‘WWHL’: Ariana Madix Was “Hesitant” To Come Back To ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Post-Scandoval, But “Wasn’t In A Position Financially To Walk Away”

By Samantha Nungesser @samjnungesser
Published May 1, 2024, 9:53 a.m. ET

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Ariana Madix

Ariana Madix has been going through the motions of her breakup with Tom Sandoval on Vanderpump Rules. While Season 11 began airing nearly a year after he was caught cheating on her with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, some viewers seem to have forgotten that they filmed a mere three months after the affair was uncovered. According to Madix — who has unlocked new levels of fame since Scandoval — she was “hesitant” to return to the Bravo show so soon after her relationship imploded.

The Broadway star appeared alongside Katie Maloney on Tuesday night’s (April 30) episode of Watch What Happens Live, where host Andy Cohen wondered how Season 11 would have gone had there been a longer break between Madix’s breakup and filming.

“I think there would’ve been a lot more stuff from everyone,” she said during the After Show. “It was so soon after. I’m still in my, like, functional freeze state, essentially, like, just trying to get through it.”

Cohen then asked how she felt about returning to the show in the first place, to which Madix replied, “I was hesitant, to be honest. But then I felt like I wasn’t in a position financially to walk away. And I also felt like I should keep living my life.”

She continued, “I also felt like the good, bad, the ugly — that’s kind of what we’ve been doing for how many seasons? I felt like maybe I owed it to people to let them in on that phase of my life even though it was really bad. So you’re watching me very slowly try to pick myself up.”

Madix appears to be living her best life these days. Not only did she come in third place on Dancing with the Stars and star as Roxie Hart in an extremely successful run of Chicago on Broadway, but she’s also gearing up to host the next season of Love Island USA. Plus, Madix and Maloney’s long-awaited sandwich shop, Something About Her, will officially open its doors on May 22, they revealed on WWHL.

As far as the future of Vanderpump Rules, TMZ reported this week that the cast will finally get the break they should’ve been given last year. Instead of filming in the summer as they typically do, sources with direct knowledge said producers are giving the crew some time to “decompress after two very rough, intense seasons,” per Page Six.

Watch What Happens Live airs Sunday through Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.