Tom Sandoval's lawsuit against Ariana Madix stems from video on his cell phone that uncovered his affair with Rachel Leviss.
Tom Sandoval has filed a lawsuit against his ex, Ariana Madix, claiming she gained access to explicit videos of him and Rachel Leviss on his cell phone without his permission.
According to court documents obtained by ET, Sandoval, 40, claims Madix, 39, "obtained access" to his "cell phone and reviewed images, information, data, video and/or communications including, but not limited, to Facetime videos between Leviss and Sandoval without Sandoval's authorization or permission." Sandoval further claims in court documents filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court that Madix went as far as making copies of the video and shared them with "Leviss and third parties."
Us Weekly was first to report the story.
The video Madix found on Sandoval's phone -- while watching his band perform at TomTom in Los Angeles and documented in the explosive season 10 finale of Vanderpump Rules -- uncovered his affair with Leviss, which torpedoed his near decade-long relationship with Madix. The saga quickly became known as "Scandoval."
The ensuing fallout led to Leviss exiting the Bravo franchise and her filing a revenge porn lawsuit against Sandoval and Madix, alleging revenge porn, eavesdropping, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy. Leviss claimed that intimate FaceTime calls, showing her "in a state of undress and masturbating" with Sandoval, were filmed without her consent. Sandoval responded to the lawsuit, through his attorneys, saying that the videos were created and shared consensually during their FaceTime calls. His lawyers also said that Sandoval merely saved private copies of videos that Leviss had willingly shared with him. Leviss later claimed that Sandoval recording her in a sexually compromising position without her knowledge, in effect, turned her "into an unwilling porn star."
The lawsuit remains ongoing.
ET has reached out to Sandoval for comment.
In a statement to ET, Madix's attorney, Jordan Susman, a partner at Nolan Heimann LLP, says, "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. Tom Sandoval knows full well what sort of privileges he and Ms. Madix shared in regard to their personal communication devices."
Susman 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."
In a statement to ET, Leviss' attorney, Bryan J. Freedman, Esq, tells ET, "Tom Sandoval should not have recorded Rachel without her consent in the first place. He grossly invaded her privacy. Notwithstanding the Court's determination that Ariana's conduct was illegal, Tom's attempt to deflect responsibility for his own wrongdoing is tone deaf."
Some cast members are already reacting to Sandoval's lawsuit against Madix. Vanderpump Rules star Katie Maloney voiced her disgust in a couple of comments she dropped in a Vanderpump Rules fan account that posted a headline to the lawsuit.
"Authorized permission..interesting choice of words pal. Anyways, you f***ing suck dude," she commented. A fan replied to her, "@musickillskate wonder if he had 'authorized permission' to screen record the video in the first place riiiiiiiight," to which Maloney responded with, "no he didn't but he did share his phone pass code with his partner at the time. Mans confused about how that bit works I guess."
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