Kristen Doute: ‘Numb’ Ariana Madix is ‘not doing well’ after Tom, Raquel affair
Ariana Madix is “numb” after finding out about Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ affair, according to her pal Kristen Doute.
The “Vanderpump Rules” alum admitted that Madix is “not doing well” in Wednesday’s episode of her “Sex, Love, and What Else Matters” podcast.
“She’s sad,” Doute, 40, said. “She doesn’t want to hear about anything anymore.
“She’s like, ‘What does it matter?'” she continued, noting that online sleuthing has made Madix, 37, feel “worse” while already in “so much pain.”
Doute compared the betrayal to “a death,” calling Sandoval and Leviss’ romance a “serious loss” for Madix.
Notably, Doute was with Madix at the Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras performance on March 1 when the singer’s dalliance with Leviss, 28, came to light.
“During Tom’s performance, his phone fell out of his pocket or something and somebody — a mutual friend — picks up the phone, hands it to Ariana,” Doute recalled.
She said Madix followed her “gut intuition” to look at her then-boyfriend’s phone despite their “trusting” dynamic.
“She went into his photos,” Doute, who dated Sandoval on and off from 2006 to 2014, claimed. “He had screen-recorded a FaceTime of him and Raquel masturbating with each other. That’s the truth.”
The former reality star went on to allege that Sandoval, 39, “wasn’t apologetic” to Madix, “gaslighting” her instead.
For more Page Six reality TV updates …
The Schwartz & Sandy’s co-owner reportedly said, “‘You know we haven’t been happy. You weren’t supportive of my endeavors.’”
Doute added that Sandoval’s best friend, Tom Schwartz, found out about the infidelity “a month ago” and wanted the couple to come clean before they “humiliated the hell” out of Madix.
“Too little, too late,” she said.
While Doute has “barely talked” to Sandoval since the scandal came to light, they’ve crossed paths at the home Madix shares with the bartender.
“Legally, he’s allowed to be at that house,” she said, alleging that when Sandoval was asked to give Madix “a couple hours heads-up” before coming over, he said she “can leave if she’s not comfortable.”
Later in the episode, Doute addressed the alleged fight Scheana Shay had with Leviss over the cheating — which led the former pageant queen to file for a restraining order against her former friend.
While Doute didn’t mention the bruised eye Leviss photographed for court documents, she claimed Shay did throw Leviss’ “phone in the gutter.”
Related Video
Since news broke on March 3, the Bravo show has resumed filming for Season 10, with a source telling Page Six that Doute is in talks to return to the series.
“As someone who’s dated Tom and built a strong friendship with Ariana over the years, she has a singular perspective on the situation that producers are interested in,” one insider said.
The “majority of the cast” is said to be “in support” of this decision.
The cast members are all gearing up for a bombshell reunion, which Andy Cohen revealed will film in “two and a half weeks.”
Currently, “no one” from the series is speaking to Leviss, an insider told Page Six.