UPDATE: Turns out Tom Sandoval isn’t suing Ariana Madix.
The reality star announced on his Instagram that he was dropping his suit against Madix less than 48 hours after filing. He also fired his attorney Matt Geragos in the same announcement over a legal misunderstanding.
“The action against Ariana brought on my behalf is being removed,” he said. “I hold no ill will or vindictiveness toward Ariana.”
ORIGINAL STORY
The Scandoval cheating saga has a new wrinkle now that Tom Sandoval is suing Ariana Madix for accessing videos of Rachel “Raquel” Leviss and himself from his phone without permission.
Court documents obtained by TheWrap detail Sandoval’s accusations that Madix illegally took his cell phone in March 2023 and “reviewed images, information, data, videos and/or communications” of the cheating parties.
Tuesday’s cross-complaint filing also alleges that Madix “made copies” of the explicit material and “distributed the [videos] to Leviss and third parties.” The “Love Island” host previously admitted to sending a FaceTime video she found to herself on “Vanderpump Rules” as proof of their affair.
The “Traitors” contestant further claimed that any damages Leviss listed in her initial complaint were, at least in part, caused by the “Chicago” actress’ actions.
“It is abhorrent that Tom Sandoval continues to torment Ms. Madix,” Jordan Susman, Madix’s attorney, told Us Weekly, who first reported the story. “From engaging in an illicit affair that shattered her home and stability, to months of emotional warfare and now this attempt to further shirk personal responsibility for the effects his actions have had on her and her emotional wellbeing. Tom Sandoval knows full well what sort of privileges he and Ms. Madix shared in regard to their personal communication devices.”
Susman continued, “If he or his mistress had their way, it would be illegal for someone to discover their spouse or significant other was having an affair. For Mr. Sandoval to go from begging Ms. Madix for forgiveness to blaming her for his wrongdoing speaks for itself. Even months after the New York Times branded Mr. Sandoval ‘The most hated man in America,’ he has clearly learned nothing and believes it necessary to continue torturing Ms. Madix in a vain effort to rehabilitate his image. Ms. Madix is confident that a jury will see through this latest ploy and dismiss his frivolous claims.”
The Scandoval drama played out in the Season 10 reunion of “Vanderpump Rules,” followed by Season 11 documenting the repercussions. The former pair had been together for almost a decade before they called it quits following his cheating scandal.
Sandoval’s attorney also provided a comment following the filing, saying, “While Tom Sandoval accepts responsibility for his affair, he strongly denies the allegations of the lawsuit filed by Rachel Leviss against him and Ms. Madix … in order to ensure a fair and just determination of responsibility among all parties involved, we filed a cross complaint on behalf of Mr. Sandoval. This customary legal action was crucial to ensure that liability, if any, is fairly distributed based on the actual level of involvement and fault of each party. We aim to resolve this legal dispute with upmost respect towards all parties involved.”
His lawsuit is the latest in this saga. Leviss filed her own against the Bravo exes back in late February for eavesdropping, revenge porn, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“Leviss was a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which were then distributed, disseminated and discussed publicly by a scorned woman seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal,” her lawsuit read.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this reporting.
