Kristen Doute supports Ariana Madix amid mutual ex Tom Sandoval’s scandal
Kristen Doute rushed to support her former foe-turned-friend Ariana Madix after news broke that their mutual ex, Tom Sandoval, allegedly cheated with “Vanderpump Rules” co-star Raquel Leviss.
“I stan Ariana. This is in real time. I love you so much,” Doute, who dated Sandoval from 2007 to 2013, said in an Instagram video Friday, before kissing Madix, 37, on the lips.
“I love you more than anything in the whole wide world,” she added as the two women embraced.
Doute also disclosed whose side she was on in the caption of the post, writing, “I ❤️ Ariana. PERIOD. #TeamAriana #TeamSandwichShop.”
Though the ladies are being supportive of one another now, they had a rocky start to their friendship when Madix first began dating Sandoval in 2014.
Doute and Sandoval, now 39, had split the year prior, and the “He’s Making You Crazy” author admitted at the time to having an affair with their then-costar Jax Taylor. However, she also accused Sandoval of hooking up with Madix before they ended things for good.
“When we broke up, he started dating someone else immediately — or, you know, maybe they were already secretly dating,” Doute wrote in her aforementioned book.
The women later put their ill feelings aside and made amends. Just two days before the cheating allegations surfaced, Doute and Madix both went to support Sandoval as he performed alongside his cover band, Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras, in Los Angeles.
During the show, the Tom Tom bar owner went into the crowd and gave people in the audience, including Doute, a chance to rock the mic.
Madix and Doute’s close bond was on full display that night as they danced and recorded videos together during Sandoval’s performance of “Superstars.”
On Friday evening, Page Six confirmed that Madix had called it quits with Sandoval, 39, after finding a sexually explicit video from Leviss, 28, in his phone.
According to People, Madix scrolled through the text thread, reading all of their inappropriate messages.
For more Page Six reality TV updates…
An insider told Page Six that Leviss and Sandoval had a “full-on affair” for months — even before she kissed his best friend, Tom Schwartz, last August.
The source also told us that Madix was left “heartbroken” over the affair and had “no idea there were any issues.”
“Ariana was blindsided by the cheating,” the insider added, noting that the former couple had been “affectionate in public recently.”
While none of the reality stars involved in the scandal have directly addressed the cheating rumors, Madix did deactivate her Instagram account on Friday.
Meanwhile, Sandoval was photographed packing suitcases into a friend’s car and driving off from their LA home Friday afternoon, and later that evening he referred to himself as the “most hated man in America” at a concert.