What Ariana Madix Has Said About Her Sexuality
There's always a lot going on during "Vanderpump Rules." Within the cast of now mostly 30-somethings, viewers have witnessed years of fighting, breakups, drunken brawls, cheating, and super uncomfy therapy sessions. For those who haven't tuned in, the Bravo show follows a group of close friends who once worked at one of "RHOBH" alum Lisa Vanderpump's flagship West Hollywood restaurants. These days most have moved on from being servers at Sur and are now married, having babies, or getting divorced and are full-time influencer and/or reality stars.
Out of all the chaos, there have been two constants on "VPR" — Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix. They met while working as bartenders at one of Vanderpump's restaurants. At the time, Sandoval was in a relationship with Kristen Doute, who was convinced he was cheating on her with Madix. While we may never know exactly what was going on with Madix and Sandoval at the time, we know that as soon as Sandoval and Doute broke up, he got with Madix, and they seemed very happy. They have remained happily dating through almost the entirety of the show, even as their friends split up and hooked up. They were a force of much-needed stability in an otherwise chaotic world.
A few years ago, Madix came out as bisexual, and ever since, viewers have had a lot of questions about her relationship with Sandoval. The good news is she's more than happy to answer any question they have about where she stands with Sandoval these days.
Ariana Madix sets the recored straight
Even as Ariana Madix insists that her sexuality isn't an issue with longtime partner Tom Sandoval, her friends find that hard to believe. Former cast member Jax Taylor questioned Madix's relationship with Sandoval during a 2020 "Watch What Happens Live" appearance, per People. A caller asked Taylor, who was fighting with Sandoval, about his upcoming nuptials at the time. Taylor refused to answer the finer points of the question, simply responding, "[Madix] likes women."
Host Andy Cohen played a clip of the exchange for Madix a few weeks later when she appeared on "Watch What Happens Live." Madix did not shy away from shedding some light on how her bisexuality affected her relationship with Sandoval... and what she thinks of Taylor. "'I've been very open and honest about the fact that I'm bisexual, and I don't think that that's an issue," she said. "It's certainly not an issue in my relationship, so I think [Taylor] should just chill out."
Even though she's thoroughly fielded questions about her relationship in the past, Madix still finds herself in the position of answering fans. After the bombshell Season 10 trailer dropped, in which Scheana Shay claimed that Madix was in an open relationship, the reality star took to Twitter to hopefully set the record straight once and for all. :We don't have an open relationship. I'm really not that cool. Thought that was obvious," Madix wrote.
Tom Sandoval outed Ariana Madix
Ariana Madix is very open about her sexuality, but it wasn't always that way. The reality star never planned on sharing that part of her life with her fans, and if it weren't for Tom Sandoval, she probably wouldn't have. Madix and Sandoval rarely fight, but during Season 9, they got into a potentially relationship-ending brawl when Sandoval let slip that Madix hooked up with Lala Kent. Madix was understandably furious that Sandoval shared that information with his friends — and while cameras were rolling.
"I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of what happened between Lala and I," she said during an interview, per Refinery29. "My sexuality is not something that is meant to 'sound cool' to a bunch of dudes." Though calm and collected while talking about it afterward, Madix was so angry with Sandoval at the time that she actually threw him out of the bar. However, even as they've had to have frank and very public discussions about Madix's sexuality, the couple has remained committed to each other and strengthening their relationship. "We're very close," Sandoval told Us Weekly. "We joke around on a regular basis. We have great debates, intelligent debates. We have a lot of respect for each other. It's a positive thing."
Most importantly, though, they are honest with each other, and that's what has kept them together through it all. "I think that the more you're open and honest about who you are, I feel like it just makes you stronger in the end."