Vanderpump Rules back with two key players missing (II)

 (continuation from the previous post)

Vanderpump Rules returned last week for its first outing since the Scandoval affair brought its cast out of the confines of Bravo and onto the pages of The New York Times.

While the episode ends with the image of Sandoval's car stopping in front of the house he still shares with Ariana, he and Raquel are missing, leaving a wound gaping that the rest of the cast has no choice but to talk about.

Even though these characters don't want to be defined by Tom and Raquel's actions, the pain is clearly too fresh for them to move past it, at least this quickly. Ariana is obviously the most hurt, continuing to ice Schwartz after a Watch What Happens Live segment where he encouraged people to give Sandoval a hug if they saw him because he could use one (come on, man) . Towards the end of the episode, Lala, having apparently taken an off-screen maturity potion or something, decides that she doesn't want Scandoval's mistake to define the rest of Raquel's life and tries to tend hand to clarify things. Ariana doesn't like hearing this when she finds out, but it mostly sparks a conversation about how sensitive they both actually are. (Katie Maloney is also there and is in a lot of this episode, but doesn't do much. Sorry Katie!)

Given the frustration built up in the few months between the affair being announced and Pump Rules starting filming its 11th season, all on the slopes. It would be weird for them not to talk about that. But Sandoval now has his apology tour planned, although it will more likely be a righteous outrage tour based on his reunion performance and everything about his personality. As a fellow human being, but as a consumer of reality TV, thank goodness for that.

Tom Schwartz jokes - The ‘masochist’ Tom Sandoval is ‘aroused’ by BravoCon fans’ hate

When Tom Scwartz joined Vanderpump Rules as a recurring cast member in Season 1, he was simply Katie Maloney's boyfriend, desperate to get a job at one of Lisa Vanderpump's establishments. Today, he's a part-owner of one of Lisa's L.A. hotspots — and even has a cocktail lounge of his own.

Tom Schwartz joked that his pal Tom Sandoval was enjoying the hate he received from “Vanderpump Rules” fans following his cheating scandal

“Don’t let him fool you. He’s masochistic. He’s very aroused right now,” Schwartz, 41, exclusively joked to Page Six Friday at BravoCon 2023 in Las Vegas.

As for Sandoval, the Most Extras frontman told us that he’s just “glad that it’s done.”

“I knew [facing the fans here] was going to be a hard one. And I know, like, obviously when you have a lot of people together, it becomes kind of like a… like, almost like a sporting event.”

Vanderpump Rules' Ariana Madix Explains Why She Didn't Kick Tom Sandoval Out of Their House

Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval ended their nine-year relationship over a cheating scandal, and their house is the only thing they have in common to part with.

On Vanderpump Rules, Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval had the strongest relationship in the cast.

But when Tom was caught having a seven-month affair with Ariana's friend Raquel Leviss, everything fell apart.

The Vanderpump Rules couple never planned to get married or have children and are content to just be long-term partners.

However, this could have been a sign that Tom and Ariana's relationship wasn't meant to last after all.

Ariana says she countered Tom Sandoval's 'garbage' buyout offer

In Peacock's exclusive clip from  Vanderpump Rules Season 11 posted to Instagram, she explains her current living situation with Tom and why neither of them have moved out yet.

“But what I find psychotic is that he wants to buy me out and stay here,” Ariana told Katie Maloney, who told her to “go buy something else” with the money.