Tom Sandoval X Howie Mandel: 6 bombshell revelations from the Vanderpump Rules star amidst cheating scandal

Tom Sandoval is finally opening up about his 6 months long affair with Raquel Leviss. Sandoval was seeing Leviss while the former was still dating Ariana Madix. In a recent interview with Howie Mandel, he tried explaining things from his perspective and dropped some bombshell revelations.

Tom and Ariana had been dating since the second season of Vanderpump Rules in 2013, but the former started to see Leviss in August 2022.

The truth came to light when Ariana discovered a video of Raquel on Tom’s phone. She has since broken up with him and thanked her fans for their support in an Instagram statement. Both Raquel and Tom have released apology statements and will be seen together at the season 10 reunion of Vanderpump Rules.

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6 major revelations made by Tom Sandoval in his interview

The interview with Howie Mandel was Tom Sandoval’s first time opening up about the affair. He spoke about his connection with Raquel and elaborated about a break-up. The interview was a part of Howie Mandel's The H3 Podcast.

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Tom Sandoval tried to set up his friend Tom Schwartz with Raquel

Tom Schwartz divorced Katie Maloney last year and his best friend Sandoval tried to set him up with Raquel as she was single at the time. Raquel and Schwartz even attended a cast member’s wedding together, where they were seen getting intimate.

In his interview, Tom said that Schwartz was not interested in Raquel. He felt that his friend was being “dumb” as Tom himself thought “very highly of her.”

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Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ connection and first kiss

As said in the interview, Tom and Raquel were “hanging out and talking” for 2 nights during the guys’ trip at the Mondrian. After a couple of days, Tom was locked out of his home and was chatting with Raquel, during which they kissed. Sandoval said that it was magnetic and that,

"I felt something that I hadn’t felt in so long, like, emotionally."

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Tom’s relationship with Ariana lacked intimacy

Tom admitted that his relationship with Ariana had turned stale after dating for 9 years. He admitted,

"And like many relationships, it became more of a best friend/family/sometimes roommates situation."

Sandoval said that the relationship lacked connection and intimacy as they spent most of their time apart. They had to pretend they were together to “keep the optics up that [they] were solid” as they had become a brand.

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Both Tom and Ariana were struggling with depression and anxiety

Tom Sandoval confessed that his communication levels with Ariana were not great when he cheated on her. The couple was dealing with anxiety and depression, which took a toll on their relationship and they grew apart. He said,

"I accepted it. This is just how it is — you get in to a relationship for a long time and you stop having s*x, that’s just how it is."

Sandoval admitted that there was stability and safety in his relationship with Ariana as they were seen as a “brand” together.

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Life looked bleak for Tom at 40

Tom Sandoval revealed that when he turned 40, his life started to look very bleak and he started to think that his best years were behind him. He felt that he needed to “make a change to feel alive again” as he had started to lose optimism in his life. He was yearning for a connection and as a result, he secretly started dating Raquel.

Trying not to blame everything on Ariana, he said,

"A se*ual experience with me would be like with a 19 year old for his second time. I had no game anymore. That’s what I felt reduced to."

Tom also confessed that his confidence was “zapped” at the time.

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Tom broke up with Ariana on Valentine’s Day

Tom Sandoval started to pull away from Madix and broke up with her on Valentine’s day. He claimed that Ariana was in denial about the same and did not tell anybody about Sandoval leaving her. Tom confessed that he still loved and cared about Ariana. Tom and Raquel have not put any label on their relationship and are just trying to take a break from physical intimacy.

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Ariana has not said anything about Tom’s claims that the couple broke up on Valentine’s day, just weeks before the news of the affair came out.