When I opened my Bravo group chat on Wednesday to say I was going to Schwartz & Sandy’s, the bar and restaurant co-owned by “Vanderpump Rules” stars Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval, the phone rang fast: “Happy! Give your findings. Thank you.” Others were less diplomatic.
But it’s not about the pasta. It’s about the reality TV cheating scandal that has a stranglehold on my social media feeds — and probably yours too.
For those without a degree from Bravo University’s School of Messy Television, the story begins with Vanderpump Rules, a spin-off of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills that premiered in 2013 and is the sordid drama of West Hollywood’s handsome waiters who pursued SUR , owned by then “RHOBH” star Lisa Vanderpump. A decade later, almost none of the protagonists still work at SUR, but their collective drama continues to wash across our screens. Angry texts, ultimatums, drunken blunders, heated arguments that resulted in punches or punches, Mamaw’s beer cheese – all of that was part of the appeal of the ridiculously addictive series. And cheat? It’s baked into the show like Vanderpump’s name. Much of the first season revolved around the question of whether former cast member Jax Taylor was cheating on then-girlfriend co-star Stassi Schroeder with a woman in Las Vegas and possibly getting her pregnant.
But The The cheating scandal affected a fan base that was largely bored with the franchise.
Last week, TMZ reported that Sandoval, a former bartender at SUR who got into the restaurant business with his good friend and actor Schwartz (more on him later), reportedly had his girlfriend of nine years, Ariana Madix, also a former bartender at SUR who is about to open a sandwich shop with actress Katie Maloney. But wait – there’s more. Sandoval cheated on co-star Raquel Leviss, who was previously linked to Schwartz following his split from Maloney after she broke off her engagement to James Kennedy, also a cast member. (Fans will recall that Sandoval helped pay for Kennedy’s proposal spectacle, which appeared on the show.) reports suggested The duration of the case dates back to at least seven months, but there is no official confirmation.
The response to the affair has triggered the fandom in a way reminiscent of the frenzy surrounding Jennifer Aniston-Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie cheating on Brouhaha — or as a keen observer described it to the uninitiated: “Imagine, Chandler [from “Friends”] Monica secretly cheated on Rachel for 7 months and Joey knew it all along.”
“It feels bigger than Jen Shah going to jail. It feels bigger than Erika Jayne,” the owner of @QueensofBravoPlus said on Instagram, who keeps his account anonymous, citing other true crime scandals that have hit the Bravo universe. “Why? Because I think in this case there is an immediate answer to who is on the right side and who is on the wrong side. There is a clear villain and there is a clear hero and a clear victim. With Erika and Jen’s stuff, it almost feels like you have to wait a few months for it to fizzle out a bit. But here we have all the answers. People feel played. And now they’re putting all the pieces together. There’s a lot of cheating involved. … people may not identify with misleading ancients or [a spouse accused of] Taking money from orphans and widows, but it feels understandable when people know what it’s like to be betrayed or scammed by a friend.”
The truly dedicated have inhaled the extra nuggets, theories and sections doing the rounds on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram etc. But like their fried goat cheese balls were hot from SUR kitchen. It did Chrissy Teigen presented the news on “20 Different Chats About” while appearing as an actor and co-host of “The Talk”. Jerry O’Connell proudly posted a photo in a Team Ariana shirt.
Weeks after production wrapped up the season, filming resumed last Friday to capture the impact for inclusion in the current season, which premiered last month. While there are reports that Sandoval was threatening to stop filming, he is still present, according to a source close to the production who has been granted anonymity to speak candidly. The reunion is expected to take place on March 23, and each cast member is expected to appear in person.
In the days that followed, Sandoval released two statements that essentially confirmed the fraud allegations. Leviss also issued a statement. She filed a restraining order against co-star Scheana Shay this week after reports surfaced that Shay, Madix’s best friend, allegedly assaulted Leviss after learning about the affair.
Leviss, whose real name is Rachel, claims in the lawsuit that she was “pushed against a brick wall [by Shay]resulting in an injury to the back of my head and hit me in the face, injuring my left eye.
Meanwhile, Madix, who has since deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts, has not publicly commented on the matter.
“It’s going to sound ridiculous to some people, but I think if you’re around you’ll understand: I’m stressed and nervous about putting my phone down because that’s what I’m going to miss?” But at the same time, I so badly need a break from it,” says Abby Steffens, who runs @RealMomsofBravo with friend Vanessa Rizi. “That’s a lot. It’s easy to go down those rabbit holes then. I was watching Raquel’s stories from her Miss California pageant and I realized Sandoval and Ariana and Scheana were all there and I’m watching the videos and I’m trying to saying, “Well, what did he mean by that? And I don’t know these people. It doesn’t make sense Me Life, but somehow I got sucked into it. I’m not thrilled about it, but I’m very intrigued. It’s kinda weird. It ruined someone’s life; I’m sure Ariana is devastated. We all want to get away from it all, but we can’t get enough of it either.”
After the show struggled to get back on track after botched casting calls and big departures, the current season felt like a throwback to the addictive drama of the past, according to longtime viewers. “It felt like ‘Vanderpump Rules’ was on its last legs,” says the person behind the @QueensOfBravoPlus account. “But this season definitely feels like a return to form, as messy as it is.” Cameras followed as some cast members navigated new business ventures and others tried to rebuild their lives after a major breakup — most notably the end of Schwartz’s marriage to Maloney, Leviss’s breakup with Kennedy, and Lala Kent’s breakup with the disgraced fiancee of film producer Randall Emmett. Meanwhile, Schwartz & Sandy’s is a hot spot all season long.
Now the nightclub, which opened last fall and experienced its own drama on its way to opening, is mired in scandal. Angry fans have bombarded the bar’s Yelp page with negative reviews in the days since news of the affair broke; His 4.5 star rating dropped to 3 amid the backlash, with reviewers calling Sandoval a “snake” and saying he “deserves to live in a cave”. The site is now being monitored by Yelp’s support team for the sudden burst of activity.
It’s still unclear how the negative attention will affect the new business Sandoval and Schwartz have with business partner Greg Morris. The Vanderpump Rules restaurant universe, which also includes SUR, PUMP and TomTom, has become a tourist attraction for bravoholics, with fans eager to catch a glimpse of the familiar faces they see on screen.
Located in a stuffy strip mall in the Franklin Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, the atmosphere at the dimly lit Schwartz & Sandy’s was subdued on a weekday as rounds of lobster corndogs and mushroom gray fritters passed through the room. To be fair, this visit took place around 5:30pm on a Wednesday, hardly the magic hour for a lounge (and no tom was in sight), but the story deadlines can’t wait for the excitement to kick in. And of course, sometimes a guest walked the aisles, dizzying videos or photos documenting the experience.
Jessica Clem, 34, who is from Georgia but recently moved to Los Angeles to work as a traveling nurse, arrived as the doors opened. It was their first stop on their Vanderpump Rules tour, with TomTom and SUR bookings for later tonight. She admits she saw the show — she has a 19-month-old baby and has been traveling for the past 15 months — but learned about the cheating scandal.
“I’ve seen things about what happened and I hate that we didn’t have Bravo,” said Clem, who was accompanied by a friend who was unaware of the scandal. “I haven’t chosen sides yet. Everyone deserves to be happy.” (She was surprised by the James Turrell-inspired light installation near the bathroom.)
Anna Gunder, 32, of Winnetka, posed for photos in the foyer of the room, where a collage of framed art hung above a padded mustard couch, and was more explicit: “I’m Team Ariana.”
“I was very shocked,” Gunder said of the scandal. “I brought it to people at work. And the thing is, “Vanderpump” is based on everyone cheating everyone. But it just felt explosive.”
She originally tried to visit the lounge last Wednesday before the cheating scandal came to light, but it was closed and she was hesitant to return. Finally, she decided to try again. “What if it’s all gone?”
Lauren Albrecht, 34, of Columbus, Ohio, stood in front of the living room, where the Schwartz & Sandy neon sign buzzed in the distance. Like other fans, she is glued to the screen to keep up with the influx of developments, but she struggles with that.
“I’m ashamed that I follow everything so conscientiously,” said Albrecht. “I think people are investing in Ariana [Madix] and Tom Sandoval. I think people are invested in the show. And I also think maybe we shouldn’t be so invested in reality TV, to be honest. things like this happen. It’s not often you see this game on reality TV. … And that’s why I find it so fascinating. But I also really want to respect Ariana for not asking for it. And now the internet has exploded. And I think we as fans have kind of glorified that and it’s not fair to her. We’re all like Team Ariana, but we’re really violating their privacy.”
Source: LA Times