Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules documented Tom Sandoval‘s post-scandal apology tour — which has been met with mixed reactions.
Sandoval was at odds with most of his costars when news broke in March 2023 about his affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. After Sandoval and Ariana Madix‘s nearly decade-long relationship came to an end due to his infidelity, the Vanderpump Rules cast largely sided with Ariana. (Rachel, meanwhile, exited the series after season 10 and is no longer in touch with anyone from the show.)
Amid the drama, Sandoval lost his standing as the No. 1 guy in the group while Ariana‘s star rose. In the year following the scandal, she filmed commercials that poked fun at Scandoval for brands including Duracell, BIC and Lays, she joined season 32 of Dancing With the Stars, booked the role of Roxie Hart on Broadway’s Chicago, released a new recipe book, Single AF Cocktails, was and even crowned Us Weekly‘s inaugural Reality Star of the Year.
Sandoval, meanwhile, attempted to crawl his way back to positive relevance by touring with his band, Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras, appearing on Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test and starting his own podcast, titled “Everybody Loves Tom.”
The rest of the Vanderpump Rules cast also profited off the controversy through endless podcast recaps, interviews and more. Their visible dislike for Sandoval made viewers assume that he would continue to remain on the outs throughout season 11, but that didn’t last long.
By midseason, Lala Kent and Scheana Shay softened up to Sandoval and caught major backlash in the process. Viewers questioned whether Lala and Scheana weren’t being loyal friends to Ariana — or if they put their issues with Sandoval to bed because they knew they needed to film with him.
Keep scrolling to see which Vanderpump Rules cast members forgave Sandoval — and how quickly:
Tom Schwartz (2 episodes)
Sandoval’s best friend — and business partner — took it the easiest on him. In fact, some people could argue that Schwartz’s loyalty to Sandoval never wavered until their restaurant was at risk. Schwartz called Sandoval out for not showing more interest in addressing the boycotting of Schwartz & Sandy’s.
Once Sandoval returned from his stint on Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, he sat down with Schwartz and the duo were back to normal by the end of the conversation.
“I know everyone hates him right now but you don’t come by friendships like that often in life,” Schwartz explained during season 11 of Vanderpump Rules. “I don’t think I want to give up on it.”
Lisa Vanderpump (3 episodes)
After being accused of siding with Sandoval at the season 10 reunion, all eyes were on Lisa Vanderpump when the series returned. Sandoval’s visit to Pump in a February 2024 episode resulted in a fight between him and Lisa after she asked him to take responsibility for his actions.
Sandoval then took Lisa by surprise when he revealed that he suffered from suicidal ideation at the height of the scandal. Lisa, whose brother died by suicide in 2018, subsequently asked Lala and Scheana to go easy on Sandoval. She later denied that she was “defending” him.
“If I was defending him, I’d be saying what he did was OK. What he did was not OK. But a lot of other people [on the show] have done it. So if you look at statistics of infidelity, he didn’t kill anybody,” Lisa exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2024. “So yes, the way he did it [and] the way he handled it was all wrong.”
She added: “Of course we were all hurt because of it. But on the show, we talk about it and I told Bravo they had to keep the truth of why it was so important for me to facilitate some kind of cohesiveness within the group.”
James Kennedy (5 episodes)
The Scandoval of it all affected Ariana the most since Sandoval was her long-term partner and Rachel was her best friend. James Kennedy also considered himself very close and his past engagement to Rachel didn’t make the situation any easier.
While filming season 11, James ended up being the first person Sandoval tried to reach out to. The former pals initially couldn’t find common ground but the cast trip to Lake Tahoe seemed to open the door of communication.
“I miss it all. Do you know what f—king breaks my heart, bro? You were like a big bro to me,” James told Sandoval during a February 2024 episode. And then it’s like nothing will ever be the same. That’s why I’ve been so angry, bro.”
James and Sandoval hugged it out and within days they were spending time together again.
Brock Davies (6 episodes)
Amid the chaos, Scheana’s husband, Brock Davies, found himself taking on the role of the peacekeeper, encouraging Scheana to make amends.
After getting into his own argument with Sandoval in Lake Tahoe over how his behavior affected Scheana, Brock ended up apologizing to Sandoval within minutes.
“Sorry I get emotional about this stuff and you do too and we do say things that are top of mind and it’s not conducive to a solid conversation for this and I apologize,” Brock told Sandoval before they shared a hug.
By the time the cast trip came to an end, Brock started questioning Ariana’s decision not to interact with Sandoval after their breakup. In an April 2024 episode, Brock made a joke to Sandoval about his affair with Rachel — in front of Ariana — which he followed up with by saying Sandoval had been through enough.
Scheana Shay (6 episodes)
The days and months after Sandoval’s affair made headlines, Scheana was firmly Team Ariana — with Rachel even filing a restraining order against Scheana over her alleged reaction to the affair.
When the season started, however, Scheana slowly started filming group scenes with Sandoval and later admitted she missed him. .
“I’m mad that he did all of this and I miss my friend,” Scheana told Ariana during a February 2024 episode. “I can’t keep hating him for you.”
Scheana elaborated on how her friendship with Sandoval took a hit, adding in a confessional, “This hasn’t been easy, for me especially. He was genuinely one of the best friends I’ve ever had in my life. Is it worth losing Ariana? Ariana made it very clear that anyone who chooses to remain friends with Tom Sandoval is basically dead to her.”
Lala Kent (6 episodes)
Despite coming in hot at the season 10 reunion — comparing Sandoval to her ex Randall Emmett and even accusing him of grooming Rachel — Lala has offered Sandoval various olive branches.
“You and what you did, that is not my fight. I now have to go into this is what I want,” she noted in a March 2024 episode. “This is what I feel good about. And I did feel good about coming here and having this conversation with you and letting you know that this is good for me.”
