Ariana Madix from Pump Rules, Tom Sandoval’s Relationship Timeline
Making their mark on reality TV. Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix found themselves at the center of the drama after joining Bravo’s Vanderpump rules.
Viewers were initially introduced to Sandoval’s love life through his tumultuous relationship with Kristen Doute. Amid their on-again, off-again relationship, the former couple’s future was called into question when Madix joined Lisa Vanderpump‘s restaurant SUR.
Rumors circulated that Sandoval and Madix were in contact while he was still with Doute – which both bartenders denied. After his offscreen split from the former SUR waitress in 2014, Sandoval moved on with Madix later that year.
Doute, for her part, was vocal about her distaste for her ex-boyfriend’s new relationship. During Season 3, the Michigan native shocked her fellow cast members when she invited a Miami woman who claimed she had slept with Sandoval to Los Angeles.
Madix later admitted she didn’t regret much about the way she chose to handle the bomb while the cameras were rolling. “I don’t know. I was going to say yes. I should have just stayed there and not left,” she said exclusively Us Weekly in October 2021 on escaping with Sandoval. “But we just went to a bar next door, had a drink and cooled down until they said, ‘You need to come back here.'”
She continued: “The reason we left is because we felt like the production was pulling this whole thing. We were like, ‘Oh, so random people just show up now. I’m sorry, I think I just didn’t tell the whole real story, like in front of the camera and staying there.”
Earlier that year, Sandoval also questioned his decision to allow Doute’s mistake to make him falter. “If I could do anything over again, I just never would have filmed with” [Miami girl]. I just don’t think it’s really fair. Like, so I can make up something about someone and then end up on our show?’ he told U.S in August 2021. “I wish I had never even thought about that.”
After resolving their issues with Doute, Sandoval and Madix settled into their relationship. Although the couple is happy together, the Paradise City actress revealed during her time on Vanderpump rules that she was struggling with her mental health.
Madix previously used her platform on the show to discuss topics including her bisexuality and depression. During season 8, the Fancy AF Cocktails author revealed to Stassi Schroeder and Lala Kent that she was not in a good place.
“I don’t enjoy most things, but you don’t know that because we don’t talk one-on-one,” Madix told Schroeder and Kent on a February 2020 episode. I drive home at night. I don’t talk to you about it because it’s not safe. It’s not safe.”
At the time, Sandoval praised Madix for addressing her problems and showing others how she is coping with her depression.
“It’s clearly something she struggles with on a regular basis,” he told U.S that same month. “All I could do was try to be supportive, try not to be annoying. Because I will try to overcompensate for it and it is annoying. I know it’s annoying, but I don’t know what to do. I want to help. I want to help, but you can only do so much.”
Later that year, Madix spoke of her boyfriend’s support and love for her in a special tribute on Instagram. “I went into the vault for this post and ended up getting too many gems to fit in the slideshow. Seven are lucky numbers for a lot of people, but your double 7/7 birthday makes me the happiest ☺️ being my favorite parts of life with you the quiet mornings when we go to sleep, eat too much together, all the hugs with our girls, and see the world with you,” she wrote via Instagram in July 2020. I love you so much! happiest birthdays ?.”
Scroll down to relive the romance of Sandoval and Madix off-screen: