Ariana Madix’s pre-Scandoval joke has a whole different meaning now. In a deleted scene from Vanderpump Rules , Madix joked about being in a throuple with her then-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval, and co-star, Raquel Leviss. In a newly released deleted scene from last week’s episode of Vanderpump Rules —which was set during Scheana Shay’s wedding, as per US Weekly —the 37-year-old reality star caught a vibe while chilling in a hot tub with Sandoval, 40, and Leviss, 28.
The moment happened before Sandoval’s months-long affair with Leviss came to light. In the clip, a topless Madix posed for pics in a hot tub with swimsuit-clad Sandoval and Leviss. “It looks like we’re a throuple,” she joked to her then-boyfriend of nine years and former friend after the group posed for photos. “It looks like we’re in a throuple on a romantic vacay.”
After the recent explosion of headlines throughout the media about Leviss and Sandoval’s months-long affair, Madix’s joke has a much different bite.
Sandoval and Madix ended their nine-year relationship in early March, with confirmations of the secret relationship and multiple apologies following soon after. In a statement posted to Sandoval’s Instagram , the VPR star apologized to Madix for cheating. “I want to first and foremost apologize to everyone I’ve hurt through this process,” he wrote. “Most of all, I want to apologize to Ariana. I made mistakes, I was selfish, and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly.” Sandoval went on to reflect on his long relationship with Madix.
“My love for Ariana was stronger than any camera could ever have captured,” he said. “Some of our best times together were never filmed. The same goes for some of our biggest struggles. I wish things happened in a different order and our relationship was not severely tarnished, and that it ended with the same respect for her that it began with. I owed Ariana better. I am beyond sad that it ended the way it did,” his statement concluded. “The choices I made hurt so many people. I acted in a way that clashes with who and how I want to be. I will continue to reflect and work on myself. I have work to do. I always have, and I always will.”
The apology came less than a week after Madix discovered Sandoval had been cheating on her with Leviss when she found a recording of an intimate FaceTime call and “inappropriate” messages between the two on his phone while he was performing with his band, Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras, in Los Angeles. According to Yahoo , the day after news of the affair went public, the Schwartz & Sandy’s owner issued a public mea culpa — though the statement made no mention of Madix and more directly served to protect his partners and employees at the L.A. restaurant.