The 'Vanderpump Rules' star got a surprise deposit from her one-time pal amid the pandemic.
Scheana Shay is looking back on the good times with Tom Sandoval. On Tuesday's episode of Vanderpump Rules, the group continued their trip in Tahoe as Scheana struggled with whether or not forgiving Tom for his and Rachel Leviss' cheating scandal would harm her friendship with Ariana Madix.
Scheana talked through the situation with Lala Kent, telling her pal about how she once woke up to "a massive PayPal from Sandoval" amid a challenging time in her life.
"During the pandemic, I woke up to several thousand dollars in my account," Scheana told the cameras. "He knew I was struggling at the time. My podcast got canceled, I'm pregnant, I had no income, and he was there for me in a time where no one else was."
Now, Scheana told Lala, "I'm struggling here. I'm not saying I'm going to be his best friend again. I'm not saying come over for f**king dinner, let me paint your toenails white. I'm struggling not forgiving this human who has been there for me. I'm not feeling torn, that's the thing. I'm Team Ariana till I die."
Things got more confusing when Tom organized a mediation session for the group and wound up getting paired with Scheana, who told the cameras she was "not ready to f**king meditate and breathe together."
Scheana ended up storming out of the meditation session. When she returned, the instructor prompted them to look at their partner and imagine it was the last time they'd see them, a thought that left both Scheana and Tom in tears.
"I've thought about the last day I'd see you so much during this, because I was genuinely worried you were going to do something to yourself," Scheana told him. "I don't want to hate you. I need to let go of that because it doesn't feel good, but you did this."
A crying Tom told the cameras that he hoped the exercise reminded Scheana that he's "not this ruthless, heartless, villain, and that I'm a friend." It did just that according to Scheana, who said in a confessional, "The mask finally fell and I saw that there is still a soul inside. I'm like, 'Oh s**t. That's my friend Tom. He misses me and our friendship and he knows how bad he f**ked up."
Even so, Scheana texted Ariana about the experience, assuring her friend that she always had her back.
"I just have to remind myself that he made these choices," Scheana told Lala, who agreed, but cautioned, "He also cannot be crucified day in and day out. He made a mistake and it was f**ked up and it changed the dynamic of the group, but there's nothing we can do to change it."
Back in L.A., Ariana told Katie Maloney about Scheana's text and reiterated her decision not to be friends with anyone who allowed Tom back into their life.
"It's being made out to be some sort of big dramatic moment, but it's literally just me kind of continuing on the path I'm continuing on. I can't imagine looking at life right now and being like, 'You know the missing piece is Tom Sandoval," Ariana told Katie, before adding in a confessional, "I don't want him having access to my life. I'm not giving any ultimatums. I'm not telling anyone what to do, but I will be putting my time and my energy into friendships where I feel safe."
Things then went downhill in Tahoe, when Scheana's husband, Brock Davies, got into it with Tom.
"I did not do any of this, neither Raquel nor I, Rachel nor I, did any of this with the intention of hurting anyone," Tom told Brock. "The way you guys reacted was very intentionally trying to hurt both Raquel and I. Something happened and then there was five months after that of somebody constantly on a hate crusade."
An annoyed Brock brought up the restraining order Rachel filed against Scheana, before alleging that Tom's own team was behind rumors about him.
"Your team was pushing rumors of me sleeping with Raquel -- your team was! -- to take the edge off of it," Brock claimed. While Tom denied the accusation, Brock noted in a confessional, "Our publicist reached out to them to ask where this came from and it, off the record, had come from Tom Sandoval's team."
Tom said he'd take a polygraph to prove "it never f**king happened," which annoyed Brock. Even so, the men left things on a semi-cordial note, cheersing their drinks and agreeing to leave it at that.
Later, when the group was on a boat, Scheana stepped away to FaceTime Ariana, who stuck to her guns about not being friends with anyone who was cozy with her ex.
"As far as healing goes, I want that for you," Ariana said. "But you putting yourself in a position to be friends with somebody who would do this to you is not someone I want you to be friends with for you."
"He did give me what I honestly felt like was a very genuine apology," Scheana revealed. "I felt like, for the first time, I got genuine tears from him and not performative. I just feel like I needed to let go of the hatred I had for him 'cause I can't keep hating him for you. I'm mad that he did all of this, because I miss him, I miss my friend."
The phone call left Scheana in a bad place, and she broke down over the situation in a conversation with Lala.
"When I try to talk to Ariana and say that I'm struggling, she either dismisses how I feel or tells me I shouldn't feel this way because he's a bad person. It's like, I know, but I'm just telling you I'm struggling," she said. "I do have her back and I'm so happy for her. Even her getting Dancing With the Stars, she knew how bad I wanted that. I told her, 'I'm so genuinely happy for you. I will be there every f**king Monday you want me there.'"
"She does deserve everything she's getting right now and I'm so happy for her that she did not go down a f**king dark spiral, I just am hurting still," she continued. "... I'm not allowed to feel anything because it's only about Ariana and I'm tired."
Scheana's tears got to Lala, who told the cameras, "It's time for Ariana to pull her head out of her own a**."
Vanderpump Rules airs Tuesdays on Bravo.
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