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Ariana Shares How She Feels About Lisa Vanderpump Continuing to Work with Tom Sandoval
Ariana Madix explained why she’ll have “a hard time” with the Vanderpump Rules boss maintaining a business relationship with her ex.
Ariana Madix has turned to Lisa Vanderpump for personal and business matters throughout Season 10 of Vanderpump Rules, but as Ariana explained on Part 1 of the show’s Season 10 reunion, their relationship might look a bit different moving forward due to Lisa’s business partnership with Ariana’s ex, Tom Sandoval.
During the reunion episode, which aired on Wednesday, May 24, host Andy Cohen asked, “Ariana, you said during the season that you will cut off anyone who maintains a relationship with Sandoval. Will you stop speaking to Lisa if she stays in business with the Toms?”
Ariana responded, “We just won’t be as close.” Although Andy tried to move on to another question, Lisa wanted more clarity on the situation. “Hold on a second. What do you expect me to do?” she asked, to which Ariana explained, “I don’t expect anything of anyone.”
Lisa told Ariana, “I’ve been close to you and supportive of you, and you know I love you very much.” Still, she noted, Tom currently “owns 5%” of her bar and restaurant Tom Tom.
While Ariana “of course” understood that Lisa and Tom currently have an ongoing working relationship, she admitted that, moving forward, she will “have a hard time confiding [in Lisa]” if she remains close to Tom. With that, Andy asked, “Do you think she should pull out of her business?”
“No, I think she knows what’s best for her,” Ariana said. “I mean, I’m not someone who’s going to be giving Lisa business advice.” Still, Lisa explained, “If Tom remains my partner, I don’t want that to affect our relationship.”
Inside Tom Sandoval & Tom Schwartz’s Business Relationship with Lisa
Lisa, Ken Todd, Tom Sandoval, and Tom Schwartz opened Tom Tom together in 2018, with the Toms each investing $50,000 for 5% of the business. On the March 8 episode of Vanderpump Rules, Lisa and Ken offered to return Schwartz and Sandoval’s initial investments to help them open their new bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s. “You can have your investment back, and we will still give you the option to buy back into Tom Tom within a year,” Lisa said, to which Ken added, “What she means is if you become desperate and you need to buy [their partner Greg] out, or whatever, the money’s there.”
Although the Toms initially turned down the offer, on the reunion episode Lisa told Andy, “I gave them [the investment] back the week they opened [Schwartz & Sandy’s] because they needed money.”
Will Lisa Continue to Work with Sandoval and Schwartz in the Future?
Although Lisa didn’t say definitively on Part 1 of the reunion if she plans to continue her working relationship with Schwartz and Sandoval, on the March 8 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she shared how she was feeling about the situation.
“Given the negative backlash from this, are you considering buying out Sandoval’s ownership in Tom Tom?” Andy asked on behalf of a viewer.
“They’re my partners,” she said. “I’m gonna stick by them unless they need the money.” Still, she couldn’t confirm what the future holds for their business dynamic. “I don’t know. I really don’t know,” she said. “It’s so quick and it feels like such a rough and bumpy ride. I haven’t really made any decisions about anything.”
Is Lisa Going to Work with Ariana and Katie Maloney on Their Sandwich Shop?
Lisa’s future business relationship with the Toms is to be determined, but one thing she’s made very clear is that she won’t be financially invested in Ariana and Katie’s sandwich shop, Something About Her. Although Lisa helped Ariana and Katie find a location and advised on their business plans, she explained on the March 8 episode of WWHL, “I was never planning [on investing].”
“I’m there to support them,” she said. “I don’t want to be in business with every single person who works for me, but I’m there to support them.”
