Tom Sandoval has finally responded to allegations he cheated on Vanderpump Rules co-star Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss and it’s not going over well with fans for one particular reason.
Late yesterday (Saturday, March 4), Sandoval took to Instagram with a prepared statement about the cheating drama but instead of apologizing to his longtime love Ariana, the troubled reality star completely ignored her while asking fans to be respectful of Tom Schwartz and their joint venture, Schwartz and Sandy’s.
“I fully understand and deserve [your] anger & disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz, my friends and family out of this situation…,” he posted. “Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions. This was a very personal thing.”
He continued, “Also, Schwartz & Sandy’s might have my name on it, but also there are 3 other partners and 20 employees, who especially rely on the restaurant for income for them and their families. Just like TomTom, I’m a small part of a much bigger thing. Please direct your anger towards me and not them. They did nothing wrong. I’m so sorry that my partners Greg, Brett, and Schwartz and our employees have to suffer for my actions.”
Tom revealed that he will be stepping back from the business (but presumably will not stop filming Vanderpump Rules) as the backlash continues. “I will be taking a step back & taking a hiatus out of respect for my employees & partners,” he added. “I need some time to address everything else. Sorry for everything.”
While it is nice to see Tom somewhat own up to his actions, it is shocking that the apology is more for Schwartz and his restaurant as opposed to Ariana and that seems to be why fans are completely disregarding his post. Clearly, he does not have the best PR team around him to navigate what is slowly turning into a huge scandal for the Vanderpump Rules cast.
As previously reported, the cheating drama is being filmed for Season 10 as production resumed filming once they found out about the news earlier this week.
Vanderpump Rules airs Wednesdays on Bravo.
