When Vanderpump Rules’ star Ariana Madix discovered that Tom Sandoval, her boyfriend of nine years, was cheating on her with their friend and castmate Rachel Leviss, she was standing inside a bathroom stall looking through Sandoval’s phone.
For fans of the show, the Scandoval origin story is well known: On March 1, 2023, Sandoval was performing with his cover band at TomTom, the Lisa Vanderpump-owned restaurant in which Sandoval and Tom Schwartz are partners. Sandoval’s phone dropped out of his pocket, was handed to Madix by a friend, and Madix said her “women’s intuition” inspired her to peruse his photos and text messages. After seeing a sexually explicit video of Leviss from a FaceTime with Sandoval, Madix recorded the video on her own phone and sent it to Leviss with the text, “You’re dead to me.”
The incident upended Madix’s life, ending her nearly decade-long relationship with Sandoval, disrupting their co-home ownership, and changing the dynamics of their professional and social lives. But it would also be the focal point of a drawn-out legal saga that continues to this day. Earlier this year, Leviss sued Sandoval and Madix over the filming and distribution of the video (a judge has set a trial date of Nov. 3), kicking off a series of lawsuits and complaints among the trio. (Leviss referred to herself as “Raquel” during her time on Vanderpump Rules but began going by her legal name, Rachel, after news of the affair broke.)
Keeping up has been head-spinning for even the most rabid VPR fans. On July 17, Sandoval filed a cross-complaint and sued Madix, claiming she was the sole party responsible for the damage done to Leviss, but retracted the lawsuit two days later and fired the lawyer who suggested he file it in the first place. (“In no way am I suing Ariana,” he wrote on Instagram. “I hope to get through this case quickly, so that Ariana and I can both finally MOVE ON with our lives.”)
Here’s a breakdown of every Scandoval lawsuit and all of the legal drama involving Sandoval, Madix, and Leviss:
Feb. 29: Leviss Sues Sandoval
On the heels of the Scandoval anniversary, Leviss sued Sandoval and Madix for revenge porn, eavesdropping, invasion of privacy, and infliction of emotional distress. In the complaint, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Leviss asked for all copies of the video to be deleted and scrubbed. She is also seeking financial payments as well as her attorneys’ fees covered.
According to the suit, Leviss claimed that Sandoval “surreptitiously recorded” her “in a state of undress and engaged in sex acts.” She also claims that Madix distributed the video to others, including Vanderpump Rules cast and production members. “Leviss has suffered grave emotional, psychological, financial and reputational harm as a result of Madix’s distribution, dissemination, and publicization of the illicit videos,” the suit claims.
The filing paints Sandoval as a perpetrator who took advantage of Leviss in a “vulnerable state” following her breakup with cast member James Kennedy.
“Lost in the mix was that Leviss was a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which were then distributed, disseminated and discussed publicly by a scorned woman seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal,” the suit says. “Leviss ultimately checked herself into a mental health facility and remained there for three months while Bravo, [production company] Evolution and the cast milked the interest her excoriation had peaked.”
The lawsuit also claims that Madix was aware of Leviss and Sandoval’s affair at the time it was happening, “scolding [them] for being handsy in public, admonishing them to save the story for Season 11.” Leviss also points the finger at Madix when it comes to information about the video getting out to the public.
Leviss’ attorneys, Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, have also represented former Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel in an unrelated lawsuit against Bravo. (Frankel has alleged mistreatment of cast members in what she’s called a “reality reckoning.”) Freedman and Geragos have filed a number of lawsuits against NBCUniversal, Bravo’s parent company.
Vanderpump Rules Season 11 had wrapped filming by the time Leviss lodged her lawsuit against Sandoval and Madix, but the show’s reunion filmed in March 2024, shortly after news broke about Leviss’ filing. (The reunion aired in May.) When addressing the lawsuit on camera, Sandoval said about Leviss, “It’s one thing for her to come after me but to come after Ariana… I’m questioning if she has a fucking soul.”
April 22nd: Sandoval’s Legal Response to Leviss
Both Madix and Sandoval have separately objected to Leviss’ suit. In April, Sandoval filed a motion requesting the court strike portions of Leviss’ lawsuit and the compensatory damages she’s also requesting. “Leviss’ lawsuit is a thinly veiled attempt to extend her fame and to rebrand herself as the victim instead of the other woman,” Sandoval’s response said, “while denigrating her former friend Madix as a ‘scorned woman’ and her former paramour Sandoval as ‘predatory,’”
April 26th: Madix’s Legal Response to Leviss
Madix filed a sworn declaration to the courts saying she never shared the “intimate” video with anyone beside Leviss and asked to be dismissed from the suit. In the document, Madix claimed she sent snippets of the video she recorded on her own phone to Leviss alongside a text message saying, “You’re dead to me.” She then claimed Sandoval subsequently “forcibly grabbed” her phone and deleted the videos. She subsequently texted her friend Logan Cochran about how Sandoval deleted the videos from her phone, a text chain that she included as an exhibit. In addition to the dismissal request, Madix requested Leviss cover her legal fees.
May 24th: Sandoval Tries, and Fails, to Have Some Claims Removed
Sandoval made a failed attempt to have the eavesdropping and invasion of privacy claimed dropped from Leviss’ original suit, arguing that he was not eavesdropping on Leviss because he claimed she intentionally sent the video to him. In a demurrer filed to the court, Sandoval said he “merely saved private copies of the videos that Leviss had filmed and shared with him.” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Daniel M. Crowley, who’s overseeing the case, overruled the action and decided to uphold the claims against Sandoval.
“There were no videos except for the ones that Sandoval recorded. This was a videoconference conversation, a FaceTime conversation, and he was secretly recording them for his own personal sexual gratification,” Jason Sunshine, an attorney for Leviss, told the court. “It’s clearly invasion of privacy.”
After the May ruling, things cooled a bit legally as Madix’s star continued to rise. In August, she announced a starring role in the Broadway hit Chicago and gained more stardom as the host of Peacock’s Love Island USA. Sandoval remains a cultural pariah to the majority of fans of the show and is still trying to come out on the other side of being named “the most hated man in America” by the New York Times, though he still spent his summer filming; NBC announced his name as a part of the cast for next year’s The Traitors Season 3.
While mostly staying out of the public eye, Leviss has been recording her podcast Rachel Goes Rogue for iHeartMedia, in which she shares her thoughts about Vanderpump Rules and updates about her personal life. On the April 16 episode of Rachel Goes Rogue, Leviss discussed the negative responses she received regarding her lawsuit against Sandoval and Madix.
“Choosing to take legal action was not something that I chose lightly. I really had to weigh all of the pros and cons and one of the cons was [the] public’s reaction to it,” Leviss said. “I saw this coming, and that’s just something that I had to debate and realize, that if I want to seek legal action against Tom, then I also have to seek legal action against Ariana.”
Leviss continued to say since she’s taken accountability for her role in the affair, she’s also looking to hold Sandoval and Madix accountable for their actions.
“Yeah, what I did was not morally right, but recording and distributing a video is also not right. So you know, they’re two separate instances. One is illegal,” she said. “It’s hard because I do feel guilty. I do feel guilty for potentially causing more pain than I’ve already caused somebody. But then I also take a look at what I’ve been through, and I’ve been through a lot, and I don’t think it’s right or fair or just.”
July 11: Madix’s Request to Be Removed From Suit Denied
The Scandoval lawsuits entered the news again in July when Judge Crowley rejected Madix’s request to be removed from the suit. “Madix’s conduct is not protected under the anti-SLAPP statute,” he said in court documents, referring to laws that are in place to protect an individual’s right to free speech against baseless lawsuits or legal proceedings, or strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP). “Because the alleged conduct was illegal as a matter of law, the judge continues to say, “Plaintiff has conclusively demonstrated Madix’s conduct alleged in the three causes of action was illegal.”
In response, Jordan Susman, Madix’s attorney, told Rolling Stone in a statement, “We are confident that the ruling will be reversed by the California Court of Appeals. It is unfortunate that Ms. Leviss will not let Ms. Madix move forward from such terrible events that Ms. Leviss and Mr. Sandoval caused in the first place.” .
Meanwhile, Leviss’ attorneys celebrated the procedural victory for their client. “We are pleased at the court’s recognition that Ms. Madix’s actions were illegal,” Freedman said. “She does not have a free speech right to break into her boyfriend’s phone, steal sexually compromising videos of another woman, and disseminate them to menace and terrorize her.” The judge also set a trial date in the new ruling for Nov. 3.
July 16: Sandoval Sues Madix for Invasion of Privacy
On the same day that Vanderpump Rules was nominated for its second Emmy for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program, Sandoval filed a lawsuit against his longtime ex-girlfriend for invasion of privacy. In the cross-complaint, Sandoval attempts to skirt responsibility for the now-infamous video of Leviss by pointing the finger at Madix. Sandoval claimed Madix is at fault for the damages Leviss is seeking “entirely or in part” because she acted without “authorization or permission” when she went into his phone and filmed the video on her own phone. In the latest suit, Sandoval is also asking for “punitive damages” from Madix because he claimed she acted with “willful and conscious disregard” of his rights.
According to Susman, Madix’s attorney, Sandoval’s recent filing is another attempt “to further shirk personal responsibility for the effects his actions have had on her and her emotional well-being.” In a statement given to Rolling Stone, Susman said, “It is abhorrent that Tom Sandoval continues to torment Ms. Madix,” after subjecting her to “months of emotional warfare.”
“For Mr. Sandoval to go from begging Ms. Madix for forgiveness to blaming her for his wrongdoing speaks for itself. Even months after the New York Times branded Mr. Sandoval ‘the most hated man in America,’ he has clearly learned nothing and believes it necessary to continue torturing Ms. Madix in a vain effort to rehabilitate his image,” Susman said. “Ms. Madix is confident that a jury will see through this latest ploy and dismiss his frivolous claims.”
In addition to the legal and financial implications involving Sandoval, Madix, and Leviss, the fallout from Sandoval’s latest complaint was immediate: The reality star deactivated his Instagram account; his longtime friend, castmate, and business partner Tom Schwartz deleted a recent post on Instagram he’d shared in honor of Sandoval’s birthday; and Greg Morris, co-owner of Schwartz and Sandoval’s bar-restaurant Schwartz & Sandy’s, also seemingly responded to a fan in the comments of the establishment’s Instagram account, saying he’s “not thrilled.” The restaurant has since turned off comments on the social media page.
More VPR cast members didn’t mince words. Katie Maloney, who was vocal regarding her criticism of Sandoval last season, responded to the news in an Instagram comment. “Authorized permission.. Interesting choice of words pal. Anyways, you fucking suck dude,” she wrote. “…he did share his phones [sic] pass code with his partner at the time. Mans confused about how that bit works I guess.”
Scheana Shay, who fans criticized last season for giving Sandoval another chance at a friendship, also shared her thoughts about the lawsuit. “Tom Sandoval, shit thing to do after a shitty thing you already did. Like, what are you thinking?” she wrote. “No, this is not someone I want to be friends with. This is not who I align in my values with. Call me a fucking idiot, okay. I said it at the finale, ‘Don’t make me look like an idiot.’ Well, you did.”
Shay continued to spell out why she thinks Sandoval is in the wrong for suing Madix, pointing out how Sandoval blasted Leviss at the Season 11 reunion for going after Madix in court. “I think it’s cruel. I think it’s vile. I think it negates any remorse that he tried to show at the reunion saying Raquel is a coward [for] suing Ariana,” Shay said. “Y’all were together for almost a decade. You shared a mortgage. You shared bills. You shared passcodes. She knew your password. So this invasion of privacy, fuck off.”
July 18: Sandoval Drops Lawsuit Against Madix
Mere days after Sandoval filed his cross-complaint against Madix, he shared a written statement on Instagram saying he was removing the complaint and fired one of his lawyers, Matthew Geragos, who advised him to go through with the motion. (In the classic, dramatic nature of all things VPR, Matthew Geragos is the brother of Mark, one of Leviss’ lawyers.)
“Late Tuesday afternoon, my attorney Matt Geragos, whose advice I trusted, called me about the Cross-Complaint in the lawsuit against myself and Ariana. He assured me that the action was customary and strictly preventative in these types of lawsuits and urged me to agree to it. The words ‘New Lawsuit’ and ‘Suing’ were not articulated to me,” Sandoval wrote.
“I should’ve done more of my due diligence on the matter. Upon realizing what this action actually means, I have removed Matt Geragos from my legal team. In no way am I suing Ariana. The action against Ariana brought on by my behalf is being removed. I hold no ill will or vindictiveness toward Ariana. Now, by removing the Cross-Complaint and the attorney who recommended it, I hope to get through this case quickly, so that Ariana and I can both finally MOVE ON with our lives.” Despite Sandoval’s backtracking, it intensified his already-battered reputation and credibility.
(While not directly related to her dealings with Sandoval and Leviss, Madix is also caught up in yet another lawsuit in which a woman who formerly worked with her and co-star Katie Maloney on their West Hollywood sandwich shop sued the pair, claiming that the VPR duo didn’t hold up their end of an oral agreement allegedly guaranteeing her a 10 percent partnership in the shop.)
The lawsuits have brought fresh questions about the impact they could have on future seasons of Vanderpump Rules. The reality show is on hiatus this summer for the first time in 11 years following a contentious finale and reunion. Producers have reassured viewers that the show will be back, but there isn’t a clear path forward for the group of former friends and lovers who have combusted into divisions and sects.
A show that was once lauded and celebrated for depicting a real group of messy, complicated, fun-loving friendships and relationships can no longer film this specific collection of cast members and call it reality, considering they no longer associate as friends at large. As many fans joked online, Sandoval’s lawsuit, albeit brief, feels like the end of Vanderpump Rules in its current iteration. (One Bravo fan even took to Change.org to create a petition to have Sandoval removed from the show, echoing the sentiments of many others.)
Barring a settlement, everything will come to a head when Leviss’ original lawsuit goes to trial in November. While the trial will bring an end to the legal drama of the past year, Vanderpump Rules fans remain in the dark about how the continuous saga will — or won’t — play out onscreen, leaving Bravo’s beloved and highly-rated juggernaut in limbo.