his longtime girlfriend with their friend and co-star Raquel Leviss.
BravoVanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix was reportedly ‘blindsided’ by Tom Sandoval’s rumored ‘affair’[/caption]
Youtube/BravoThe pair have called it quits have more than five years together[/caption]
The U.S. Sun spoke exclusively to a source close to the Bravo stars in the wake of their split news.
According to the insider, Ariana, 37, did not see the split – or the alleged affair – coming.
“Ariana was completely blindsided by the cheating news this week. She had no idea. Completely no idea,” the source said.
“No one in the friend group knew. Raquel has been hanging out with the Tom’s more but everyone just thought she was hooking up with [Tom] Schwartz.”
The insider went on to say: “No one suspected she was with Sandoval. Ariana found out from a friend during Tom’s show on Wednesday night while Raquel was in New York.
“She immediately confronted Tom and made it clear she wouldn’t tolerate that and made the decision they were done almost immediately.”
According to the source: “Ariana is devastated and in a total state of shock. Tom is arrogant and still thinks she’ll come back to him.”
The same source revealed: “Ariana saw inappropriate messages from Raquel on Tom’s phone that night and that’s what tipped her off. Ariana’s friend got involved and confronted Tom and the rest played itself out.”
Fans should expect to see the drama play out on Vanderpump Rules, according to the insider.
“Bravo is filming and fans will see it play out this season.”
SHOWING FACE
After breaking the news of the breakup, TMZ reported that Tom and Ariana will come face-to-face in a dramatic scene filmed for the reality show.
Sources told the outlet that producers filmed the former couple at their home on Friday morning.
They came together to discuss the end of their relationship.
Cameras were allegedly rolling throughout the entire discussion.
According to the insider, the conversation was emotionally charged.
Producers reportedly believe that they can get the segments edited in time
CLEAR SIGNS
While TMZ broke the news of the split, fans had their suspicions hours before the news went public.
On a Vanderpump Rules message board, commenters noted that Ariana had seemingly deleted all of her social media accounts.
The original poster shared a screengrab of what should have been the star’s Twitter account, revealing that it was gone.
They captioned the thread: “Did Ariana delete her Twitter?? I went to see if there were any other interesting likes or replies after grabbing those two earlier today and now the account is gone.”
Another commenter wrote: “She’s mentioned she gets affected majorly by everyone’s opinions. … She probably needed a break.”
A second fan added: “Well her and Tom broke up. So I guess we know why she deactivated.”
A third commenter wrote: “There are rumors that Tom cheated with Raquel and they broke up. I hope it’s not true but deleting her social media makes it feel real. I’m so sad for her.”
A fourth fan commented: “If I were on the show, social media would drive me nuts. I’d delete my accounts, too.”
Tom’s social media profiles are still active.
On Instagram, however, there are few traces of Ariana.
He last shared a photo of her back in June 2022.
SPLIT REVEALED
TMZ reported that Tom cheated on Ariana – who he began dating in 2014 – with Raquel.
A source told the outlet that Ariana had recently learned of the allegations and ended her romance with Tom.
The insider alleged that producers got word of the breakup and made the call to film with the cast to document the fallout.
They are reportedly hopeful it can be featured in season 10 of the show, which is currently airing on Bravo.
Tom and Ariana were last seen together as recently as Wednesday when she came to watch his band play and support the release of his new single.
According to TMZ’s sources, however, the pair have been on the outs for some time.
After news broke, Raquel’s ex-fiancé James Kennedy posted to Instagram: “Hope you all feel as sick as I do. This explains everything.”
She ended their engagement back in December 2021 admitting her “heart wasn’t fully in it.”
Raquel recently posed for a photo with Tom at his new restaurant, Schwartz and Sandy’s, in which he stood with his arm around her and flashed the peace sign.
“Just ’cause,” he captioned the post on Instagram.
A trailer for season 10 of VPR previously led fans to believe Tom and Ariana were in an open relationship, but she has shut down these rumors.
“We don’t have an open relationship,” Ariana tweeted. “I’m really not that cool. Thought that was obvious. Bisexual ≠ polyamorous.”
While Raquel has been pinned as the person who tore the couple apart, she has also been linked to another Tom from the show: Tom Schwartz.
The two made out at Scheana Shay’s wedding shortly after his split from Katie Maloney, who was unhappy about them hooking up.
The fallout from the weeks leading up to their hookup is currently showing on new episodes of Vanderpump Rules.
Katie has responded to the news of Ariana and Tom’s split by posting two clown face emojis on her Instagram Stories.
GettyIt was reported that they came together to film split scenes for the Bravo show[/caption]
GettyAriana and Raquel Leviss, who Tom reportedly cheated with, were close[/caption]
Tommy Garcia/BravoDrama involving newly-single Raquel’s hookups has been dominating season 10[/caption]
