Who Is Tom Sandoval's Best Friend, Ali? The Vanderpump Rules Star Suffered A Tragic Loss

Tom Sandoval's 2023 was a huge bummer, thanks to his affair with Rachel Leviss. The scandal made him quite unpopular among his fellow "Vanderpump Rules" cast members — especially Ariana Madix, his ex-girlfriend of nearly a decade. Unfortunately, Sandoval weathered another personal tragedy that May when his best friend, Ali Rafiq, died suddenly. 

According to TMZ, Rafiq — who was also friends with Madix and former "Vanderpump Rules" star Kristen Doute — died after collapsing during a visit to his parent's home in St. Louis. The unconfirmed theory is that he hit his head and succumbed to his injuries. Rafiq's mother stumbled upon the tragic scene and then alerted the authorities.

Rafiq's sister Rabia addressed the curiosity concerning Rafiq's official cause of death, which she previously claimed was due to organ failure. "It's human nature to ask, what happened, how did he die? The truth is, we don't know how he died, we just found him and he was already gone," Rabia posted to Instagram (via Us Weekly). "We won't have any answers from his tests for weeks, so we don't know." Ultimately, Rafiq's family never released a follow-up concerning his official cause of death. Fortunately, Rafiq's memory will love on for years to come, thanks to his accomplishments and personal relationships.

Although Ali Rafiq forged bonds with several "Vanderpump Rules" cast members, he enjoyed the longest relationship with Tom Sandoval. The pair met as children in St. Louis. Despite growing up in the same stomping grounds, they chose very different career paths. While Sandoval became a reality star, Rafiq turned to photography, a medium about which he seemed very passionate. According to LinkedIn, Rafiq attended Maryville University of Saint Louis. Rafiq also had a personal website, which previously housed his digital portfolio. Although much of it has since been archived, his headshot collection is still live as of this writing.

Rafiq also shared his joy for photography across his Instagram account. Many of his last self-posted photos featured some of his gorgeous professional shots. "Polaris from the porch before the clouds rolled in ... bleed from light pollution," Rafiq captioned a breathtaking photo of stars on May 11. One day earlier, Rafiq posted a striking photo of lightning at night. "Crawler lighting from tornado Saturday a few weeks back, 5 stack photo," wrote Rafiq. On May 3, Rafiq posted an aerial shot of St. Louis. "St. Louis from the international space station. May 2nd 2023 around 2 am," Rafiq captioned the post.

Several "Vanderpump Rules" cast members paid tribute to Ali Rafiq after his untimely death. First up was Tom Sandoval, who memorialized Rafiq and their friendship on his Instagram account, writing, "Ali ... The love I have for you is way beyond words I will carry u forever in my heart. Always cherishing the beautiful memories, uncontrollable laughter, and epic experiences we had together. You were My best friend, my brother. I'll catch u on the next sunrise... " Included in the post were several previously unseen photos of Rafiq and Sandoval hanging out and enjoying various public outings.

Sandoval's estranged ex, Ariana Madix, also posted a tribute to Rafiq on her Instagram stories. "I keep wanting to text you. it feels like this can't even be real," said Madix (via Us Weekly). "We were just planning your trip to LA. talking about our futures and all the things we were looking forward to. i miss our talks about life. i miss sending each other cat memes." Madix also revealed that she would miss their shared love of food, DJ'ing, singing, and going out. She added, "I miss you @alispacerafiq and while you won't be seeing this, i'm hoping somehow this makes it to you. i love you always and forever."