Vanderpump Rules season 10 exposed Tom Sandoval’s true character, but it hadn’t been that much of a secret leading up to the reveal of Scandoval. For years, Tom has proven that he’s always looking out for himself first, regardless of the relationship he’s in or the friendships he’s dealing with. After destroying his relationship with Ariana Madix by having a months-long affair with her close friend Raquel Leviss, many Vanderpump Rules fans began to look into Tom’s past behavior. Throughout the show’s history, Tom has been a main figure on the series and shared his life with Vanderpump Rules viewers, but he hasn’t always been the most innocent player.
Before the shocking revelations of Scandoval, Tom was involved in several scandals throughout the course of Vanderpump Rules. From his relationship with Kristen Doute to his difficult time handling his business with Tom Schwartz, Tom has always been a part of a problem during the series. Whether it be the people he sides with, like legendary Vanderpump Rules villain Jax Taylor, or the actions he takes, like deciding to stay behind while his girlfriend traveled home for a family death, Tom’s behavior has been questionable for years. Now that Scandoval has proven Tom’s true colors, looking back at his behavior from the past just shows that he’s always been trouble.
5 Tom Wasn’t Supportive Of Ariana’s Mental Health
Throughout her time on the series, Ariana has been open about her struggles with depression and anxiety. She’s always been an advocate for mental health and has always explained that being open about her mental health, no matter the state, has helped her through difficult times. When Tom and Ariana first got together during Vanderpump Rules season 3, she spoke candidly about how supportive Tom was of her mental health, but things changed for the couple over time. After a few years together, Tom began to get irritated by Ariana’s mental health issues and spoke about being supportive, but didn’t follow up his words with real actions.
Ariana has expressed what she’d like from Tom in order for him to be the most supportive of her in difficult times. There have been moments when Tom has disappeared on Ariana in times of crisis, like during Vanderpump Rules season 10 when she was dealing with the loss of her grandmother, while he stayed at a party to spend time with Raquel. Tom has chosen his interests over Ariana, once choosing to go to bulldozing rather than spending her birthday with her. He also prioritized other women over her while she was grieving her father. Tom has never felt compelled to support the woman he’s with, instead prioritizing himself.
4 Tom Has Always Stolen The Spotlight When It Wasn’t His
Throughout the course of Vanderpump Rules, Tom has always had a difficult time when he isn’t the center of attention. He seems to be like this with most of the people in his life, but has the biggest issue letting the women he’s with take the spotlight instead of being in it for himself. Ariana, who was an incredibly sought-after bartender when she began working at SUR and appearing on Vanderpump Rules, has always allowed Tom to join in on her attention. But it’s clear that there have been moments when she would’ve liked to be doing things for herself.
Ariana worked for years on a book, Fancy AF Cocktails, only to have Tom add his name to it and promote it without really contributing to its contents. While Ariana has been successful without Tom, he’s done everything possible to make sure that her career is equal to or smaller than his. Prior to Vanderpump Rules, Ariana had a budding career as an actor, but Tom effectively put a stop to it because he felt he wasn’t getting enough attention in his own acting career. He’s also managed to burn opportunities with Lisa Vanderpump because he wanted the spotlight on him rather than his famous boss.
3 Tom Sandoval Is A Textbook Gaslighter
While Tom has always had difficulty telling the truth, it’s become clear throughout Vanderpump Rules season 10 that he’s a textbook gaslighter. To gaslight someone is to manipulate them psychologically into believing something by making them question their own sense of reality. Tom does this often by presenting a skewed version of events or arguing with someone by denying that something happened in the way they claimed it did. Throughout Vanderpump Rules season 10, Tom displayed his gaslighting tactics with several of his cast mates in order to keep his affair locked down. Obviously, he spends an abundance of time gaslighting Ariana, but it’s not just exclusive to his ex.
Tom has been gaslighting throughout the course of Vanderpump Rules, starting in his relationship with Kristen. The couple wasn’t stable during Vanderpump Rules season 1, and by the time Vanderpump Rules season 2 aired, Tom had cheated on Kristen. He was acting like he was trying to repair the relationship after spending months gaslighting her into believing she was overreacting about the cheating. Tom has also gaslit Raquel throughout their affair in order to make her think he was closer to breaking up with Ariana than he actually was, Katie for the entirety of the series, and his business partner Schwartz when the two were working on opening Schwartz & Sandy’s.
2 Tom Has Never Been Faithful In A Long Term Relationship
Tom’s relationship with Kristen and his relationship with Ariana felt a lot like they were mirrors of each other during the end of Vanderpump Rules season 2 and Vanderpump Rules season 10. While there were various other issues with the exes that didn’t cross over, Tom’s infidelity was one of the major issues between both couples. During his relationship with Kristen, Tom cheated on her several times prior to the filming of Vanderpump Rules, and then did so again during the first two seasons of the series. At some point, Tom cheated on Kristen with Ariana, something he was unable to admit for months, despite Kristen’s near-constant accusations.
After Tom and Kristen broke up, he ended up dating Ariana just a few months later. During the early phase of their relationship, Tom cheated on Ariana and tried to explain it, saying they weren’t exclusive yet. This cheating scandal with a woman known to Vanderpump Rules viewers as Miami Girl, was featured during Vanderpump Rules season 3 and denied by both Tom and Ariana for years. After cheating with Miami Girl, Tom seemed to slow down and actually settle with Ariana, but has admitted to cheating on her another time prior to his affair with Raquel.
1 Tom Can’t Take Accountability For His Actions
Tom has spent years on Vanderpump Rules blaming others for things he’s clearly done. Obviously, with the news of Scandoval crashing down on Tom, it quickly became clear that he was going to try and blame Ariana for the demise of their relationship. Rather than taking any sort of accountability for the affair, he has spent the last few months trying to excuse his actions and justify them by making Ariana look like a neglectful, belittling partner. Aside from the obvious instances of Scandoval, Tom has spent years not taking accountability for his mistakes. Throughout the years, Tom has blamed others for his problems and errors.
From cheating on partners to destroying business relationships, Tom has always had a hard time admitting his faults. Early on during the run of Vanderpump Rules, Tom was quick to cover his tracks or Schwartz’s by blaming others for their behavior. He has instigated conflict with nearly every current and former cast member, then blamed it on the other party or factors outside himself consistently. With Tom being one of the stars of Vanderpump Rules, the show has done its best to portray him in a positive light, but watching his inability to take the blame for his errors makes it incredibly difficult.