Lifestyle Home Home Décor Ariana Madix Opens Up About Her New House — and Jokes About the 'Daily Struggle' of Living Without Tom Sandoval The ‘Vanderpump Rules’ star joked about Sandoval’s infamous comments about pens and batteries By Bailey Richards Bailey Richards Bailey Richards is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023 and interned with the brand in 2022. Her work has previously appeared in digital publications like Paper Magazine and TV Insider. People Editorial Guidelines and Abby Stern Abby Stern Abby Stern is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She’s been writing about entertainment, fashion, beauty, and other lifestyle content for over fifteen years. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 22, 2024 03:39PM EDT Close Ariana Madix. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Ariana Madix is opening up about her new place — and the “struggles” of solo living! At the Los Angeles Times’ Festival of Books on April 21, the Vanderpump Rules star, 38, recalled the process of finding her perfect home. Friend Logan Cochran was critical to finding a place, she said during a panel at the festival, because he helped her see houses while she was away from Los Angeles. Ariana Madix Says She 'Felt Like Superwoman' Overcoming Scandoval Affair: 'Learned So Many Lessons' “I saw many houses online," she recalled. "And I was like, ‘Please go look at this for me.’ He went and saw it. I didn't actually see it in person until right before I was signing, and it was actually… I flew out for the [season 11] reunion from New York.” Madix said that she stayed with Katie Maloney at her apartment while returning to sign the papers, and “only really a handful of people knew” about the place. “So at the reunion, it was not talked about at all because I didn't tell anybody, but Dayna [Kathan] came and saw it with me, and we had some rosé in the house,” she said. “We christened it with rosé.” Tom Sandoval Suggests Rachel Leviss 'Stop Talking About Me' If She Wants to Move On: But 'Girl's Gotta Eat' Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix in June 2022. Frazer Harrison/Getty When asked if she is concerned with keeping the pens and batteries at her newly christened place stocked — a nod to infamous comments ex Tom Sandoval made on Vanderpump Rules — Madix joked, “Very, it's a daily struggle.” And, when asked whether she considered hiring Sandoval's assistant, Ann, to help out, she joked, “Ann will be the official officer of pens and batteries.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In a season 10 episode of Vanderpump Rules, Sandoval opened up to costar Tom Schwartz in a heart-to-heart about his relationship struggles with Madix, and alleged that she didn't keep their household items stocked. “It’s like Ariana, ‘When's the last time you've gone to the store and bought paper towels and toilet paper?’” he told Schwartz at the time. “Like, ‘There's pens in the drawer, there's batteries in the drawer because I do that. You don't go out of your way to do things for me, and it f---ing hurts me after a while.’ ” VPR: Schwartz and Katie 'Play Tongue Hockey' with Same Woman as Ariana Keeps Her 'Armor Up' After Scandoval Madix later responded to the now-infamous scene in a cheeky advertisement for Duracell, in which she took digs at Sandoval and his battery comments, as well as Rachel "Raquel" Leviss, whom Sandoval had an affair with, ending their nine-year relationship. “I buy my own batteries now,” Madix said in the ad, later standing in front of a closet filled to the brim with toilet paper. And, alluding to the length of their relationship, she said, “Duracell’s guaranteed to last 12 years — that’s much better than 10.” Vanderpump Rules airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.