In ET's exclusive sneak peek at the season 11 premiere, Ariana refuses to 'make my life smaller because Tom messed everything up.'
Ariana Madix is figuring out how to raise those glasses high again and create some new "best days" after Scandoval.
She lays her emotions out to boyfriend Dan Wai in a first look at Tuesday night's Vanderpump Rules season premiere, confessing over FaceTime that she's "nervous" about returning to TomTom, the bar partially owned by her ex, Tom Sandoval. That's where she first learned of his affair with one-time bestie Rachel (formerly Raquel) Leviss.
"I haven't been there since, like, that night that all of that transpired..." Ariana notes, calling back to March 1, 2023, when she attended a performance by Tom and his band, The Most Extras. While on stage, Tom's phone fell out of his pocket and Ariana had an instinct to check its contents, leading to her discovery of Tom and Rachel's betrayal.
"Part of me was like, 'Should I just not go?'" she shares. "And then I was like, 'No, if I don't go, then it's like, that wins.'"
"I shouldn't have to make my life smaller because Tom messed everything up," Ariana adds in a confessional, "and if I can go there and make new memories, maybe it won't have power over me anymore and I'll just be able to look at it as some bar."
Watch their call play out here:
Dan reminds Ariana she'll always have him in her corner to "cheer you on from the sidelines," aka his home in New York. The two have been in a long-distance relationship since last summer, when they met at a mutual friend's wedding in Mexico. Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules will see some questions pop up about whether Ariana jumped into another serious relationship too soon.
"I didn't jump into another relationship," she clarified to ET at the show's premiere party earlier this month. "I met a guy, and we were having a good time, I got to know him, and things evolved. I don't have friends that think that; one person who said that."
As for any interactions with her ex in the fresh batch of episodes, those will be minimal.
"Everyone on production is so supportive, and they never put me in a position where I feel super uncomfortable, so it's fine," Ariana said. "I'll be OK."
Vanderpump Rules premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Episodes will stream next day on Peacock.
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