Summary
Vanderpump Rulesstar Tom Sandoval is returning to reality TV again after the series’ shocking season finale,andI’m not happy to see him on the cast list ofThe Traitorsseason 3. Tom, who has been a cast member ofVanderpump Rulessince its premiere in 2013, has been struggling to repair his image since his affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss behind the back of his long-term partner Ariana Madix created one of the biggest reality TV scandals of all time. In trying to heal his reputationafter Scandoval rocked the world, Tom has been spreading his proverbial wings.
After years of appearing onVanderpump Rulesand other Bravo projects, Tom’s portfolio of reality TV roles has diversified in the last year. TheVanderpump Rulesvillain was cast onThe Masked Singerquickly after Scandoval, and the majority of his time on the series was spent trying to make amends with the public. Tom then went on to star inSpecial Forces: World’s Toughest Testseason 2, taking a physical approach to punishing himself for his behavior. Regardless, I’m not convinced Tom has learned from his mistakes, andI’m not excited to see him onThe Traitorsseason 3.
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Tom Sandoval Has Been A Manipulative Gaslighter For Years
His Behavior Isn’t New Or Surprising
Throughouthis time onVanderpump Rules, Tom has proven that his shocking style of behavior in the wake of Scandoval is his normal. Ariana discovered that Tom was cheating on her after she found incriminating photos and videos on his phone, but his reactionary behavior goes back much further than mid-2023. For years,Tom has been displaying his poor behavior forVanderpump Rulesviewers to see. The issues between Tom and his first girlfriend on the show, Kristen Doute, were tremendous throughout the early seasons. Kristen and Tom had some serious problems, especially after she found out Tom had cheated.
While Tom and Kristen’s relationship ended afterVanderpump Rulesseason 2, where she accused him of cheating on her with Ariana and he denied doing so, his manipulative, accusatory behavior didn’t change much even without the relationship to blame it on. Tom’s distaste for anyone who was getting more attention than he was, anger surrounding other people’s lifestyle choices, andjudgment surrounding decisions that had nothing to do with him were always shocking. His lack of care for people he’d known for years, like Stassi Schroeder and Katie Maloney, was consistent and left me wondering why people enjoyed watching him.
Tom Sandoval’s Complete Lack Of Remorse Is Deeply Troubling
He’s Never Actually Sorry For His Actions
Throughout his scandals through the years, Tom has always shown a surprising lack of remorse even when his behavior causes pain for others. Despite knowing that he could hurt the people close to him,Tom has always been selfishin nature, putting his own happiness and personal gain over others in a way that was off-putting to me, even before his cheating scandal. Having watched Tom for years onVanderpump Rules, I wasn’t shocked to find out about the cheating side of Scandoval, butwatching him continue to defend his selfish actions was something that left me genuinely, utterly floored.
SomeVanderpump Rulesviewersmay recall moments, like Tom wanting to go to a construction truck event with friends rather than spend Ariana’s birthday with her even after she explained why having him around was important, where Tom was openly selfish without understanding why it bothered others. Seemingly living without remorse or empathy for others,it’s shocking to see Tom try and defend his actions in the media. The barrage of interviews, TV shows, and podcasts Tom has gone on to explain his side of the story is appalling, especially because he doesn’t seem to see what he did wrong.
Tom Sandoval’s Behavior Shouldn’t Be Rewarded With More Exposure
He Should Take Time Away To Reflect
While people shouldn’t be defined by one poor decision, or a string of them, Tom’s continued behavior has proven that he isn’t just a one-time cheater, liar, or narcissist. These actions are systematic, repeated time and time again without any effort to change for the better. Despite knowing that he’s being shown on reality TV making choices that will hurt himself and others in the end,Tom expects to be rewarded and applauded for at least explaining why he’s doing what he’s doing. Without understanding the scope of his issues, Tom shouldn’t be given a platform to continue explaining himself.
The defense he’s put up about his cheating scandal, especially him trying toblame his actions on Arianain any way, shape, or form, is what made me believe that continuing to allow him onto reality TV shows is the wrong move. Tom has tried to make it seem like it’s okay to lie and cheat his way through any relationship, even one with a serious commitment behind it. While reality TV isn’t always about the day-to-day lives of people involved,giving Tom a platform to speak up about himself and continue his outrageous behavior is making the problem worse.
Continuing To Cast Tom Sandoval Creates A Scary Double Standard
He’s Being Given A Platform To Keep Speading Vitriol
Although I’m sure Tom, as a capable liar, will be interesting to watch onThe Traitors season 3, I’m not excited to see him on reality TV again after the way he’s acted over the last year. While Tom’s behavior isn’t new, the way he’s been invited to speak up about his experiences is, and in seeing the machinations of his inner monologue throughout his scandal,I’m not excited about getting more of his perspective. Tom’s behavior doesn’t warrant giving him more of a platform to speak, but instead, makes it clear he needs to take a big step back.
Inviting Tom onto a show likeThe Traitors, where he’ll be met with a bunch of opportunities to use his deceptive nature as a skill, onlyperpetuates the narrative that his behavior is sound and acceptable. Though he’ll make for good drama, giving him a platform to continue to behave poorly feels like the wrong move to me. Personally, I would much rather see other reality TV stars who aren’t spreading a narcissistic agenda compete on the show. Instead,The Traitorsseason 3 will feature a TomSandoval who has been reassured that his behavior onVanderpump Rulesis justified.
Vanderpump Rules
Cast
Vanderpump Rules is a reality-drama series created for Bravo that stars Lisa Vanderpump, a former star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, as she expands her restaurant empire and staff. The cast consists of Lisa’s staff members across her various establishments in West Hollywood as they try to build their futures and establish relationships that range from friendly to romantic. All of which frequently turn messy as mixing with business pleasure, as they are warned, doesn’t always end well.
