Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix is joining the cast of Dancing With the Stars amid her split from Tom Sandoval — and his affair with costar Raquel Leviss.
Madix, 37, was the first cast member revealed ahead of season 32 of the ABC competition series, which will premiere in this fall. The announcement was made during the Friday, July 7, episode of Good Morning America.
Derek Hough joined Madix in her and costar Katie Maloney‘s Something About Her sandwich shop for the big reveal. “This season on Dancing With the Stars, we are going absolutely mad — mad for Madix,” he teased.
Hough added: “Say goodbye to the drama and hello to the dance floor.”
The remaining cast members will be unveiled on GMA Thursday, September 13.
Madix made headlines in March after she and Sandoval, 40, called it quits after nine years of dating over Sandoval’s ongoing affair with Leviss, 28. A source exclusively told Us Weekly that Madix found out about Sandoval and Leviss’ relationship after she looked at his “phone while he was on stage performing his new song” at a concert in early March.
While filming for the Bravo series’ 10th season wrapped before news broke about the cheating scandal — aptly dubbed Scandoval — shooting picked up again in the wake of the drama.
Following her split from Sandoval, the Pump Rules cast flocked to Madix’s side in the midst of the cheating scandal. Ahead of the season 10 reunion, which was taped in May and aired one month later, Madix praised her costars for being in her corner during the taping.
“I was angry. At times, I was sad. But I honestly think that the biggest thing that I felt was so grateful for my friends,” she said in the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that month. “Both the friends that were there that day and otherwise.”
Sandoval, meanwhile — who admitted to beginning his affair with Leviss in August 2022 — accused his costars of using his affair for their benefit.
“Using all these things as content for their podcast. Fellow cast members are asking me all these questions, but you don’t want to know because you care about Ariana. You want to know so you have more content for your podcast,” he said at the time. “It is f—king disgusting to me. It is so gross. You are not someone who gives a flying f—k about Ariana. You are doing this for your own personal gain.”
While some of the Bravo cast members have benefited from the drama — including profits from their respective podcasts, merchandise and more — Madix has seen the most change in her financials. She reportedly earned more than $1 million from sponsorship deals for companies such as Uber, Bic, Duracell and more — and was recently cast in the Lifetime movie, Buying Back My Daughter.
“We have no generational wealth in our family,” Madix told Glamour in a June 2023 interview. “I want to make enough money to be able to take care of my mom and my brother and any other family members who may or may not need it. I never want to worry about it ever, ever, ever. So I will work as much as possible to not have to.”
