Spilling that Pump-tea-ni. Tom Sandoval and James Kennedy have both starred on Vanderpump Rules for years — but their bromance has faced its fair share of drama.
While the twosome were friends before Kennedy joined the cast of the Bravo series in season 3, their friendship on camera got off to a rocky start when the England native began sleeping with Sandoval’s ex-girlfriend Kristen Doute.
During the season 2 Pump Rules reunion, which aired in 2014, the Schwartz & Sandy’s co-owner claimed that he and Kennedy had plans to work together on music and become roommates before he found out about the DJ’s relationship with Doute.
“I’ve actually known James longer than Kristen because me and James have been working on music for the past five months. We were boys. He went through a breakup and I was there for him,” Sandoval shared. “We created a band together he was planning on moving into my apartment solely so we could focus on our music project.”
He continued, “So Kristen basically starts screwing the one guy who would, like, completely turn my life upside down. I was a gentleman, I left her the apartment to herself and what does she do? She bangs this guy that I am getting ready to move in with. On my bed. With my condoms. I walked in right after they got done banging and gave him my pants and my underwear. Cause that’s the kind of friend that I am. It’s been a pure nightmare.”
Doute, for her part, claimed in a February 2015 Bravo blog post that Kennedy was both her and Sandoval’s friend — and their relationship blossomed in Sandoval’s absence.
“I didn’t plan for James and I to start dating. He is an amazing friend to me and I truly thank him for giving me the tough love I needed after the breakup. He put his foot down against my tears and told me to move on the way that Tom already had,” she wrote at the time. “He wasn’t trying to woo me into bed or screw Tom over — it was a natural transition that neither of us expected or planned. He became one of my best friends and the chemistry was undeniable.”
The He’s Making You Crazy author alleged that Sandoval gave Kennedy an ultimatum — continue their friendship or keep dating Doute. While the Michigan native claimed that Kennedy initially chose Sandoval over her, they eventually found their way back together.
“James and I naturally fell back into place and he made his decision. It is easy for Tom to play the victim in this situation — that I ‘stole’ his bandmate when the truth is, Tom was using James to produce his tracks,” she alleged. “As Tom’s ex-girlfriend, I owed him nothing. He had already moved on to a relationship with a girl he had cheated on me with. It was not my responsibility to deny my happiness out of sensitivity for him anymore.”
While Kennedy and Doute called it quits in September 2015, Sandoval moved on with costar Ariana Madix and rekindled his bromance with Kennedy shortly after.
The two went on to support each other in their personal and professional lives throughout the show — with Kennedy even opening for Sandoval’s band, Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras, in summer 2022.
However, their friendship hit the ultimate snag in March 2023 when news broke that Sandoval had an affair with costar Raquel Leviss — Kennedy’s ex-fiancée. The former SUR busboy quickly took to social media to slam the TomTom co-founder for his actions. (Sandoval was in a nine-year relationship with Madix at the time.)
The music producer shared a screenshot of an article about the affair via Instagram, captioning the post, “Hope you all feel as sick as I do. This explains everything.” When one person commented calling Sandoval and Leviss the “most vile subhumans I’ve ever met,” Kennedy replied, “CORRECT.”
He later encouraged fans to attend an upcoming concert of Sandoval’s to taunt him for his infidelity.
“If you’re in Orange County today and you’re planning on seeing Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras tonight don’t forget to bring the tomatoes and the cabbage, OK?” he said. “You want to get a good aim and you want to squeeze the tomato a little bit so it’s just a little juicy before you throw it.”
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Keep scrolling for all of Sandoval and Kennedy’s ups and downs over the years;
