During his appearance on Howie Mandel's 'Howie Mandel Does Stuff' podcast, the 'Vanderpump Rules' star also shares that he and Ariana broke up before his affair was exposed.
- Apr 12, 2023
AceShowbiz - Tom Sandoval is offering new insights into his headline-making affair with his "Vanderpump Rules" co-star Raquel Leviss as well as the demise of his 9-year relationship with Ariana Madix. Stopping by Howie Mandel's "Howie Mandel Does Stuff" podcast, Tom admitted that he's "never experienced" getting so much attention like this before.
"It's just crazy how big this whole thing has gotten for who I am - I'm not like the royal family, I'm on a reality show. Like, if Snooki has an affair with whoever, is that going to be national news?" Tom said. "It's been six weeks since this all went down. I'm finally getting time to start to reflect on this situation."
The bar owner added, "I never thought I'd get myself in a situation like this - never. I mean, I worked too hard on my image, for my businesses, my integrity and everything. But it just happened."
Speaking of Ariana, Tom revealed, "I still love Ariana, and I care about her very much. But we, for a while, had sort of just having our own lives." As for why their relationship didn't work out, he said that "communication was not great" and that they "kept growing apart" as time went on.
Tom went on to note that he and Ariana broke up before his affair with Raquel was exposed. "I did break up with her on Valentine's Day," he shared, adding that Ariana was "completely in denial." He insisted, "We were broken up. She knew we were broken up. We didn't tell anybody, but she knew."
As for how he started having an affair with Raquel, Tom shared that she came to him when he was in a "very dark place" in his life and their affair ultimately happened at "the worst time." He recalled the night when they had their first kiss, "We literally talked 'til the sun came up. And then we were back at my house, just talking. I'm locked out of my house. We just kissed. It was magnetic."
The TomTom co-owner continued, "We were talking, moving closer, and as we were talking, as time went on, we would just start talking closer and closer, and then all of a sudden, we're kissing. I felt something I haven't felt in so long - like, emotionally."
During the interview, Tom additionally discussed her current relationship with the former pageant queen. "We're not putting any label on it," he said, adding, "We're just kind of taking a break." When host Howie asked if they are friends "with benefits," the 40-year-old responded, "Not right now."
