Ariana Madix‘s routine has changed as she remains under the same roof as Tom Sandoval following his affair with Raquel Leviss.
During the Friday, August 25, episode of Scheana Shay’s “Scheananigans” podcast, Madix, 38, noted that a shift in her home life initially began before she learned about Scandoval.
“There’s something to be said for that — just toward the end of [our relationship], while he was having the affair, him staying out late all the time was always something that made my anxiety super, super bad,” she recalled. “[It was the] never knowing when he would come through the door, never knowing how late he would stay out.”
Madix continued: “In that regard, I sleep a lot easier at night not giving a f—k about when he is coming through that door. That is one thing I have to say about us living in the same house. I don’t have to think about how he is coming into my bedroom because he is not. I sleep with my door locked. Just in case.”
Sandoval, 41, and Madix purchased their home in 2019 after six years of dating. News broke in March that the former couple called it quits due to Sandoval’s infidelity. The Vanderpump Rules stars, however, continued to cohabit.
One month after the scandal made headlines, Sandoval admitted he didn’t have anywhere else to go.
“I don’t have a lot of friends I can stay with right now. … I kind of run the house,” he said on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast in April. “I handle the gardening [and] the housekeeping. My assistant comes and cleans and stocks everything. I basically run everything in the house.”
The Schwartz & Sandy’s cofounder said he was able to avoid seeing Madix by using a mediator. “[Ariana’s] in the house. This is a big house. We have a go between. We text when we’re coming and going,” he continued. “The house is not listed yet, no. [Ariana’s] really busy right now, she’s obviously blowing up. I’m really happy to see that. I’ve been busy as well trying to get things together.”
Madix has since defended her decision to remain in her home after Leviss, 28, questioned it during her bombshell podcast interview with Bethenny Frankel. According to Leviss, Sandoval had other options when he and Madix originally split.
“He had a free place to stay and chose to stay in the house with Ariana. They both can afford a place or go rent a place,” Leviss, who recalled offering her empty apartment to Sandoval amid her stay in a mental health facility, told Frankel, 52, earlier this month. “It really isn’t that surprising that they’re living together in my eyes because it’s been this way. They haven’t been an authentic couple, romantic, intimate.”
Madix, for her part, pointed out that uprooting her life would cost her more, adding on Shay’s podcast, “I have never been someone who came from money. I know how quickly that goes away. I’m taking care of myself. … I have a pretty decent setup. My room is kind of like my little apartment. I stay in my own little zone.”
