Ariana Madix Reveals Plans for the Future & Thoughts on Marriage After Scandoval

Ariana Madix is a name that has been everywhere lately.

When the “Vanderpump Rules” star discovered her boyfriend of nine years, Tom Sandoval, had been having a months-long affair with her best friend, Raquel Leviss, she found herself embroiled in the midst of the pop culture scandal of the year.

“I think the shock prevents you from being sad immediately,” Ariana said in a new interview with Glamour magazine on what she felt at the moment she learned of the betrayal. “It was like the air was sucked out of my lungs. It was shock, disbelief on some level, but then also anger.”

When asked about Tom’s reaction when she confronted him, Ariana said he couldn’t run from it. “When you've been caught red-handed like that, there's no denying it. It’s cold, hard evidence. So, I think he was struggling. I think he was really mad that his little house of cards was crumbling.”

Tom and Ariana had co-starred together on the popular Bravo reality show since its second season (the show just wrapped its tenth year). They bought a house together after wrapping Season 7. A question that seems to keep popping up for Madix is whether she ever suspected any infidelity.

“No. I literally thought he was a completely different person than he is,” Ariana told Glamour, adding she still has not heard from Tom’s family.

She also notes that she felt betrayed by her friend and Sandoval’s business partner, Tom Schwartz, with whom she has also cut ties. “He was very instrumental in all of it. And I was not aware of that at the time. He knew about all of it since August, at least.”

Ariana’s thoughts on marriage and children had always been on display on “Vanderpump Rules.” For years, she said she didn’t believe she and Tom needed to legally marry in order to be fully committed to one another. In the last couple years, she had started to come around to the idea of marriage — without a big wedding — and while that idea no longer includes Tom, she says she is not letting the experience of the affair redefine her thoughts.

“I still wouldn't want a wedding,” Ariana said. “For me, it's about the marriage. There's something about weddings, and the fanfare, and the bachelorette... I just don't want any of that. And I think that's a big part of it for me.”

For now, Ariana is enjoying being in a new relationship and looking ahead to the future with her business venture, a sandwich shop, with her friend and co-star Katie Maloney.

“I feel really, really confident about it,” she said. “It looks amazing inside. The design is pretty much finished. We're working on the menu, and then hiring.”

The Florida native revealed that she sometimes fantasizes about escaping into the French countryside and working at a shop, adding that it wouldn’t be difficult for her to leave Los Angeles and all the fame and spotlight behind.

“I think I love change. I picked up and moved to New York with no friends and no job. I moved from New York to L.A. with no friends, no job, no money. If I picked up from L.A. and I moved… It’s like being a new version of myself.”

As for her immediate plans, Madix hopes she can just enjoy the season ahead of her.