Credit: Todd Williamson/Bravo, Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com
Tom Sandoval has filed a lawsuit against his ex-girlfriend, Ariana Madix, accusing her of obtaining NSFW videos of Rachel “Raquel” Leviss without his permission, making copies of those videos, and sending them to Raquel and others.
Over a year after Ariana, 39, discovered videos of then-boyfriend Sandoval, 42, and Raquel, 29, on FaceTime, where Raquel was allegedly engaged in a solo sex act, the Vanderpump Rules star sued her. Sandoval’s attorney claims this is a customary legal action taken against Raquel’s own lawsuit against both him and Ariana, in which she accused the former couple of revenge porn and invasion of privacy.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on July 16, Sandoval claims Ariana “obtained access” to his phone on March 1, 2023, without his “authorization or permission,” and watched videos of him and Raquel before making copies of the clips and sending them to “[Raquel] and third parties.”
In response to the lawsuit, Ariana’s attorney, Jordan Susman, shared a statement with the outlet.
“It is abhorrent that Tom Sandoval continues to torment Ms. Madix. From engaging in an illicit affair that shattered her home and stability, to months of emotional warfare and now this attempt to further shirk personal responsibility for the effects his actions have had on her and her emotional wellbeing,” he stated.
Ariana’s attorney continued, “Tom Sandoval knows full well what sort of privileges he and Ms. Madix shared in regard to their personal communication devices. If he or his mistress had their way, it would be illegal for someone to discover their spouse or significant other was having an affair. For Mr. Sandoval to go from begging Ms. Madix for forgiveness to blaming her for his wrongdoing speaks for itself.”
The attorney added, “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. Ms. Madix is confident that a jury will see through this latest ploy and dismiss his frivolous claims.”
Sandoval’s attorney, Matthew Geragos (whose brother, Mark Geragos, is representing Raquel), also spoke out.
“While Tom Sandoval accepts responsibility for his affair, he strongly denies the allegations of the lawsuit filed by Rachel Leviss against him and Ms. Madix,” the statement read. “In order to ensure a fair and just determination of responsibility among all parties involved, we filed a cross complaint on behalf of Mr. Sandoval. 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.”
Following the filing of the lawsuit, both Sandoval and his current girlfriend, Victoria Lee Robinson, 31, have deleted their Instagram accounts, seemingly in an attempt to shield themselves from the backlash that will likely be coming their way.
When searching for Sandoval’s account, his username is no longer found. And when visiting his former page, a message reads, “Sorry, this page isn’t available. The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.”
The same goes for Victoria’s former Instagram page.
Vanderpump Rules is currently on pause ahead of its 12th season.