Ariana Madix at the “Vanderpump Rules” Season 11 Premiere held at the Hollywood Palladium on January 17, 2024.Photo:River Callaway/Variety via Getty
River Callaway/Variety via Getty
Ariana Madixhad some reservations ahead of returning to TomTom, the restaurant where she learned of the affair betweenher then-boyfriend of nine yearsTom Sandovaland theirVanderpump RulescostarRachel “Raquel” Leviss.
The 38-year-old reality told PEOPLE at the show’s season 11 premiere earlier this month that she “definitely had some anxiety” about going back to the West Hollywood hotspot where she had not been since shefound an intimate videoof Leviss on her ex’s phone, which led her toendher relationship with Sandoval, 41.
“I hadn’t been there since March 1, and then I ended up sitting in the same spot,” she explained. “And I was like, it felt weird, like, it was weird for a second.”
Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix attend the Friends and Family Opening at Schwartz & Sandy’s with the cast of “Vanderpump Rules” at Schwartz & Sandy’s Lounge on July 26, 2022.Amanda Edwards/Getty
Amanda Edwards/Getty
However, theDancing with the Starsalum quickly settled in amongst her friends, sharing, “But then, like just having all the girls there that definitely made me just like… If I got my girls, I’ll be OK.”
On the highly-anticipated season 11 premiere, Madix admitted she was “nervous” to go back to TomTom for her friend and costarJames Kennedy’s DJ set. Before the night out, she told boyfriendDaniel Waithat she hadn’t “been there since that night that all of that transpired.”
“I shouldn’t have to make my life smaller because Tom messed everything up and if I can go there and make new memories maybe it won’t have power over me anymore and I’ll be able to look at it as just some bar,” she explained in a confessional.
While the girls rallied around her, Madix became overcome with emotion about returning to the place where she discovered the bombshell affair.
“I didn’t expect to feel all of this coming up right now,” she explained. “You think it’s just a place or it’s just a chair or it’s a table, whatever and I’ve sat in this table so many times but now that time is really taking over my memories of this place.”
Ariana Madix poses at a photo call for Madix joining the cast of “Chicago” on Broadway at 48 Lounge on January 9, 2024 in New York City. Ariana Madix joins the Broadway cast of “Chicago” the musical as Roxie Hart making her broadway debut on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024.Bruce Glikas/WireImage
Bruce Glikas/WireImage
In addition to heading back to TomTom, Madix was still navigating her living arrangement with Sandoval after theypurchased a home together in 2019. However, theBroadway starhas sincetaken ownership of the Los Angeles property.
“I own the house,” she told PEOPLE at the premiere. “I felt like it was the last thing, and I’m just really motivated to be able to get my investment that I made into the house out so that I can make another investment and be able to fully just move on from being tied to that."
She added that because she’s “a little bit of a control freak,” she wanted to be in charge of the situation with the home she shared with her ex.
Now, she’s ready to search for a new abode and leave all the drama behind her. “I want things a certain way when I think it’s the right time,” Madix continued. “So I’m ready. I want to own my own home.”
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Vanderpump Rulesairs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
source: people.com
