Ariana Madix said she found out on March 1, 2023, when Tom Sandoval’s phone fell from his pocket during a band performance and was handed to her. She looked at it and found a screen recording of Sandoval and Raquel Leviss on FaceTime. Madix then confronted Sandoval and called Leviss. The breakup became public two days later.
What Ariana said she found on Sandoval’s phone
In her account featured in Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules Season 10 finale, Madix said Sandoval’s phone fell out of his pocket while he was performing with his band at TomTom. Someone passed it to her to keep safe. She said she felt an impulse to look at it—“Call it women’s intuition, call it lightbulb, call it whatever”—and found a screen recording of Sandoval and Leviss on FaceTime. Bravo’s episode-focused timeline recounts her description.
That distinction matters: Madix’s televised account, as Bravo describes it, identifies a FaceTime screen recording. TIME’s contemporaneous coverage used the broader description “inappropriate video,” but that wording does not establish that she found a text or a different kind of file. TIME’s March 2023 account covered the story as it became public.
What happened after the discovery
Madix spoke with Sandoval and called Leviss to ask about the relationship, including when it began. Bravo reports that Leviss was in New York with Scheana Shay after a Watch What Happens Live taping. In the cast’s recap of events, Madix’s immediate reaction was: “My stomach dropped into my f-cking ass.” Bravo’s cast account provides the New York context and reactions.
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Discovery date versus public news
Madix said she discovered the recording on March 1, 2023. News of the breakup was reported publicly on March 3. The Bravo relationship timeline and TIME’s contemporaneous coverage distinguish the public reporting from the discovery she later described on the show. The Season 10 finale presenting her account aired May 17, 2023, according to Bravo’s cast recap.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What later legal allegations do—and do not—establish
In a 2024 civil complaint, Leviss made allegations concerning sexually explicit videos, recording, and distribution. Those are allegations in a party’s pleading, not court findings. They should not be substituted for the narrower account Madix gave of what she said she found on the phone. The complaint is reproduced by Courthouse News Service.
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