Ariana Madix Was on Her Last $2K Before Her Financial Success in the Scandoval Aftermath
Ariana Madix is clearing up some misconceptions about her financial status before — and after — Tom Sandoval's affair with Raquel "Rachel" Leviss.
In a preview clip for the new episode of Vanderpump Rules, which airs on Tuesday, March 12, Ariana, 38, revealed to Lala Kent, Scheana Shay, Katie Maloney and Ally Lewber that she wasn't in a good place with her finances before the scandal.
"The internet thinks I've made millions of dollars. That is not true," she explained. "It's like, on March 1st, was I financially prepared to move? No. Literally the week before all of this happened, I remember emailing my agent and manager and being like, 'Guys, let's start really trying to do some s—t. Because I'm not in a good place financially.'"
Ariana offered more details in a confessional, adding, "When I first started making decent money, we decided we wanted to buy a house. Then I was playing catch up all the way up until Katie and I found a great location for a sandwich shop [Something About Her]."
She continued: "Then a bunch of my money went toward that. Now I was at a point where in March I was literally on my last $2,000. I am not kidding."
Ariana cited the aftermath of her split from Scandoval as the reason she took on so many work opportunities. "He created this situation and now I am f—king scrambling to get my s—t together to be able to — in a financially responsible way — move on to the next step," she noted.
News broke in March 2023 that Sandoval, 41, and Ariana called it quits after nearly a decade of dating due to his affair with Rachel, 29. After addressing the drama in the season 10 reunion special, Rachel checked herself into a mental health treatment facility for 90 days and has since left the show.
Sandoval, meanwhile, stayed in the spotlight by touring with his band, Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras, appearing on Fox's Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test and starting his own podcast, titled “Everybody Loves Tom.”
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Ariana also remained in the public eye by filming numerous commercials that nodded to Scandoval for brands including Duracell, BIC and Lays, joining season 32 of Dancing With the Stars, booking the role of Roxie Hart on Broadway’s Chicago and releasing a new recipe book, Single AF Cocktails.
"We have no generational wealth in our family," Ariana told Glamour in a June 2023 interview. “I want to make enough money to be able to take care of my mom and my brother and any other family members who may or may not need it. I never want to worry about it ever, ever, ever. So I will work as much as possible to not have to."
Ariana and Katie, 37, have also remained focused on opening up their sandwich show. Amid the controversy, the duo revealed that they made $200,000 from the shop's merchandise. Something About Her, however, has still not opened due to delays with permits.
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"We're trying to focus on the things that we can control and then the powers that be with the things that we can't control. We're just rolling with the punches," Ariana exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2023 about past complications, to which Katie added, "That's the thing is that every time we turn around there's something else."
The Vanderpump Rules costars also confirmed their French bistro-inspired shop won't pay tribute to the show.
"Nothing is related to the show or any cast members at all [at Something About Her]," Katie told Us. Ariana, for her part, noted that Bravo viewers shouldn't expect their shop to lean into their reality TV roots, saying, "We got to get some new material out there."
