Tom Sandoval and girlfriend Victoria Lee Robinson made swift exits from social media as news broke about his lawsuit against ex Ariana Madix.
Sandoval, 42, and Robinson’s Instagram accounts were both deactivated by the time Us Weekly revealed that he is suing Madix, 39. Sandoval and Robinson, 32, were previously active online as they celebrated the Vanderpump Rules star’s birthday earlier this month.
In documents obtained by Us on Tuesday, July 16, Sandoval claimed that Madix “obtained access” to Sandoval’s phone on March 1, 2023, and reviewed videos of Sandoval and their then-costar Rachel “Raquel” Leviss without his “authorization or permission.”
Sandoval’s filing alleged that Madix “made copies” of the NSFW video and distributed it to “Leviss and third parties” against his authority.
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The alleged video of Leviss on Sandoval’s phone first made headlines when it was revealed on March 3, 2023, that the pair were having an affair. After their affair ended, Leviss sued Sandoval and Madix for revenge porn, eavesdropping, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She alleged that Madix sent the video to herself and potentially other people.
Madix previously denied watching or distributing the video and her attorney addressed the subject again on Tuesday. “It is abhorrent that Tom Sandoval continues to torment Ms. Madix. From engaging in an illicit affair that shattered her home and stability, to months of emotional warfare and now this attempt to further shirk personal responsibility for the effects his actions have had on her and her emotional wellbeing,” Jordan Susman told Us about Sandoval’s filing. “Tom Sandoval knows full well what sort of privileges he and Ms. Madix shared in regard to their personal communication devices.”
The statement continued: “If he or his mistress had their way, it would be illegal for someone to discover their spouse or significant other was having an affair. For Mr. Sandoval to go from begging Ms. Madix for forgiveness to blaming her for his wrongdoing speaks for itself. Even months after the New York Times branded Mr. Sandoval “the most hated man in America,” he has clearly learned nothing and believes it necessary to continue torturing Ms. Madix in a vain effort to rehabilitate his image. Ms. Madix is confident that a jury will see through this latest ploy and dismiss his frivolous claims.”
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Sandoval’s attorney, Matthew Geragos — the brother of Leviss’ attorney, Mark Geragos, — gave Us a statement on behalf of his client.
“While Tom Sandoval accepts responsibility for his affair, he strongly denies the allegations of the lawsuit filed by Rachel Leviss against him and Ms. Madix,” the statement read. “In order to ensure a fair and just determination of responsibility among all parties involved, we filed a cross complaint on behalf of Mr. Sandoval. This customary legal action was crucial to ensure that liability, if any, is fairly distributed based on the actual level of involvement and fault of each party. We aim to resolve this legal dispute with upmost respect towards all parties involved.”
Months before Sandoval took his own legal action, Sandoval and Madix petitioned the court to dismiss Leviss’ suit. Madix subsequently filed her own countersuit claiming that Leviss was seeking to “punish” and “blame Ms. Madix for the negative reaction [she] received as a result of her affair.”
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Leviss broke her silence about the legal drama, telling listeners on her “Rachel Goes Rogue” podcast in March, “You may have heard in the news that I have filed a lawsuit, and it’s an ongoing lawsuit, so I can’t talk much about it at this point. But I am interested in having my attorneys on as a topic of conversation.”
The former reality star explained that going to court wasn’t an easy decision.
“I took a long time to really decide if I’m going to press charges or not. And I felt like it was important to bring this up. This isn’t a criminal lawsuit,” she noted. “It’s just like a civil case. But my privacy was violated in a very intimate, unsuspecting way. And it is embarrassing and not something that I’m proud of at all.”
