Ariana Madix‘s friend Logan Cochran offered his unfiltered reaction to Tom Sandoval‘s lawsuit.
Cochran replied in the comments section of an Instagram post on Tuesday, July 16, writing, “Ummm what the actual f–king f–k.” The response came after Us Weekly broke the news that Sandoval, 42, is suing Madix, 39, amid Rachel “Raquel” Leviss‘ lawsuit against them.
In documents obtained by Us, Sandoval claimed that Madix “obtained access” to Sandoval’s phone on March 1, 2023, and reviewed videos of Sandoval and Leviss, 29, without his “authorization or permission.” The filing alleged that Madix “made copies” of the NSFW video and distributed it to “Leviss and third parties” against his authority.
The intimate video originally made headlines in March 2023 when Madix and Sandoval called it quits after nearly a decade of dating when she found footage of his affair with Leviss. After leaving Vanderpump Rules later that year, Leviss filed a lawsuit against Sandoval and Madix for revenge porn, eavesdropping and invasion of privacy.
“Lost in the mix was that Leviss was a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which were then distributed, disseminated and discussed publicly by a scorned woman seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal,” the March documents stated. “Leviss ultimately checked herself into a mental health facility and remained there for three months while Bravo, Evolution and the cast milked the interest her excoriation had peaked.”
The paperwork continued: “Fueled in no small part by a NSFW Facetime video from Leviss that Sandoval seemingly secretly taped and supposedly circulated, Scandoval blew up last year right as Vanderpump Rules’ 10th season was airing on Bravo. Madix found out about the affair from a so-called accidental look at Sandovol’s phone show and then all unscripted hell broke loose.”
Sandoval and Madix individually petitioned the court to dismiss Leviss’ suit. Madix filed her own countersuit claiming that Rachel was seeking to “punish” and “blame Ms. Madix for the negative reaction [she] received as a result of her affair.”
Madix also denied multiple times that she shared the video of Leviss with other people. In a legal filing, Madix included a text chain with Cochran where she wrote, “Tom took my phone and deleted them.”
After Sandoval sued Madix on Tuesday, her attorney addressed the situation in a statement to Us, saying, “It is abhorrent that Tom Sandoval continues to torment Ms. Madix. From engaging in an illicit affair that shattered her home and stability, to months of emotional warfare and now this attempt to further shirk personal responsibility for the effects his actions have had on her and her emotional wellbeing. Tom Sandoval knows full well what sort of privileges he and Ms. Madix shared in regard to their personal communication devices.”
The statement continued: “If he or his mistress had their way, it would be illegal for someone to discover their spouse or significant other was having an affair. For Mr. Sandoval to go from begging Ms. Madix for forgiveness to blaming her for his wrongdoing speaks for itself. Even months after The New York Times branded Mr. Sandoval “the most hated man in America,” he has clearly learned nothing and believes it necessary to continue torturing Ms. Madix in a vain effort to rehabilitate his image. Ms. Madix is confident that a jury will see through this latest ploy and dismiss his frivolous claims.”
Sandoval’s attorney Matthew Geragos — the brother of Leviss’ lawyer Mark Geragos — also addressed the legal development.
“While Tom Sandoval accepts responsibility for his affair, he strongly denies the allegations of the lawsuit filed by Rachel Leviss against him and Ms. Madix,” the statement read. “In order to ensure a fair and just determination of responsibility among all parties involved, we filed a cross complaint on behalf of Mr. Sandoval. This customary legal action was crucial to ensure that liability, if any, is fairly distributed based on the actual level of involvement and fault of each party. We aim to resolve this legal dispute with utmost respect towards all parties involved.”
