Bonding over their splits. Lala Kent recalled the emotional conversation she shared with Ariana Madix about how a breakup affects your body.
“When I saw Ariana for the first time since all this happened, she said to me, ‘It now makes sense how you lost so much weight. It is a different kind of pain,'” Kent, 32, shared during the Wednesday, April 5, episode of her “Give Them Lala” podcast. “It’s a gut-wrenching sadness that you can’t explain.”
The beauty mogul, who ended her engagement to Randall Emmett in November 2021 due to infidelity, empathized with Madix’s struggles in the aftermath of her split from Tom Sandoval.
According to Kent, her costar, 37, has continued to face major obstacles while sharing a home with her now-ex-boyfriend, 40. (Madix and Sandoval parted ways after news broke of his affair with Raquel Leviss.)
“Sandoval won’t leave the house. I don’t know if he will now, but for a very long time he was like, ‘I plan on being here all week and I plan on using every room in the house,'” the Utah native said before claiming that Madix no longer had a “safe” space to mentally “recharge” amid the drama.
The TomTom co-owner’s ex Kristen Doute previously broke down Madix and Sandoval’s dynamic while still living under the same roof.
“He walked in [after the news broke] … And he was like, ‘Yea I know everyone hates me,'” she recalled on her “Sex, Love and What Else Matters” podcast in March, weeks before Leviss was spotted leaving the house. “And I volunteered myself as tribute and I said, ‘I’m going to go upstairs and I’m going to make sure he’s not staying.’ … We did go upstairs, and I have to respect that they share that home, legally he’s allowed to be at that house. So I reminded everybody that the best thing we can do right now is respect what the laws are.”
Us Weekly confirmed early last month that Madix and Sandoval called it quits after nearly a decade together.
The businessman broke his silence by addressing negative reviews his Los Angeles restaurants received as a result of the scandal.
“Hey, I fully understand and deserve ur anger & disappointment towards me, but please leave [Tom] Schwartz, my friends and family out of this situation … Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions. This was a very personal thing,” he wrote via Instagram at the time.
In the lengthy social media statement, the Missouri native requested that Vanderpump Rules fans not punish his TomTom and Schwartz & Sandy’s due to their opinions on his personal life.
“Also, Schwartz & Sandy’s might have my name on it, but also there are 3 other partners and 20 employees, who especially rely on the restaurant for income for them and their families. Just like TomTom, I’m a small part of a much bigger thing,” he continued. “Please direct ur anger towards me and not them. They did nothing wrong. I’m so sorry that my partners, Greg, Brett, and Schwartz and our employees have to suffer for my actions. I will be taking a step back & taking a hiatus out of respect for my employees & partners.”
Kent, for her part, called out the post for not including any mention of Madix. (Sandoval later issued a second statement included his ex-girlfriend.)
“S*ndoval. Shut up. Employees, abort mission,” she wrote via Instagram Stories on March 4. “Where’s Ariana’s apology in this? It’s called narcissism … & and it’s terrifying.”
Meanwhile, Madix issued a public thank you to everyone who supported her. “Hi. where to begin? i want to express my most sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support i have received from friends, family, and people i’ve never even met in the last two weeks,” the Florida native captioned an Instagram post on March 16. “When i have felt like i couldn’t even stand, you all have given me the strength to continue and seen me through my darkest hours. to say i have been devastated and broken is an understatement. however, i know that i am not in this alone.”
She continued: “So many of my closest friends are also grieving this loss right now and reeling from this betrayal on so many levels. i am so f—king lucky to have the best support system in the world and i hope i can repay every single person for the love you have shown me. what doesn’t kill me better run. love, ariana.”
The Vanderpump Rules cast ultimately crossed paths late last month for the season 10 reunion after previously filming new footage for the hit Bravo series. Shortly after taping the reunion, Kent offered a glimpse at what fans can expect from the special.
“That was the most exhausting reunion I’ve ever done in my life,” she explained via Instagram Stories. “I’m drained. I feel like I want to crawl into a hole and sob and scream, but I’m happy to be home now with my little one, crawl in bed, watch Seinfeld and just, like, regroup.”
