Ariana Madixhas received a lot of criticism for her choice to avoid filming with her ex-boyfriend,Tom Sandoval, this season onVanderpump Rules, most of it from her fellow cast ofthe reality series. In the dramatic Season 11 finale, viewers finally got to watch the much alluded to breaking of the 4th wall, whenAriana reaffirms her boundaries to production about her reasons for refusing to film with Sandoval.
All season long, theVanderpump Rules: After Showon Bravohas beena source of behind-the-scenes details from the cast, and the final episode of the season does not disappoint. Here’s what Ariana had to say.
Vanderpump Rules
Best known as one of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Lisa Vanderpump opens the salacious kitchen doors of her exclusive Hollywood restaurant and lounge, SUR.
Ariana Does Not Need to Participate In Tom Sandoval’s Redemption
In the finale, Ariana told the producers in a confessional that she is not going to participate in the “redemption arc” they have set up for Sandoval after the repercussions from his months-longaffair withRachel “Raquel” Levisshas continued to plague the cast this season. She further elaborated on theAfter Showabout her reasons for dramatically leavingKevin Chan’s party during the finale when Sandoval tried speaking to her: “There’s only one person that would benefit from anything that could’ve happened in that moment, and it’s him.” Throughout the season, viewers have seen Sandoval spew angry diatribes at the moment any of the cast attempt to make him see the error of his ways. So for Ariana, the repentance is performative, especially being thatthe finale episode was Sandoval’s last moment to convince the audience that he had actually learned a lesson.
‘Vanderpump Rules’ Cast Sides With Tom Sandoval in Season 11 Finale
The long-awaited season finale of ‘VPR’ has aired, leaving viewers stunned by the sides the cast chose to side with.
Ariana explains that the cast obviously knew these would be the last moments of filming for the season, and Sandoval was looking to"redeem himself" with the audience,despite never having taken advantage of the many off-camera opportunities he had that summer to express his remorse in an authentic way.However, if Sandoval was looking to apologize in a meaningful way, Ariana explains that he did have the opportunity he was looking for at the finale party when they crossed paths in their previously shared home after cameras were down.
She notes that while the ex-couple rarely crossed paths as they navigated their break-up under the same roof, after the finale, a rare run-in did occur. When Ariana entered the kitchen, Sandoval was in the adjacent room lying on the couch, with the pair in view of each other. She observes: “And apparently, he didn’t need to say anything that bad because he could have literally right then, or he could have written a letter and left it on the counter.” The implication again is thatSandoval’s desire to apologize is performative, and self-serving.He only wanted to apologize when the cameras were on him, able to catch his alligator tears. She continues: “There’s so many different ways to attempt to say something that’s like, so important to be said. But no, for him, it needed to be said on camera because it needed to be in the zeitgeist or in the collective conscience of people watching the show.”
Lala Kent Is Critical Of Ariana Madix’s Boundaries
Among Ariana’s biggest detractors, other than Sandoval’s snide digs, is co-star and agent of chaos,Lala Kent.Lala has been poking around the edges of Ariana’s boundaries since the first episode of the season, when she decided to reach out to Rachel to extend an olive branch after the toxicity of last season’s reunion.Lala’s irritation with Ariana built all season long, as the production’s need to reintegrate Sandoval into the group became more pressing.
On theAfter Show, Lala promises to be “real” about Ariana, before accusing her of coasting through past seasons ofVanderpump Rulesand insinuating that it is Ariana’s job to have a conversation with Sandoval on camera when it suits production. Lala has been on a scorched-earth press tour leading up to the reunion,openly expressing her distain towards the boundaries Ariana has tried to keep in place.
TheVanderpump RulesSeason 11 reunion premieres on Tuesday, May 14. Past seasons are streaming on Peacock.
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