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Scheana Shay believes Ariana Madix has changed in the near-year since Tom Sandoval‘s sordid affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss was first revealed.
Following the latest episode of Vanderpump Rules, Scheana, 38, explained how Ariana, 38, is different post-“Scandoval” as Ariana defended her alleged “ego,” and Sandoval, 41, slammed Scheana over her “disgusting” podcast episode with Shahs of Sunset alum Nema Vand, in which his past encounter with Raquel, 29, was discussed.
“I don’t hear from her as much. I’ll say that. She returns less and less texts. I know she’s more and more busy but I’ve seen a change in [her],” Scheana admitted on the February 13 episode of the Pump Rules: After Show. “She never asks, I don’t think, how anyone else is doing.”
As for Lala Kent, 33, she said that while Ariana, along with Sandoval and Katie Maloney, 37, “rarely [asks her] about [her],” that wasn’t something Ariana made a habit of before “Scandoval” broke.
Meanwhile, James Kennedy, 32, who noted that Ariana has “more confidence” post-affair, said that the two of them often ask one another how they are doing.
“That’s my friendship with her is, ‘How’ve you been?’ We just check up like … [but] it’s different for you guys,” he noted.
In her own segment, Ariana pointed out that what’s changed about her is that she’s “working” far more.
“I don’t understand how working jobs translates to my ego or my personality at all. Getting up and going to work? Don’t most people get up and go to work?” she asked. “I don’t know what that means. I don’t think I’m any cooler than I was before this. I don’t think working hard is something that typically gives people a big a** ego. I really took inventory and was like ‘I have to work my f*cking a** off. I want our sandwich shop to be successful. I don’t live some glamorous life and I don’t think I’m any cooler. I’m not.”
As the Pump Rules cast moved on to Scheana’s podcast with Nema, during which Nema claimed Raquel told him she wanted to hook up with Ariana, and that Sandoval and Ariana were in an open relationship, Sandoval said the episode was “a classic example” of “taking it way too far.”
“The entitlement to put stuff like that out there,” he complained.
“First of all, I never said that, and I believe Raquel that she never said that. But also, I would understand or I get having him on to talk about that or to address that specifically. I get that, but it was the other things that were talked about that were really hurtful to Rachel,” he noted. “Like, ‘She’s practically begging for it,’ and all this stuff… all these things that were necessary and hurtful and embarrassing and humiliating.”
Sandoval went on to say that Scheana’s interview with Nema was “f*cked up.”
“It’s disgusting,” he fumed. “I feel like the ‘Let’s hate Tom and Raquel’ because a fashionable trend, like, making merch about it, people trying to outdo each other with salacious details about new information about the Tom and Raquel affair,” he shared. “The fact that they monetized off it actually made me feel better about it. It’s just business. But then having them go on other people’s podcasts where they’re not getting paid, that f*cking hurt.”
While Sandoval didn’t appreciate the episode one bit, Scheana said she only had Nema on her show to clear her name of false rumors after she was accused of protecting the former Shahs star.
“He’s not in this world anymore and I didn’t want to drag him into our drama. Once he saw how much hate I was getting online he offered to do my podcast to tell the truth and that was the point of it,” she explained.
Scheana also stated that, at the time, she believed Raquel was in treatment and didn’t think she’d hear it.
“As far as I knew she was in a mental healthcare facility with no access to social media or a phone, so my first question was, ‘How did she even hear it if she’s in this facility?’ Why would they, as she’s working on her mental health, allow her to listen to a podcast that could be damaging? And then that made me question if he was even telling me the truth,” she recalled. “I didn’t even know if I believed what he was saying but in the chance that he was telling the truth, obviously, that was never my intention.”
In closing, Sandoval noted that when it came to cast breakups of the past, he’s kept his mouth shut.
“All of them have gone through things like this. I did not say one word about Lala and her breakup. I didn’t say one word about the breakup with James and Raquel. I didn’t say about even [Schwartz] and Katie, except like ‘That’s their business.’ Not one f*cking word came out of my mouth in the press. Not one. And they can’t shut the f*ck up about it. They could’ve at least humanized me, but they didn’t,” he stated.
Vanderpump Rules season 11 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
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