Tom Sandoval has had a no-good, terrible, very bad year thanks to his part in Scandoval, and he is currently spiraling. Vanderpump Rules viewers and his friends learned in March 2023 that the affair between him and Rachel Leviss began back in August 2022 and lasted for seven months. Apparently, the two were once madly in love, but something changed. Quickly, the rest of the cast unfollowed the duo, and everyone rallied around Ariana Madix.

Over the last few months, Sandy has been on his redemption tour. But he has yet to take full accountability for his part in the cheating scandal. Admittedly, Tom is stuck in a weird middle ground between acting like a victim and a villain. Most viewers probably see him as the bad guy, but people cheat. So watching Tom break down due to all the hate is kind of hard to watch. But is showing his emotional side a planned attack or a dam of feelings bursting open?

Lost love

Okay, so I will say it is hard to believe that Tom is sad, especially when I see cover stories or photo shoots where he is cashing in on his pain. But the last few episodes of Vanderpump Rules have me feeling some way about the TomTom owner. I think it’s empathy. After listening to Rachel’s podcast, Tom shared he was “shell shocked” that their love meant nothing to her. This is the first time I truly see Tom realizing he made a bad choice when he cheated.

Crying to Tom Schwartz, Sandy blubbers, “I wasn’t fully ready to give up hope until I heard it from her lips, and now I have. To go through all that and not even give it a shot? Like, what was it all for?” Sandoval seemed all too happy to partake in some word type of self-flagellation when noting he would listen to the podcast in its entirety even though he was suffering.

Tom has an epiphany

In a stunning moment of realization, Tom notes, “I’m realizing now that I cared for her way more than she f*cking cared for me.” Again, I felt a bit bad for Tom. We have all been through some crush or relationship when we felt more feelings than the other. Oftentimes, we put in ten percent more effort, buy silly little gifts, or send a cute yet planned text. So to be told that all of it was in vain does suck. I wonder if Tom hadn’t had a chance to cry until now.

He could have been in fight or flight for months as he tried to navigate his life. He would have had to deal with the shared house, band touring schedule, bar pop-in, and filming. I imagine that he was probably overstimulated and didn’t have a chance to process the fact that Rachel was pulling away. Tom also laments in the newest Vanderpump Rules episode that he didn’t get any closure, but in retrospect, being cut off is a form of ultimate closure.

But is anybody buying it?

I don’t think many fans are buying his crying act. Over and over, Tom has stated that he fought hard for his relationship with Rachel. During an earlier episode, he revealed he gave up cigarettes and alcohol for her because he couldn’t partake in rehab. Multiple times, Tom has also said some pretty odd sentiments, noting that their love wasn’t just about looks because he had been a model for 15 years. What does that have to do with the price of milk, Tom?

I think Tom is putting on a show for us more often than not. He knows how to work the camera, as we saw him hysterically cry during Season 10 while at Lisa Vanderpump’s home. It might be that Tom is a bit too vapid to digest all of his emotions. However, Rachel’s podcast threw the man for a loop. But I am sure fans will see the floodgates open even further as the season continues.