From left: Lisa Vanderpump, Tom Sandoval, and Tom Schwartz at BravoCon 2023.Photo:Bryan Steffy/Bravo via Getty
Bryan Steffy/Bravo via Getty
Tom Sandovaltook the heat atBravoCon 2023.
Sandoval reunited with his ex,Ariana Madix, as well as hisVanderpump RulescostarsAlly Lewber,James Kennedy,Lala Kent,Katie Maloney,Lisa Vanderpump,Tom Schwartz,Scheana ShayandBrock Daviesfor the show’s BravoCon panel on Friday in Las Vegas.
The reunion comes eight months after Madix, 38, and Sandoval, 41, split afternine yearsof dating following the news of the TomTom co-owner’smonths-long affairwith their friend andVPRcostarRachel “Raquel” Leviss(who was not in attendance for Friday’s panel).
Vanderpump, 63, quickly chimed in to do crowd control and said ofthe scandal that rocked the show: “I love them all individually, dearly. They have all screwed up at some point — maybe not to this extent. I’ve seen them grow up, and I think the magic of this show is they’ve had these intense relationships with each since way before the show started — and also with me. So I can’t judge them on one episode.”
From left: Lisa Vanderpump, Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz at BravoCon 2023.Bryan Steffy/Bravo via Getty
“This season was extraordinarily difficult for Tom and Ariana … but for me as a maternal figure and a matriarch and a mentor to them … [I] try to facilitate some cohesion,” she added. “This isVanderpump Rules. It’s notLittle House on the Prairie.”
When asked what filming season 11 was like, Madix offered her perspective, telling moderatorKaramo Brown: “It was weird, it was difficult, and I’m glad it’s behind me.”
“I knew it was gonna be difficult, I knew it was gonna be weird,” she later added. “I knew I was gonna have some very strong and ultimately negative feelings but I think if anything, the last year has shown me I can do hard things and it was hard but we did it.”
Kennedy, 31, then joked, “Honestly, going into this season, I was thinking the whole time, ‘If Ariana can do it, I can do it too,'“to which Madix responded, “That’s how I feel about Britney. IfBritney Spearscan do it, I can too.”
“For better or for worse, ‘til death do us part,” Schwartz responded, later noting that their restaurant TomTom is “thriving.”
From left: Katie Maloney and Ariana Madix at BravoCon 2023.Nicole Weingart/Bravo via Getty
Nicole Weingart/Bravo via Getty
Kennedy also had a memorable experience on the panel — at one point, challenging Sandoval to a push-up contest (Kennedy won) and later running off stage mid-conversation to use the restroom. When asked about his experience filming season 11, Kennedy called it “one of the hardest years.”
“There were moments I just wanted to turn around and say something I’d probably regret,” he explained, claiming that he’s taking a “more mature route” this season, which he promised would be “one of the craziest yet.”
“I say when James Kennedy is the voice of reason on the show…” Vanderpump joked afterward.
“This season, for the first time, I got to see what other people had to deal with,” he said. “You start to recognize the small things, someone saying hi, smiling at you on the street … recognizing your humanity.”
From left: Ally Lewber, James Kennedy, and Lala Kent at BravoCon 2023.Nicole Weingart/Bravo via Getty
Later during the panel, Brown couldn’t resist asking the other stars about the Scandoval drama. In particular, Lewber was asked about when she sensed something was off last season after seeing Leviss and Sandoval at The Abbey together.
“I thought it was odd the night at The Abbey because Ariana was saying, ‘I want to spend more time with Tom, he’s out all the time,'” Lewber recalled. “So that was the moment I was like, ‘Ding, ding, ding!’ He was actively choosing not to be with Ariana.”
Vanderpump also briefly revisited season 10, saying of the explosive reunion: “It was a s—show. It was a mess, and I was in some way, in the middle of it. They were all dumping their emotions on me and it was a lot.”
From left: Tom Schwartz, Scheana Shay, and Brock Davies at BravoCon 2023.Nicole Weingart/Bravo via Getty
During the fan Q&A, Sandoval was asked if he has any regrets about the way things unfolded with Madix. He owned his missteps, saying, “Yes, of course, I would have done things differently. I can’t change what happened.”
Madix was also asked if she ever received a genuine apology from her ex, to which she claimed, “No, any apology was rescinded after what was said, so no.”
Lala Kent at BravoCon 2023.Bryan Steffy/Bravo via Getty
When asked why he chose to appear at BravoCon and take the heat instead of skipping out, Sandoval insisted: “I’d rather stand here and face it. I don’t know what you do.”
Friday’s panel also featured a new brand teaser forVPRseason 11, which returns in January. After the clip premiered, Vanderpump told the crowd, “This season really puts the real in reality.” Several of the cast members also described the upcoming season as “sad.”
For more of PEOPLE’s BravoCon coverage,click here.
In one of the final moments of the panel, Vanderpump praised Madix for the way she handled the fallout of the scandal. “I’m so proud of Ariana for turning it around and living her best f—ing life.”
Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix.Amanda Edwards/Getty
Ahead of filming season 11, theSingle AF Cocktailsauthor toldThe New York Timesin May that sherefused to engage with Sandoval on camera.
“I have nothing to say to either of them,” Madix said of Sandoval and Leviss, 29. “Our show is very real and follows a real group of friends, and neither of them are in the group of friends, so, good luck.”
As for Sandoval, heopened up to PEOPLEin September about how long he thinks the public will hate him for his tryst with Leviss.
“I would say that it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better and don’t think for a second, ‘Oh, give it a week, give it a couple weeks, whatever,’” Sandoval said at the time. “No, this stuff stays with you for a while. I’m in this for the long haul. I know it.”
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Vanderpump Rulescan be streamed on Peacock.
BravoCon 2023 is continuing through Sunday, Nov. 5 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas.
source: people.com
