Ariana Madix broke her silence on her decision to keep Tom Sandoval‘s hookup with Miami Girl a secret during their relationship.
“They slept together, it was before he and I were exclusive,” the Florida native, 37, revealed during her Wednesday, May 17, appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, referring to past rumors of Sandoval’s fling with Annemarie Maldonado in 2015.
Madix recalled lying about her then-boyfriend’s affair during season 3 of Vanderpump Rules, adding, “I didn’t want people to think the worst about the man I was planning to spend the rest of my life with.”
The TomTom co-owner’s infidelity was a major topic of conversation after he kissed Madix while still dating Kristen Doute. Following Sandoval, 40, and Doute’s split in 2013, the Michigan native, 40, accused her ex of being unfaithful again.
Madix, for her part, refused to acknowledge the rumors when Doute flew Miami Girl to SUR in season 3. The Fancy AF Cocktails coauthor later admitted she had no regrets about how she addressed the drama while filming the hit Bravo series.
“I should’ve just, like, stayed there and not left,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2021. “But we just went to a bar next door, had a drink and chilled until they were, like, ‘You have to come back here.'”
Madix added: “I almost wish I didn’t [leave]. The reason why we left is because we felt like production was pulling this whole thing. We were, like, ‘Oh, so random people just show up now.’ I do regret, I guess just not fully calling out the whole real story, like on camera and staying there.”
The Missouri native, meanwhile, said he would change how the situation played out, telling Us in August 2021, “If I can do anything over again, I just would have never even filmed with [her]. I just don’t think it’s really fair. Like, so I can, like, make up something about anybody and then end up on our show? I wish I would have just never even engaged in that at all.”
Sandoval’s personal life made headlines again in March when Us confirmed his split from Madix following his affair with their costar Raquel Leviss. While filming new footage for season 10 of Vanderpump Rules, the Schwartz & Sandy’s cofounder admitted past speculation about his infidelity was true.
“Ariana has always known the truth about that,” he claimed during a conversation with Scheana Shay in the finale, which aired on Wednesday, May 17.
Sandoval went on to say that “there was one other time” he was unfaithful. He noted it wasn’t a random person before refusing to answer more questions, saying, “It isn’t fair, I am not going into it.”
During her WWHL appearance, Madix noted she had a guess about who Sandoval was referring to but that the mystery woman was not in the Vanderpump Rules universe.
The three-part Vanderpump Rules reunion kicks off on Wednesday, May 24, at 9 p.m. ET.
