celebrity

Seven months on from Scandoval, the three reality stars involved now have wildly different lives.

With the many (and we mean many) divorces which have rocked the celebrity world in 2023, it doesn't actually feel like Scandoval even happened this year. 

But alas, if we cast our minds back to March, the biggest scandal to ever happen on a Bravo show set the entire internet alight. 

Let's have a quick refresher because if you're like me, your attention has since shifted solely to the dissolution of Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas' marriage. As I said, there are just too many breakups to fit in one's brain right now. 

Okay, so! Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix were the longest-running couple on Vanderpump Rules, a spin-off from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which focused on the lives of the young and hot people working at Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant SUR.

The show's stars Tom and Ariana dated for over nine years, they shared a life together, a house, and from everything that had been shown on their socials and the reality show, they had an idyllic relationship. 

But all was not what it seemed. 

Raquel Leviss entered the show late in the game in season five as James Kennedy's girlfriend-then-fiancé in 2017. Raquel was not particularly welcomed by the group, with the exception of Ariana and her bestie Scheana Shay, who both became two of Raquel's closest friends and allies.  

Raquel and James broke up in January 2022, which brings us to March 2023 when it came out that Tom and Ariana split after Ariana discovered that Tom and Raquel had been having a seven-month long affair. 

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And they weren't subtle about it either. Fans quickly noticed Tom and Raquel wore matching lightning bolt necklaces throughout their affair. Raquel frequently wore merch for Sandoval's bar and Tom dressed up as Raquel for Halloween. 

Cue absolute carnage — the reality world imploded. 

Raquel deactivated her Instagram. Tom faced nonstop abuse both in public and at his band's live shows. Ariana became the most bankable person to ever live. 

A lot happened. But what's happened since? What's become of this throuple? Let's catch up with the three reality stars whose messy antics gripped us all earlier this year. 

Ariana Madix's life now. 

Ariana has already wrapped filming season 11 of Vanderpump Rules, with scenes starting to be filmed in late June which was mere weeks after the season 10 reunion. 

She has a new book coming out Single AF Cocktails in time for Christmas, which is a stark departure from her last cocktail book which she co-wrote with Tom. 

Madix is preparing to open a sandwich cafe, Something About Her, with her VPR co-star, Katie Maloney. While the opening was slated for earlier this year, plans have been delayed. 

The reality star confirmed to TalkShopLive in October that the shop is "opening soon," after an issue with a patio permit. "'Open a little cute sandwich shop,' they said, 'It'll be fun!', they said.," Ariana joked.

Since Scandoval, Ariana has entered paid partnerships with many, many brands, including Bloomingdales, BIC, T-Mobile and Uber. 

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But aside from Ariana's business ventures, she starred in the Lifetime movie Buying Back My Daughter and made an appearance on the American version of her favorite show, Love Island. 

And she's currently sizzling up the dancefloor as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, where her and partner Pasha Pashkov have been dominating the leaderboard. 

As for Ariana's private life, she's still with boyfriend Daniel Wai, who she was first romantically linked to at Coachella in April. "He is someone who does bring a whole lot of happiness and really just calming and positive energy into my life, so I'm going to keep him around," Ariana said on Scheananigans with Scheana Shay. 

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Luckily for fans, it looks like Madix's new man will appear on season 11 of Vanderpump Rules, as he joined the crew on their cast trip to San Francisco. 

Tom Sandoval's life now.

Tom also starred in the upcoming season of Vanderpump Rules, with the controversial reality star spotted with the cast, along with dropping flowers off at business partner Lisa Vanderpump's now-closed bar PUMP. 

Like Ariana, Tom has since branched out on another reality show, competing as a recruit on Special Forces: World's Toughest Test. In Sandoval's first episode, he owned up to his past mistakes. 

"The whole world is pissed at me," he said. "I'd had an affair, and I want to take a beating." 

Sandoval has remained on the show, as one of only a handful of celebrities who haven't quit. 

Image: FOX. 

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Aside from his reality TV stint, Tom has been touring with his band Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras, where he's played in cities from New York all the way to Texas. 

The singer has just launched a new podcast, unseriously titled Everyone Loves Tom, where he spoke candidly about the Scandoval's mental health toll.

And in the weirdest twist, it seems Tom and Ariana still live together — and it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon. 

In an interview with Extra, when asked if he and Ariana will still be living together in a year's time, Tom replied "Probably, yeah," he said. 

"We have mutual friends, obviously, on the same show together, so we have to co-exist, y'know... It’s gonna be a slow process. We will handle it the best we can.”

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As for Tom's dating status, after being linked to influencer Karlee Hale in May and singer Tii in August, he has since come out to confirm he is single. 

“I am single, yes," he told Extra. “Dating in general is awkward as it is... I don’t usually like to go on dates unless I know them already." 

Based on Tom's dating history, we know!

Raquel Leviss' life now.

Rachel (formerly Raquel) initially looked like she was going to sign back on for Vanderpump Rules, but in the end, she decided to leave the show. 

Instead, she joined Bethenny Frankel's campaign to establish a reality TV union to improve the salaries and working conditions of reality stars. 

Leviss joined the former Housewives star on Just B with Bethenny Frankel podcast for a three-part interview. During the chat, Rachel announced she was quitting reality TV. "I refuse to not respect myself on that level where I would endure that emotional abuse any longer," she said. 

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The wide-ranging interview followed Rachel's stay in a mental health facility in Arizona in July, where her rep confirmed she checked in for "mental health and trauma therapy" treatment. 

Perhaps as part of that therapy, she has since cut Tom out of her life. After he commented on an Instagram post, she announced to her followers in an Instagram Story that she had blocked him. 

Tom has since told Extra that he thought the move was “petty” from Rachel. "When you go away to a place where you are supposed to be working on yourself, bettering yourself, doesn’t that seem sort of like a step backwards?" he said.

In Leviss' latest move to exorcise all things Sandoval from her life, the reality star announced on her social media she was selling her infamous lightning bolt necklace and TomTom hoodie.

The proceeds will go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. 

Feature image: Instagram + DWTS + Special Forces. 

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