After over a month into filming Vanderpump Rules season 11, Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval were photographed together for the first time since their breakup. The exes reunited on August 8 for a private backyard water tasting hosted by Martin Riese, who shared a photo of the VPR cast together at the event. Lala Kent, Tom Schwartz, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay, James Kennedy, Ally Lewber and former castmember Dayna Kathan were all in the picture. Ariana, 38, stood furthest from the back in the group shot, far away from Tom, 40, who was kneeling in the front.
Tom and Ariana’s reunion comes two weeks after a report that the former couple had yet to film a scene together for the Bravo show’s eleventh season. TMZ claimed that Ariana is “refusing to share the screen” with her ex-boyfriend. Furthermore, the publication said that Ariana “hasn’t spoken to” Tom “directly” since the explosive Season 10 reunion was filmed at the end of March. Filming for season 11 began in late June and is expected to wrap in early September.
Ariana made it clear earlier this summer that she would not film with Tom or her ex-friend Raquel Leviss in the wake of their cheating scandal. “I have nothing to say to either of them. Our show is very real and follows a real group of friends, and neither of them are in the group of friends, so, good luck,” she told The New York Times. As fans know, Tom cheated on Ariana with Raquel, 28, amid their nine-year relationship.
Despite their messy split, Ariana and Tom are still living together in their $2 million Valley Village home. VPR executive producer Alex Baskin revealed that neither star has moved out of the home when he was asked in an interview if any cast members are refusing to film with each other. “We always deal with pushback if different parties don’t want to shoot with each other because of strained relations,” Alex told The Hollywood Reporter in July. “Obviously, this is more extreme. But Ariana and Tom Sandoval, I would hasten to point out, they still live together. The idea that they wouldn’t shoot together is a little bit hard to digest. They’re in the same home.”
While Ariana and Tom are back to filming, Raquel has made the decision to skip out on the post-Scandoval season. The former beauty queen entered a mental health facility in Arizona for two months after the scandal broke and was seen in public for the first time on July 18 since stopping treatment. More recently, sources told TMZ that the VPR cast feels “confident” Raquel — who now goes by her birth name, Rachel, again — will not return to the show.