Ariana Madix is making it clear that there are some aspects of Scandoval that are still under wraps.
“There’s a lot that they will never know,” Madix said on Good Morning America on Saturday, February 10, when asked about meeting Vanderpump Rules fans who think they know every detail about her ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval‘s affair. “To be fair, they do know a lot but there’s a lot they’ll never know.”
Madix also called out Bravo viewers who are passing judgment while watching season 11, reminding viewers that current episodes of the show were filmed months after she found out about Sandoval’s affair with then-costar Rachel “Raquel” Leviss.
“Things air so much longer after [they take place]. You do get people who ask, ‘Why aren’t you doing this?’” she added. “And [the answer] is that it is February and that took place in June [2023].”
News broke in March 2023 that Madix and Sandoval, 41, called it quits on their nearly 10-year relationship due to his infidelity. As a result, cameras captured more footage for a new season finale to document the scandal. The cast — including Madix, Sandoval, Leviss, 28, Lala Kent, Scheana Shay, Katie Maloney, Tom Schwartz and James Kennedy — reunited weeks later to address their drama on the reunion.
As ratings skyrocketed, current and former stars of the show used the opportunity to create even more success for themselves. Leviss, meanwhile, checked herself into a mental health treatment center and has since confirmed her exit from reality TV.
During the season 11 premiere, which aired in January, Madix made it clear she had no plans to speak to Sandoval or Leviss again.
“My feeling is that whatever work she’s doing, I hope the best for her over there. But she’s still doing the same stuff. She’s still in contact with him and they are still sending packages back and forth to each other,” she told Kent on the episode. “For me, I worry that there are certain people in this world that look at those types of conversations as a foot in the door. And there’s no foot to be had.”
Despite the overwhelming attention that Vanderpump Rules received as a result of the controversy, not everyone has been thrilled by the effects of Scandoval. Executive producer Alex Baskin recently explained why he referred to the scandal as “the worst thing that ever happened” to Vanderpump Rules.
“Contrary to what certain people in certain quarters have said of that controversy saving the show, the truth is we were making a great show in season 10,” Baskin said on Kent’s “Give Them Lala” podcast in January in response to the suggestion that Sandoval’s infidelity saved the Bravo show from cancellation. “In fact, we had made a great season. It was a bounce back season and the audience was into it.”
Baskin recalled having moments where he wished Scandoval “never” happened.
“I felt like there is a danger in burning too fast and too brightly,” he said. “I also thought, ‘That is the one thing to happen to this group that has threatened to tear everyone apart.’ Everything else has been something we were able to overcome and I didn’t know that we could put the pieces back together.”
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
