Vanderpump Rules’ Tom Sandoval sues ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix for accessing ‘cheating’ video without ‘permission’

It’s been more than a year since Ariana Madix, star of ‘Vanderpump Rules’ broke up with co-star Tom Sandoval over his affair with their fellow castmate Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, but the drama is still on-going.

Now, Sandoval is suing Madix. He has accused his ex-girlfriend of “obtain(ing) access” to explicit videos of Leviss on his phone without “authorisation or permission,” as reported by Us Weekly.

41-year-old Sandoval, who is a model and actor, alleged that his former partner, who hosts ‘Love Island USA’, not only viewed the videos but made “copies” of them and “distributed” them to “Leviss and third parties,” according to court documents obtained by the publication.

The issue arose in March last year when Madix, aged 39, had discovered her then boyfriend had been having an affair for months with Leviss, age 29, after seeing an intimate FaceTime video on his mobile phone. To add to the issue, Leviss later claimed Sandoval filmed her without her consent.

The drama played out on Season 10 of ‘Vanderpump Rules’, which led to Leviss leaving the show. Many cast members continued to discuss the affair in season 11 of the show.

Sandoval tried to apologise to Madix, who appeared on ‘Dancing with the Stars’, during the show’s finale but she refused it, saying he “doesn’t deserve to speak to” her and “doesn’t get access” to her.

Madix’s lawyer, Jordan Susman, called Sandoval’s lawsuit an “abhorrent” attempt to “torture” her and “shirk responsibility for the effects of his actions” in a statement on Wednesday (July 17). “Ms. Madix is confident that a jury will see through this latest ploy and dismiss his frivolous claims,” the lawyer told Page Six.

Sandoval’s lawyer issued a response later on the same day, labelling his actions as a “cross complaint” against the lawsuit Leviss filed against him and Madix earlier this year.

Matthew Geragos told Us Weekly, “This customary legal action was crucial to ensure that liability, if any, is fairly distributed based on the actual level of involvement and fault of each party. We aim to resolve this legal dispute with upmost respect towards all parties involved.”

In February, Leviss accused her former castmates of revenge porn, eavesdropping, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

Leviss claimed Madix messaged her “two screen recorded videos and a text that said, ‘You’re dead to me,’” which left the former pageant queen “terrified” her co-star would “leak” the videos online.

Her court filing pointed out the “public recognition and professional opportunity” her fellow cast members received in the wake of the scandal, noting that she “remains a shell of her former self, with career prospects stunted and her reputation in tatters.”

Sandoval filed to dismiss the lawsuit in April, but a Los Angeles judge granted the Leviss the right to continue with her lawsuit. Madix has denied the claims and called them “an abuse of the legal process.”

Sandoval and Madix first met when Madix joined the cast of ‘Vanderpump Rules’ in 2013, and they confirmed their relationship at the season 2 reunion in 2014. They had a nine year relationship before Sandoval’s affair brought an abrupt end to it. Madix had also previously been friends with Leviss.