Ariana Madix, 37, stepped out in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 16 with a huge smile and a fresh new ‘do. The Vanderpump Rules star was spotted heading to lunch with a pal with nearly bleach-blonde hair — a change from the honey-blonde hair she rocked at her ex’s TomTom launch party she raved about last month on Instagram. It’s also a brighter shade than she had at her friend’s destination wedding earlier this month, where she was also seen looking genuinely happy with a smile on her face. Photos of the reality star with her lighter look can be seen here.
As fans know, Ariana is currently dealing with the aftermath of finding out her boyfriend of nearly a decade, Tom Sandoval, was indulging in a months-long affair with their Vanderpump Rules co-star and Ariana’s friend Raquel Leviss, 28. The shocking news — which came out on March 3 — reportedly blindsided Ariana, and she turned to her friends, including Katie Maloney, Lala Kent, Scheana Shay, and former VPR star Kristen Doute, for support. “Ariana has recapped what happened with her friends and castmates, the majority of whom are disappointed Tom seems unable to take accountability for his actions or express substantial remorse,” an insider told Page Six for a March 6 report.
Ariana broke her silence on the matter via a March 16 Instagram post that showed her fanning herself as she wore a stunning pink and green ombre dress. “i want to express my most sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support i have received from friends, family, and people i’ve never even met in the last two weeks,” she began in the caption. “when i have felt like i couldn’t even stand, you all have given me the strength to continue and seen me through my darkest hours.”
“to say i have been devastated and broken is an understatement. however, i know that i am not in this alone,” she continued. “so many of my closest friends are also grieving this loss right now and reeling from this betrayal on so many levels. i am so fucking lucky to have the best support system in the world and i hope i can repay every single person for the love you have shown me. what doesn’t kill me better run.”
Tom shared an apology on March 5, but rather than apologizing to Ariana, he told his Schwartz & Sandy’s bar and restaurant family — including part owner and co-star Tom Schwartz — how much he regretted that his actions may affect them. “Hey, I fully understand and deserve ur anger and disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz my friends and family out of this situation…,” he began in the Instagram post, trying to protect his crew. “Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions. This was a very personal thing.” He also noted that would be taking a step back from the restaurant for the foreseeable future.
He followed up with an apology to Ariana on March 8. “I want to first and foremost apologize to everyone I’ve hurt through this process. Most of all, I want to apologize to Ariana. I made mistakes, I was selfish, and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly,” he began in his second apology. “I can only imagine how devastating this has been for Ariana and everyone around us. I feel really horrible about that.”
“My biggest regret is that I dishonored Ariana,” he continued in the lengthy post. “I never meant to disappoint so many people, including our loving families and friends. My love for Ariana was stronger than any camera could have ever captured. Some of our best times together were never filmed. The same goes for some of our biggest struggles. I wish things happened in a different order and our relationship was not severely tarnished, and that it ended with the same respect with for her that it began with. I owed Ariana better.”
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“I am beyond sad that it ended the way it did. The choices I made hurt so many people,” he reiterated. “I acted in a way that clashes with who and how I want to be. I will continue to reflect and work on myself. I have work to do. I always have and I always will.”
Raquel, too, publicly apologized to Ariana in a statement she shared with Entertainment Tonight. “I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships. There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana,” she said.
She continued, “I am reflecting on my choices, speaking to a counselor and I am learning things about myself such as my patterns of codependency and addiction to being and feeling loved. I have sought emotional validation through intimate connections that are not healthy without regard for my own well-being, sometimes negatively affecting others and often prioritizing the intimate connection over my friendships. I am taking steps to understand my behavior and make healthier choices.”
She went on to confirm that she has started counseling to help get to the root of and eradicate her troubling behavior and signed off by saying she will be prioritizing her mental health going forward.