Why Is Tom Sandoval Suing Ariana Madix? Raquel Video Drama Explained

More than one year after Scandoval, Us Weekly is still your go-to source for the latest on Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix and Rachel “Raquel” Leviss.

After dating for nearly a decade, Ariana and Sandoval broke up in March 2023 when she discovered that he had a months-long affair with Rachel. The smoking gun that led to the split was an intimate video of Rachel that Ariana found on Sandoval’s phone.

While Sandoval and Ariana returned to VPR, Rachel left the show and launched her “Rachel Goes Rogue” podcast. One day before the first anniversary of Scandoval, Rachel filed a lawsuit against Sandoval and Ariana for revenge porn, eavesdropping and invasion of privacy.

According to paperwork obtained by Us Weekly in March 2024, Rachel referenced the explicit video Sandoval allegedly recorded “illegally” without her knowledge or consent. She also accused Bravo and the Evolution production company of misleading her into thinking she couldn’t speak out about her mistreatment.

“As a result, she suffered in silence as Bravo and Evolution watched viewership explode, and the rest of the cast enjoyed unseen levels of public recognition and professional opportunity,” the documents noted. “Meanwhile, Leviss, who was humiliated and villainized for public consumption, remains a shell of her former self, with her career prospects stunted and her reputation in tatters.”

Updates in the case included Sandoval trying to dismiss the suit while Ariana filed her own countersuit. The twist, however, came in July 2024 when Sandoval sued Ariana on the grounds that she “obtained access” to his phone and reviewed videos of him and Rachel without his “authorization or permission.” (The new lawsuit is separate from Sandoval and Ariana’s ongoing legal drama over their shared home in Los Angeles.)

Keep scrolling for a complete breakdown of everything that has been said about the NSFW video and the ongoing revenge porn legal drama:

Back to the Beginning

In March 2023, Us confirmed that Sandoval and Ariana’s nearly decade-long romance was over after she discovered his infidelity. Cameras immediately picked back up to cover the aftermath as Ariana told their Vanderpump Rules costars what led to the discovery.

“I went with Tom to TomTom because he had that party thing,” Ariana told Katie Maloney and Scheana Shay in the season 10 finale. “I found a screen recording of them on FaceTime. It was literally from the night before. I called Raquel and I started making her f—king tell me. What the f—k? When did this start?”

In his confessional, Sandoval admitted he would usually “delete” similar videos from his phone but he forgot that day.

As new information continued to come out about the scandal, Rachel claimed the explicit video was done “illegally” without her knowledge or consent.

Send It Darrell

Most of the Vanderpump Rules cast members sided with Ariana after the drama — at least before filming started on season 11

Lala revealed in March 2023 that she received a legal notice from Rachel’s attorney after publicly bringing up the intimate FaceTime video. Lala then took to social media to express her annoyance with the lawyer contacting her personally instead of sending the letter to her own attorney, Darrell Miller.

“Raquel, tell your little Mickey Mouse lawyer that if he has stuff to send over, he can send things to my lawyer, same with the rest of my friends and cast, alright?” she said in an Instagram Story at the time. “I don’t know if you know how this works, you’re pretty brand new to the game. … Send it to Darrell!”

The phrase went viral and Lala made a large amount of money from merchandise.

“I can say that it allowed me to pay the down payment on my home, and that was, like, within a few hours,” she revealed during the Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen aftershow in June 2023. “The amount of money that we made on ‘send it to Darrell’ is pretty mind-blowing. Darrell’s a big star now.”

Us confirmed at the time that Rachel’s attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to several Vanderpump Rules stars on the grounds that the video constituted a violation of California laws on the basis of “nonconsensual pornography.”

Ariana Fights Back

While the video wasn’t a topic at the reunion, Ariana later shed some light on her side of the story.

“To be very clear, I have not shown or sent that video. I don’t have it. I did not hold on to it for any reason,” Ariana claimed on Scheana’s podcast in August 2023. “So that video was gone before I even called her on the phone. I saw about maybe 5 seconds of that. I wasn’t sitting there like opening popcorn. I know that people know about what’s in it. It’s very simple. I’m not going to get into the details but there’s not a lot of details. It’s very straightforward.”

She continued: “She sent cease and desists to the entire cast as a precaution. I definitely think that’s a great idea. I think that’s the right thing to do. I totally understand why that would be sent out. Great precaution to take. You should take that precaution. My lawyer responded to said precaution with very thorough, very clear information that proves and showed that ‘Absolutely not [I didn’t spread it]. Here’s proof.'”

Ariana encouraged Rachel to “address” the fact that Sandoval recorded her “directly with him.”

Rachel Files a Lawsuit and Shares More Details About Her Experience

Us confirmed in March 2024 that Rachel filed for unspecified damages after Sandoval allegedly recorded a sex tape of her, which she wants destroyed. Despite not including Bravo, NBCUniversal, Andy Cohen or other Vanderpump producers in the lawsuit, Rachel mentioned them several times.

“It is clear that Bravo deliberately sacrificed Leviss for the sake of its commercial interests from its refusal to allow her the opportunity to tell her side of the story and defend herself, which she repeatedly begged for permission to do,” the paperwork stated.

The documents noted that Rachel wanted accountability for the video that was recorded without her knowledge and allegedly circulated to other people.

“Lost in the mix was that 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,” the documents stated. “Leviss ultimately checked herself into a mental health facility and remained there for three months while Bravo, Evolution, and the cast milked the interest her excoriation had peaked.”

The paperwork continued: “Fueled in no small part by a NSFW Facetime video from Leviss that Sandoval seemingly secretly taped and supposedly circulated, Scandoval blew up last year right as Vanderpump Rules’ 10th season was airing on Bravo. Madix found out about the affair from a so-called accidental look at Sandovol’s phone show and then all unscripted Hell broke loose.”

Neither Sandoval nor Ariana’s legal teams addressed the lawsuit at the time.

“It took me a while to process Tom recording me without me knowing,” Rachel shared on her podcast in March 2024. “It wasn’t until I had my one-on-one trauma therapy session in The Meadows that I was able to really start decompressing what he did and how he violated a personal boundary.”

Rachel also claimed she tried to confront Sandoval about the video while they were filming a scene for the season 10 finale of Vanderpump Rules. According to Rachel, Sandoval refused to respond when she brought the topic up and then allegedly demanded that producers not include the footage or he wouldn’t keep filming for the show. (Bravo and Sandoval didn’t publicly address Rachel’s accusations at the time.)

Ariana and Sandoval’s Legal Responses to Rachel’s Lawsuit

In the months after Rachel’s initial filing, Sandoval and Ariana petitioned the court to dismiss Leviss’ suit. (Side note: Sandoval’s attorney, Matthew Geragos, is the brother of Rachel’s attorney, Mark Geragos.)

Ariana subsequently filed her own countersuit claiming that Rachel was seeking to “punish” and “blame Ms. Madix for the negative reaction [she] received as a result of her affair.” She also denied sharing the NSFW video of Rachel.

“I did not send the videos to anyone else. Nor did I share, display, or show the videos to anyone else,” Ariana wrote in a sworn declaration that was filed in April 2024 alongside her motion to strike the claims against her.

Ariana recalled sending the videos with a text that read, “You’re dead to me.” She included a copy of the text chain with Rachel as an exhibit, adding, “I did not send the videos to anyone else. Nor did I share, display, or show the videos to anyone else.”

According to Ariana, Sandoval “forcibly grabbed” her phone and deleted the videos. In a separate exhibit, Ariana included a text chain with her friend Logan Cochran where she wrote, “Tom took my phone and deleted them.”

Ariana and Sandoval continued to remain tight-lipped about the legal proceedings in interviews. However, they acknowledged the drama involving Rachel during the season 11 reunion, which aired in May 2024.

“You also brought a s—t person into both of our lives in a very f—ked up way. And this bitch has to talk about me all the f—king time. You did that,” Ariana told Sandoval. “I just want to be away from you.”

Sandoval said he felt “really bad” about the aftermath of his affair, saying, “I wish you the best and I will give you your space. We will figure everything out. We have our lawyers, don’t worry about it. I understand.”

Sandoval’s Lawsuit Against Ariana

Us broke the news in July 2024 that Sandoval filed his own lawsuit where he claimed Ariana “made copies” of the NSFW video and distributed it to “Leviss and third parties” against his authority. Sandoval and his girlfriend, Victoria Lee Robinson, deleted their social media accounts shortly after the development made headlines.

Ariana’s attorney addressed the situation in a statement to Us, saying, “It is abhorrent that Tom Sandoval continues to torment Ms. Madix. 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.”

The statement 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.”

Sandoval’s attorney offered their perspective on the subject as well.

“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,” the statement read. “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.”

Rachel has yet to share her thoughts on the lawsuit.

Sandoval Breaks Silence on Ariana Lawsuit, Fires Lawyer

Two days after filing a lawsuit against Ariana, Sandoval released a statement claiming it was never his intent to sue his ex-girlfriend. He alleged that his attorney, Matt, mislead him.

“Late Tuesday afternoon, my attorney, Matt Geragos, whose advice I trusted, called me about the Cross-Complaint in the lawsuit against myself and Ariana,” Sandoval explained via social media on July 18, 2024. “He assured me that the action was customary and strictly preventative in these types of lawsuits and urged me to agree to it.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

He alleged, “The words ‘New Lawsuit’ or ‘Suing’ were not articulated to me.” However, Sandoval confessed, “I should’ve done more of my due diligence on the matter.”

After realizing what “this action actually means,” Sandoval announced that he has “removed Matt Geragos from my legal team.” The reality star insisted, “In no way am I suing Ariana. The action against Ariana brought on my behalf is being removed. I had no ill will or vindictiveness toward Ariana.”

Sandoval concluded that by “removing” the Cross-Complaint and his attorney, he hopes he can “get through this case quickly” and that both he and Ariana can “finally move on with our lives.”

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tr%2FMmp6aspmjsm%2BvzqZmnqakmr%2B1rcinpJ6mpGS7psPSaK6hsV2ewG7AzqZkrJmemby3rctmqq6hnpx6or7ImqWaZZ2WsarEjKuYqq2VoXq3tcOepmacopa6onnEsaelmZmjsqV7