Everyone and their dog already knows who wins the most iconic reality TV rivalry award… It’s Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval, whose Vanderpump Rules drama was so wild it was nicknamed Scandoval.
The jist is, Tom Sandoval had a seven-month affair with co-star Raquel Leviss. BTW, this was all going on while he was in a nine-year relationship with Ariana Madix, who was also BFFs with Raquel.
Most iconic reality TV rivalry goes to…
With a staggering 6,188 searches on average every month, Ariana and Tom are in first place for most searched rivalry in an astonishing 48 out of 50 states. They beat Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s feud!
Vanderpump Rules made history when the affair between Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss was revealed in March 2023. It first began in August 2022, hooking up at Scheana Shay and Brock Davies’ wedding.
Ariana and Tom continued to live together after the discovery, with her calling his so-called friendship “disgusting”. When the affair came out, Leviss and Sandoval were still writing postcards to each other.
Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval drama uncovered
Ariana and Tom split after she found a steamy video of her friend, Raquel, on his phone: the beginning of the most iconic reality TV rivalry.
“I did it because Tom and I had this connection,” Leviss said.
She added that the spark between them “was almost impossible to turn away from.” During filming, a then-unaware Ariana had told Raquel she and Tom were lacking in the bedroom department.
So although the affair had not yet come out, looking back, it was all happening in real time. Ariana said, “Selfish doesn’t even cover it,” which she had said is the “nicest word they could use”.
Sandoval claimed it was “about connection and respect” rather than sleeping together, admitting his relationship with Ariana “wasn’t the same”. She’d told him they “could have had couples’ therapy”.
Why the rivalry is so unforgettable
Well, firstly, it’s still ongoing. The drama has been so explosive that bakeries made cakes on Tom Sandoval being a ‘liar’, Adele mentioned it on tour, and Ariana was hired for Dancing With The Stars.
Even Lisa Vanderpump‘s husband, Ken Todd, became iconic for his two-sentence liner, when he said, “I can’t believe Tom Sandoval had Raquel over while Ariana’s away. In the jacuzzi as well!”
Cheating drama always make headlines, such as Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson’s maternity scandal, but the wrath that came of Sandoval sleeping with co-star Raquel Leviss made it messier.
The heartbreak Ariana went through was something we all felt, but the way she came out stronger was something to applaud. She’s now performing her dream on Broadway and started a sandwich shop!
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