Sandoval’s attempts to talk to his ex on camera backfire, as she says he could have given her a “f–king deadly STD” and storms out — before Tom and Lala break the fourth wall and go unhinged tirades of their own about Ariana, saying “she now thinks she is Beyonce.”
The Vanderpump Rules finale sure brought the fireworks — as well as a last-minute “plot twist” that left producers shocked and Tom Sandoval feeling pretty good about himself.
The episode found the whole cast in San Francisco, where Scheana Shay was performing at a launch party for one of their friends’ whiskey venture. The trip was the first time many of the group met Ariana Madix’s boyfriend, Daniel Wai, and marked a rare occasion she crossed paths with her ex, Sandoval.
During a cast lunch sans Sandoval, Lala Kent grilled Wai on everything from why his last relationship fell apart to whether he wants kids — with Wai handling it, in Kent’s POV, “like a champ.” When asked for his thoughts on Sandoval, he simply said he didn’t know him, but knew “what he’s done” and hasn’t heard “great things” about him.
At one point in the convo, Tom Schwartz said his friend and business partner was a good person who just did “a trash thing,” which triggered Ariana.
“A trash thing? You gotta watch what table you’re at if you want to talk like that. You can leave,” she told him. “If you want to talk like that and said he did a trash thing, a singular one thing. Watch how you talk like that in front of me.”
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They all got the message loud and clear, though Scheana was still struggling with her long friendship with Tom and her allegiance to Ariana. Sandoval, meanwhile, was still hoping to get some face-time of his own with Madix during the trip and apologize for how he weaponized her mental health following his affair and their split.
He decided the best place to hash things out was on camera at the launch party.
First, he approached Ariana and her boyfriend at the bash, before introducing himself to Wai. “I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Tom. I heard you’re a great guy, just wanted to say what’s up and I wish you guys the best of luck,” he said, before getting a simple, “I appreciate that” from Dan in return. Madix, for her part, didn’t react at all and looked at her phone during the whole interaction.
She made it clear she didn’t want to be a “cog in the machine of Tom Sandoval’s redemption arc,” before Scheana attempted to tell Ariana how she felt he was “changing and becoming better.” Madix didn’t want to hear it, telling Shay, “Don’t talk to me about that path of growth. He’s an ex-boyfriend of mine who does not deserve to be in my presence and breathe the same air as me and that does not change.”
Madix insisted she didn’t want an apology from him at this point and told Scheana she would love her no matter what, despite Shay not being able to “write off” Sandoval as a friend. Just as they were hugging things out, Sandoval then swooped over to congratulate Scheana on her performance … and attempt to talk to his ex.
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Ariana started walking away immediately, as Tom tried — in vain — to get her to come back and talk. She then went over to producers for the show, telling them a conversation between her and Sandoval was “not happening.”
“Him f–king walking up on me talking to Scheana. He doesn’t give a f–k if I f–king died in a ditch or got a f–king deadly STD the way he was f–king around behind my back. That is non-informed consent,” she told producers. “He does not get access to me. It’s about a performance for the audience. He wants :30 with the audience.”
In a confessional, she added, “What it is that Tom is trying to get from me, it’s not for me, it’s for him. I am the final boss in his video game of redemption and because he can’t get to the final boss, he’s f–king pissed.”
With that, she and Daniel left the event — a move which then set off both Sandoval and Lala.
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“She doesn’t like any of these motherf–kers, so she can f–k off saying I’m performative,” he said to friend Billie Lee. “If you don’t want to film with your ex, don’t be on the show. Don’t sit back on your f–king lazy ass and collect a f–king check for doing nothing.”
He then began to rant to Scheana and Lala, who were standing beside the show’s executive producer.
“I’m f–king pissed. Not at you, but I’m pissed that she’s f–king saying that s–t,” Tom said to the women, getting more and more heated as he spoke. “Ariana, she doesn’t f–k with you guys. She f–king talks s–t about all you guys. She’s not gonna come to your f–king thing, I’m gonna come. When push comes to shove, I’m f–king there.”
His words seemed to ignite something in Lala, who then went off on a tirade of her own — breaking the show’s fourth wall in the process.
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“I have my own point of view, but I’ve been biting my tongue because it’s very hard to do this. I’m not afraid. It’s a lot of breaking the fourth wall, but I’m gonna do it now,” she began. “This happened to her, the world rallied around her. She now thinks she is Beyonce. It’s bulls–t she can’t film with someone, but she stays under the same roof!”
“It’s a lot. It’s a lot that she’s saying don’t f–k with Tom Sandoval, but I’m gonna sleep down the hall from Tom Sandoval,” Kent continued. “I get it, he f–king cheated, you did a really f–king sh–ty thing … but he did not kill somebody. You didn’t kill anybody! She moved on eight days later, eight days!”
Scheana said Kent wasn’t alone in thinking that, before Lala added, “I have never in my life experienced someone who gets cheated on and suddenly she becomes God, okay?”
In a confessional, Lala praised the show for keeping it “real,” saying she’s found it “tremendously healing” for her in the past. “For Ariana to walk out this way is just such a slap in the face,” she added, saying that they have a “responsibility that comes with living your life on camera” to be truthful with the audience.
That, she felt, Ariana wasn’t doing.
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“I don’t feel that Tom and Ariana were ever honest about their relationship until Tom was caught cheating. You think you get to be honest for one moment and you get to pack it all away and all is good? F–k that,” she added.
Defending her decision to walk away in her own confessional, Ariana said Tom has never tried to talk to her off-camera, doubling down on her “performative” accusations. She added that he could have left a letter in the kitchen of the home they were still sharing and she could have read it “at my leisure,” but he didn’t. “If you would only do it on camera, to me, you showed your true colors,” she added.
The episode ended with some hot mic audio of the producers calling Kent’s rant a “f–king plot twist,” while Sandoval — laughing — responded, “I love it. It’s good for me.”
The final moments were certainly shocking and were also apparently withheld from the cast before sitting down for the reunion. The trailer for the 3-part special revealed the whole group will watch the ending for the first time together, before reacting to it in real time.
Check out a preview for the reunion, which kicks off next Tuesday, below.
