Trigger Warning: Please be advised this article contains mention and references to suicide.
Tom Sandoval has been going through a difficult time, but it was a situation that could have been 100% avoided. The Vanderpump Rules star put his show back on the map by cheating on partner Ariana Madix with her friend, Rachel Leviss.
Now people have mostly moved on and Tom is seemingly back in the cast’s good graces. He’s been touring with his band. He also appeared on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. Additionally, he’s probably The Diver on The Masked Singer.
But everyone knows you aren’t really in the entertainment business until you get a podcast. Now Tom has that too. On his debut show, he discussed the side of Tom we haven’t seen, and how he considered giving in to intrusive thoughts after Scandoval.
The Dark Side of Sandoval
During the first episode of the Everybody Loves Tom podcast, Tom reviewed struggling with suicide. Not many people were focused on Tom’s state of mind after his cheating was exposed. He was the villain in this story and villains aren’t usually on the receiving end of empathy. But according to Tom, he was going through dark times as well.
Scandoval commanded the Spring of 2023 and while Tom was taking heat, Ariana was heartbroken, but profiting from his betrayal. As for Rachel, she was annihilated in the Season 10 reunion and immediately checked herself into a mental health care facility when it was over.
From Tom’s POV, he said, “It did get really dark. I remember when I got back from tour was specifically a really, really hard day.” He had performed eight shows in ten days with Tom Sandoval and the Most Extras – when he got home, Ariana was filming a Duracell commercial.
The battery commercial upset Sandoval because it was “directly poking fun at me and everything that makes me me.” That said, Tom had been the one making a point out of judging Ariana for not stocking batteries and toilet paper.
Tom considered his mental health as his fan base began to dissolve. He was the subject of disdain and ridicule for his actions and began to relate to one of his heroes. “I’ll never forget this, I went to The Grove. I was a huge Linkin Park fan, and I saw Chester [Bennington]. He seemed happy. He was just animated, energetic on the phone. Literally days later, he died. He had killed himself. I could never understand why.”
The Domino Effect
When Tom’s world grew smaller because people walked away, he started to understand. “When you get into that headspace, it’s a domino effect,” he shared. “Your world starts collapsing on itself, and you cannot see outside of your feelings. Your peripheral goes away, your ability to snap out of it goes away. There were some times when I felt very, very close.”
Thankfully friend and Pump Rules alum Billie Lee stepped in and took Tom to a comedy show to “get me out of it.” Wow, the power of a comedy show knows no bounds. Ultimately Scandoval showed Tom who his friends really are. “I can see the value of my connections and friendships. I appreciate them more now than ever,” he explained.
Hopefully, Tom is in a better head space and maybe learned a few things along the way. At some point, perhaps he will acknowledge recording Rachel in a sexually explicit video without her knowledge. It appears he’s covered everything else.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TOM’S CONFESSION? DID YOU LISTEN TO HIS PODCAST?
If you are experiencing harmful thoughts or considering suicide, help is available for you. Call 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 24 hours a day in both English and Spanish.
