Tom Sandoval Cries Over Raquel Affair, Team Ariana

Tom Sandoval is breaking down the aftermath of Scandoval on the next episode of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.

“I’ve had a hell of a, like, three months,” Sandoval, 41, said in Us Weekly’s exclusive clip of the Monday, October 16, episode, as tears welled up in his eyes.

After the Special Forces Directing Staff (DS) questioned why the Vanderpump Rules star was struggling, he admitted that it was because he had “an affair.”

“She’s also on the show,” Sandoval added, referring to Raquel Leviss. “It was just the perfect storm, like, my publicist had never seen anything like it. ‘A f—king reality star having an affair’ [was] on CNN? It’s so stupid.”

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One lesson the stars of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test have learned is that rough living conditions can be just as tough to handle as the challenges. Celebrities are pushed to their physical and mental limits by undergoing military training on the Fox competition series. The show’s first two seasons placed its casts in two […]

Us confirmed in March that Sandoval had split from his girlfriend of nine years, Ariana Madix, following his months-long secret dalliance with Raquel, 28. As a result, many of Sandoval’s Vanderpump Rules costars cut ties with him in favor of Ariana, 38.

“It became this ‘Team Ariana’ thing. They sold $200,000 in merch in, like, two weeks,” Sandoval recalled during the sneak peek. “Seeing people I’ve been friends with for well over a decade just turn on me, it was just so exhausting.”

Sandoval’s DS instructors, however, had little sympathy for his actions (or tears), noting that it looks “pathetic” to see the TomTom owner attempt to “play [the] victim” when he isn’t one.

“The first thing you should be doing is owning it,” Mark “Billy” Billingham succinctly added.

Related: Everything Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss Have Said About Their Affair

Talking the talk? After Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ affair was exposed, their Vanderpump Rules costars have spoken at length about the drama. Us Weekly confirmed in March 2023 that Sandoval and Ariana Madix called it quits after nine years together due to his infidelity. Immediately after the news broke, Madix’s present fand former castmates […]

Since the fallout from Scandoval, Sandoval and Raquel have paused their relationship. Raquel even blocked him from her Instagram page last month after he attempted to send her a happy birthday message.

“Rachel and Tom have not spoken in nearly three months,” a source exclusively told Us in September, using Raquel’s birth name and noting that they’ve had “zero contact” since June when she sought treatment at a mental health facility. “[She] made the decision that it was healthiest to cut Tom out of her life completely [and] ceased communications with him.”

Sandoval is also not on speaking terms with Ariana despite the pair still living in the same house. Ariana, who is now dating Daniel Wai, and the Schwartz & Sandy’s owner only communicate through a third-party intermediary about house-related concerns.

“I sleep a lot easier at night not giving a f—k about when he is coming through that door,” Ariana said during an August appearance on costar Scheana Shay’s “Scheananigans” podcast. “That is one thing I have to say about us living in the same house. I don’t have to think about how he is coming into my bedroom because he is not. I sleep with my door locked. Just in case.”

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 2 airs on Fox Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.