The Real Housewives of New Jersey star, 52, named her top five Bravo villains during a Sunday, November 17, appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen — and she gave Tom Sandovalthe No. 1 slot.
Sandoval, 42, earned his villain status after news broke in March 2023 that he’d had an affair with his Vanderpump Rules costar Rachel “Raquel” Leviss while dating Ariana Madix. Sandoval and Madix, 39, split after nine years of dating in the wake of the cheating scandal.
The revelation played out during season 10 of VPR, which came to an end in May 2023. Leviss, 30, did not return for season 11 of the Bravo reality show, but Sandoval and Madix both did. Madix’s desire to avoid filming scenes with Sandoval came to a head during the season 11 finale, which aired in May, as several of her costars criticized her behavior.
“It is bulls— that she can’t film with someone that she stays under the same roof. It is a lot. It is a lot that she says, ‘Don’t f— with Tom Sandoval. But I am going to sleep down the hall from Tom Sandoval,’” Lala Kent said, alluding to the fact that Madix and Sandoval continued to live in their shared home long after their split. “I have never in my life experienced someone who gets cheated on and suddenly she becomes God.”
Madix heard Kent’s comments for the first time during the season 11 reunion when the cast watched the final moments of the dramatic episode together. Madix told E! News in September that she and Kent, 34, hadn’t “been in touch at all” since the reunion. Kent was asked for a status update on the pair’s relationship during an October appearance on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live.
“We don’t have one,” she said, adding that a reconciliation will “never happen” for her and Madix.
“Ariana, I will always be a cheerleader for,” she noted. “She, I heard, killed it on Love Island. I’ve never watched the show and certainly didn’t start watching it because we were not good. But I have no ill feelings about anybody on the show. … I just feel peace.”
With the VPR cast more fractured than ever, some fans have doubted whether the show will return. Last month, a source close to production exclusively told Us Weekly that “discussions are still ongoing” regarding season 12.
“I feel like we still have a lot of story to tell,” Sandoval told Us in October. “[But] it’s not up to me. I’m not the EP. I’m not the network.”
Sandoval was the only non-Housewife that Giudice, 52, included on her list of Bravo villains. Her other picks were The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Kenya Moore, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Lisa Rinna, The Real Housewives of Potomac alum Candiace Dillard Bassett and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum Monica Garcia.