Ariana Madix is telling the whole story after a clip from season 11 of Vanderpump Rules caused viewers to jump to the wrong conclusions.
Bravo released a series of sneak peeks from season 11 on Wednesday, December 13, after Peacock started streaming #PumpRules: A Decade of Rumors and Lies. The extended edition of the special featured a conversation between Ariana, 38, and Katie Maloney about Tom Sandoval.
“I feel the house is the last thing tying things. What I think is psychotic is that he wants to buy me out and stay here,” Ariana told Katie, 36, in the video. “I’m sorry, but then you don’t have to move and I do?”
Katie didn’t understand Sandoval’s motives about keeping his and Ariana’s shared home after their split, saying, “If he has that kind of money, go buy something else.”
Sandoval, 41, and Ariana called it quits in March after nearly a decade of dating following his affair with their now-former costar Raquel Leviss. In the aftermath of the scandal, Sandoval and Raquel, 29, initially stayed in touch and hinted at plans to continue their romance.
Raquel, however, checked herself into a mental health facility shortly after filming the season 10 reunion. Following her release, Raquel confirmed she wouldn’t be returning to the hit Bravo series. She and Sandoval also officially parted ways.
In the clip, which was filmed earlier this summer, Ariana explained why she wasn’t interested in selling the house to Sandoval.
“What, are you going to bring your little pen pal back over here? I don’t f–king think so,” she said in a confessional. “From what I can tell, Tom and Rachel are still very much together because they’re sending mail and packages back and forth to each other. She even sent a postcard with lighting bolts all over it. Get a new bit already.”
Ariana took to social media to set the record straight after fans questioned her reasoning, writing via the comments section, “WE COUNTERED BC HIS OFFER WAS TRASH AND GOT NOTHING BACK jesus y’all it’s gonna be a looooooong season.”
Sandoval and Ariana have been fielding questions about their living situation since their breakup. They originally purchased their home in 2019 after six years of dating. One month after the scandal made headlines, Sandoval admitted he didn’t have anywhere else to go.
“I don’t have a lot of friends I can stay with right now. … I kind of run the house,” he said on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast in April. “I handle the gardening [and] the housekeeping. My assistant comes and cleans and stocks everything. I basically run everything in the house.”
The Schwartz & Sandy’s cofounder said he was able to avoid seeing Ariana by using a mediator. “[Ariana’s] in the house. This is a big house. We have a go-between. We text when we’re coming and going,” he continued. “The house is not listed yet, no. [Ariana’s] really busy right now, she’s obviously blowing up. I’m really happy to see that. I’ve been busy as well trying to get things together.”
Ariana has also defended her decision to remain in her home. “I have never been someone who came from money. I know how quickly that goes away,” she told costar Scheana Shay on the “Scheananigans” podcast in August. “I’m taking care of myself. … I have a pretty decent setup. My room is kind of like my little apartment. I stay in my own little zone.”
The former Dancing With the Stars contestant continued: “I sleep a lot easier at night not giving a f–k about when he is coming through that door. That is one thing I have to say about us living in the same house. I don’t have to think about how he is coming into my bedroom because he is not. I sleep with my door locked. Just in case.”
Earlier this month, Ariana offered more context behind what was holding up her move. “I’m working on the situation with the ownership of the house,” she noted during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “I would love for that to be resolved quickly, so if [his lawyer] Joe Weiner could really get back to my lawyer, that’d be great.”
