“To me, it feels like manipulation,” Madix said of Sandoval talking about his mental health struggles on Tuesday’s episode.
Ariana Madix is not ready to make amends with Tom Sandoval, and she’s not ready for her friends to, either.
On Tuesday’s all-new episode of Vanderpump Rules, Ariana shut down castmate Scheana Shay‘s concerns about Sandoval after Lisa Vanderpump informed both her and Lala Kent that the bar owner had been experiencing suicidal thoughts after being berated online — and by the world — following his months-long affair with former castmtate, Rachel Leviss.
While it was a “personal trigger” for Lisa, who lost her own brother to suicide, and touched Lala and Scheana equally, Ariana found Tom’s admission “annoying” and “manipulative.”
“Here’s where I’m now personally struggling. ‘Cause we went over to Lisa’s today, me and Lala. All three of us were in tears. She was very emotional because she says she’d seen a lot of similarities with her brother before he passed away, and she’s very concerned and she asked us to just ease up,” Scheana shares.
“Tom and her brother are very different people, I’m sorry,” Ariana replies. “He still will not take responsibility for what he did. So ease up?! I’m not gonna be like, ‘Hey everybody, it’s me Ariana on my Instagram Story, if you guys could just like, be nice to my ex-boyfriend who did all these things…’ that’s not happening.”
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Rachel Leviss Calls Tom Sandoval Out for Alluding to ‘Suicide Pact,’ Exposing ‘Dark Thoughts’
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While the Dancing With the Stars alum said she understands Tom has had some struggles with his mental health post-Scandoval, she believes he very much brought it upon himself.
“I can understand that he has had some thoughts and some feelings, but those thoughts and those feelings are based on a situation he created in which he didn’t give a f–k about anybody else’s mental health,” she says in a confessional. “I know I’m a b—h saying this, but like, it just feels a little bit annoying.”
Scheana, who herself was still reeling from her conversation with Lisa, continued to make her plea to Ariana, reminding her of her “amazing” friendship with Tom, but that was quickly dismissed, with the Something About Her co-owner calling the years-long relationship ungenuine, as she proceeded to question his character and intentions.
“As soon as he’s getting invited to parties again, he’ll be like, ‘Great. that’s what I wanted,” Ariana says. “This is a scary f–king person, that I don’t trust any word that comes out of his mouth because it’s constantly changing.”
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Ariana Madix Rips Into Schwartz for Trying to Bridge ‘Gap’ with Sandoval, Calling Out Her ‘Ego’
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“And it’s all like, to me, it feels like manipulation,” she adds.
Earlier in the episode, Tom voiced his struggles to friend and former castmate, Billie Lee, and said he often wondered if he would be easier on everyone if he would just “go away.”
“There was all kinds of feelings in my head: pain, anger, sadness, depression, bleakness,” Tom says of life after news of the affair broke. “I lost all of my friends and I felt like maybe the best way to show that I’m sorry, and kind of, what I feel like everybody wants is for me to go away.”
Ultimately, Tom said he just wants to be “happy” again, but doesn’t feel like he’s allowed to.
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Lisa Vanderpump Gets Heated with Tom Sandoval, He Scares ‘Living Daylights’ Out of Her with Suicide Talk
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Whether or not the group will let him, seems unlikely at this point, but he is headed with most of the cast on a trip to Lake Tahoe, proving that maybe there is hope for a reconciliation after all.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress.
