A sign of things to come? Tom Sandoval couldn’t name any specific plans for his future with ex Ariana Madix shortly after they bought their house together.
“I don’t really have any relationship goals,” the TomTom co-owner, 40, exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2020 when asked what he thought the year ahead might hold. “I think maybe take a trip, just spend time with each other, do some fun activities, keep ourselves busy. Whenever we’re busy, whenever we’re working out, healthy, being proactive, it just tends to be a positive influence on our relationship.”
The Schwartz & Sandy’s cofounder went on to say that he and the Florida native, 37, joked around with each other regularly. “We have great debates, intelligent debates,” he said at the time. “We have a lot of respect for each other. It’s a positive thing.”
![Pump Rules' Tom Sandoval Said He Didn't Have 'Any Relationship Goals' After Buying House With Ariana Madix](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/TomSandoval.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all)
Asked if he and his then-girlfriend would ever consider an open relationship, the Missouri native replied, “I don’t know.”
Us confirmed on March 3 that the bartender and Madix called it quits after Sandoval was caught cheating with their Vanderpump Rules costar Raquel Leviss. The Fancy AF Cocktails coauthors had been dating since 2014.
After the scandal made headlines, the Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras frontman apologized via social media, asking fans to stop bombarding Schwartz & Sandy’s with negative online reviews. At the time, several of his costars — including Lala Kent and Katie Maloney — called him out for not mentioning Madix at all in his apology.
“S*ndoval. Shut up. Employees, abort mission,” the Give Them Lala author, 32, wrote via Instagram Stories on March 4. “Where’s Ariana’s apology in this? It’s called narcissism … & and it’s terrifying.”
Several days later, Sandoval shared a second mea culpa that was specifically directed toward Madix. “I want to first and foremost apologize to everyone I’ve hurt through this process. Most of all, I want to apologize to Ariana,” he wrote via Instagram on March 7. “I made mistakes, I was selfish and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly.”
Madix, for her part, has yet to publicly comment on the scandal, but Leviss, 28, issued a statement on March 9. “I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships,” the former pageant queen wrote via Instagram. “There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana.”
Hours later, the Sonoma State University graduate said she wasn’t ready to address the status of her relationship with Sandoval. “I care for Tom and I don’t want to label anything or predict what lies ahead,” she wrote via Instagram. “Right now I need to heal.”
Earlier this month, an insider exclusively told Us that Leviss and Sandoval think their romance could really last. “Tom and Raquel are the real deal,” the source explained. “They have confided to pals that it’s love and they have fallen hard for each other. It’s no excuse for what they did and the people they hurt, but they see a long-term future together. Only time will tell if their bond can survive the backlash.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi