- "Vanderpump Rules" stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix have reportedly split after 9 years together.
- On Saturday, Sandoval appeared to confirm that he cheated on Madix with costar Raquel Leviss.
After nine years together, "Vanderpump Rules" stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix have reportedly split, following allegations that Sandoval was cheating on Madix with another costar, Raquel Leviss.
On Saturday, Sandoval appeared to confirm the rumors in an Instagram post.
"I fully understand and deserve ur anger & disappointment towards me," Sandoval wrote. He then requested that people leave his costar and business partner, Tom Schwartz, out of the situation for the sake of their business. He added that Schwartz "only found out about this very recently."
While he didn't explicitly state the allegations were true, he ended the post by saying, "Sorry for everything."
Madix deleted all of her social media accounts after reports of the affair began circulating Friday.
According to People, the alleged affair between Sandoval, 39, and Leviss, 28 had been going on for six months.
"They had been having problems for a while, but this was the final straw for Ariana," an unnamed source told People. "She put up with a lot over the years, but she won't sit back and be disrespected this way."
In an interview with E! News in July 2022 — around the time when sources told People that Leviss and Sandoval began their affair — Leviss said that Sandoval was becoming "one of [her] best friends lately."
"He just is so in touch with himself and fully accepting of who he is and so confident," Leviss told the outlet. "I feel like he looks at me like a little sister and is supporting me in such a kind way. He's a really great guy."
Representatives for Sandoval, Madix, and Leviss have not responded to Insider's request for comment.
Here's a look at what's happened so far, and a breakdown of the tangled web of "Vanderpump" love stories.
Madix and Sandoval's relationship began in 2014
To understand the downfall of Madix and Sandoval's relationship, one must first understand the environment in which it was created.
"Vanderpump Rules," which began in 2013, is a reality TV show on Bravo that follows a millennial friend group as they navigate life and fame in Los Angeles. They're tied together through their employment at SUR, a restaurant owned by Lisa Vanderpump of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."
Throughout the 10-season series, relationships and hookups develop and dissolve among the friend group, creating an environment that one cast member, Katie Maloney, described as "incestuous" in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Madix became a Bravolebrity in the second season of "Vanderpump Rules" when she debuted as a bartender at SUR. Sandoval, who was also bartending at the time, was then dating former costar Kristen Doute.
Doute was booted from the show in 2020, along with one of the series' biggest stars, Stassi Schroeder. Their removal came after falsely accusing Faith Stowers, a former Black castmate, of theft, according to Vanity Fair.
After Madix joined the cast, she was accused of cheating with Sandoval while he was dating Doute. Madix and Sandoval later revealed that they had kissed, then confirmed their relationship during the season two reunion in 2014, per People.
While the two never married, they own a home together in Los Angeles, which they bought in 2019. That same year, the couple released their co-authored book, "Fancy AF Cocktails: Drink Recipes from a Couple of Professional Drinkers."
Another love triangle unfolds
It's the second time over the last few weeks that Leviss has been caught in the middle of other cast members' relationship drama.
In February, Leviss posted a photo to Instagram of her standing with Schwartz who was previously married to Maloney. Schwartz and Maloney divorced in 2022 after six years of marriage and a total of 12 years together.
"You really thought you did something here," Maloney commented on the photo. In a second comment, Maloney wrote that the snapshot was sent to her so many times that she "couldn't leave it alone," calling it "Desperado."
In an episode of "Vanderpump Rules" that aired on Wednesday, Leviss attempted to kiss Schwartz by asking him "Do you want to make out?"
Though according to E! News he initially rejected her attempt, the two later shared a kiss at a cast member's wedding in Mexico.
Fans are calling for a boycott of Sandoval and Schwartz's business
Sandoval has collaborated with costar Schwartz on two bars: TomTom and Schwartz & Sandy's.
Following reports of Sandoval's affair, fans began speculating that Schwartz knew about Sandoval's alleged affair with Leviss. Some started commenting on the official Schwartz & Sandy's Instagram page, saying that they were going to boycott the lounge, prompting a response from the business on Saturday.
In an Instagram post, Schwartz & Sandy's said the staff is "disappointed by the situation."
The post continued: "We appreciate that you may feel a certain way, but please understand that the livelihoods of others also depend on this business, there are far more people involved in this venture than just Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz."
Cast members took to social media to react to the cheating allegations
On Friday, James Kennedy, a cast member who was engaged to Leviss until they called off the wedding in December 2021, posted a screenshot to Instagram of TMZ's report about Sandoval and Madix's split.
"Hope you all feel as sick as I do. This explains everything," Kennedy wrote in a comment on the photo. The pair previously dated for five years before getting engaged.
As the rumors began swirling, Andy Cohen, host of Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" tweeted Friday to ask how many parts the "Vanderpump Rules" reunion should include.
—Andy Cohen (@Andy) March 3, 2023
That same day Maloney also posted an Instagram story asking why Sandoval didn't offer an apology to Madix in his statement.
Vanderpump chimed in, tweeting "I'm not sure my heart is up to it" on Saturday.
In an Instagram story that same day, Lala Kent, another "Vanderpump Rules" star, posted a screenshot of Sandoval's statement, where she asked, "where's Ariana's apology in this?"