Ariana Madix explained her decision to block Tom Schwartz after Tuesday’s Vanderpump Rules premiere.
After it was revealed that she had told Schwartz, 40, to “go choke on [Tom Sandoval]’s dirty a** d*ck” after he encouraged fans to “hug” Sandoval, 41, on Watch What Happens Live after his affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, 29, Ariana, 38, admitted there was more to her decision to block him as she also addressed Raquel’s suggestion that she quit Pump Rules to avoid inflicting more pain upon her.
“I was just like, ‘I’m f*cking done with this,’” Ariana recalled on the January 30 episode of the Pump Rules: After Show. “He would send me text messages sometimes that were like, ‘You should go to Florida and like, braid your hair,’ kind of fun like Schwartz-type stuff, but this was also around the time that I was finding out about the things he was co-signing and saying about me on last season.”
During season 10 of Pump Rules, Schwartz often agreed with Sandoval in his complaints about his relationship with Ariana while agreeing with Sandoval about how awesome Raquel was.
“It wasn’t that he knew more because I knew he knew,” Ariana clarified, adding, “It was that he was so disrespectful about said, like, knowing the subject matter. And then I was like, ‘Damn, I was so f*cking easy on him at the reunion because I didn’t know he was saying all that sh*t.’”
Looking back on the angry message he received from Ariana, which Lala Kent, 33, described as “iconic,” Schwartz said he remembered the spirit of it.
“It wasn’t pleasant,” Schwartz noted. “Honestly, I didn’t take it personally. I forget how I responded. I actually thought it was kind of funny in the moment. I didn’t really think she would keep me blocked. [But] that was really the last time we communicated.”
Although Schwartz reportedly knew about Sandoval’s affair with Raquel for the entire time it was happening, he didn’t tell a soul. Instead, he simply alluded to the matter on Pump Rules.
“In his defense … It was his way of calling out Sandoval on camera, being like, ‘I know what you’re f*cking doing,’ but he said it in a bad, joking way,” Scheana Shay, 38, noted.
Meanwhile, James Kennedy, 32, appreciated Schwartz’s hints.
“That’s all I needed to see, that he has some kind of heart inside. He created his own safety net there,” James replied.
As for Lala, she wasn’t as impressed.
“But here’s the thing: We’re not a bunch of 20-year-olds getting drunk behind a bar and seating tables. We are grown. You are 40-year-old, Schwartz. For that to be the way of you calling him out, like, strap on a pair, dude,” she reasoned.
Continuing on, Ariana said that while she didn’t expect Schwartz to betray Sandoval completely, she didn’t appreciate him acting like her friend.
“It’s like, okay, you don’t necessarily like to rat your friend out, but you don’t sit there when you’re also trying to cosplay as my friend. And then I saw this Watch What Happens Live thing, yeah, no,” Ariana said.
Then, after admitting that “campaigning for hugs for Sandoval was probably ill-timed,” Schwartz explained that he had grown concerned about his friend’s wellbeing.
“I got to the point where I started worrying about him doing something that he might regret and going through a dark place,” Schwartz said. “What does she expect me to do? I’m his best friend.”
“Every time you would say nice things, it really had a positive effect on me, and so I appreciate that,” Sandoval replied. “When you said, ‘Give that guy a hug,’ people started coming up to me and giving me hugs just because you said that. Like a lot. My mental health was never talked about throughout our relationship. Only Ariana’s.”
According to Sandoval, Ariana “knew [he] was struggling” and “in very dark places” but did nothing.
“Does she expect my parents to block me and not talk to me? I think that’s ridiculous,” he added.
During another segment of the After Show, Scheana said that when it came to Raquel’s podcast, she “didn’t listen,” “won’t listen,” and “will not waste [her] time.”
“I saw she said she chose not to come back to the show because she didn’t want to have to have Ariana see her person in love with someone else, so it’s like, she was doing Ariana a favor,” she shared.
“She said that?” Lala replied. “Ariana is f*cking thriving, b*tch. She ain’t looking back, and she doesn’t care.”
Regarding Raquel’s podcast suggestion, Ariana clarified she was not buying it.
“I don’t think she gives a sh*t about my feelings whatsoever. I think a publicist told her that that’s the right strategy to use going forward,” Ariana noted.
Katie Maloney, 37, then pointed to a potential double-standard.
“You didn’t behave in a way at all last year that would’ve supported that kind of narrative, that you were so upset… At times it may have bothered you but that wasn’t the whole thing,” Katie stated. “And also, if that’s the truth then ‘Hi Rachel, do you have something to say to me?’ because I’d love to hear your thoughts on the way you behaved when it came to me and Tom.”
” If you’re not going to lean all the way into that, then you should probably shut up about it,” she added.
Vanderpump Rules season 11 airs Tuedsays at 8/7c on Bravo.
