The Valley’s Brittany Cartwright is defending Ariana Madix’s explosive fury unleashed on her ex Tom Sandoval in the wake of his cheating scandal.
Ariana went off on Sandoval in an expletive-laced tirade at Lala Kent’s water tasting party on the latest episode of Vanderpump Rules, calling her former beau an “attempted dog murderer” after he locked her dog in her bedroom where the pup got into some leftovers and ate a wooden skewer.
“Never f-cking look at me in the eye again, you f-cking piece of sh-t,” Ariana yelled in the heated exchange that ended with Sandoval leaving the party.
In an exclusive Vanderpump Rules After Show clip, the cast weighed in on the shocking moment and what they believe was driving Ariana’s anger.
What did the Vanderpump Rules cast think about Ariana cursing out Tom Sandoval?
As Tom Schwartz pointed out, the moment was likely about more than just the unattended dog (who recovered after a pricey vet bill) and was likely rooted in Tom Sandoval’s betrayal.
“It’s not my place to tell her when or where she should be healed by or when she should or shouldn’t be over it, but like, I think it was a little worrisome to know that it’s that close to the surface,” Schwartz said of her simmering rage.
Brittany, who is going through her own split right now with husband Jax Taylor, was quick to defend Ariana’s actions, pointing out that shooting for Season 11 began just on the heels of Ariana’s discovery of the affair.
“Well, I mean you guys also filmed like not far after, like now it’s been a little bit more time, but I mean she was still reeling from everything at that moment,” Brittany said.
Brittany added that seeing the scene just made her feel “sad” for Ariana.
“Because that feeling of, like, hatred and stuff is just so much and it almost just does more damage to yourself than to try to, like, let things go,” she explained.
Scheana Shay had a similar take.
“It hurt me to see that she was still hurting so much and is still so angry and that’s a reason why I do try to figure out a road to forgiveness in whatever way is because I don’t like feeling that rage inside of me,” Scheana remarked.
Yet Scheana pointed out that Sandoval wasn’t exactly helping the situation either.
“He wasn’t doing anything to help take that anger and rage away from her,” she said. “You know, he’s doubling down, he’s making excuses, he’s weaponizing her mental health, he let the dog in and wasn’t paying attention, there’s so many things.”
“So I get where even if she had already had months of therapy and work to get past the affair then this happens all that sh-t is out the window, because he has now done something new to hurt her and their animal, you know, in the crossfire,” she continued.
Kristen Doute added that it’s difficult to see clearly when you are in your “reptilian brain,” a term that first gained traction in Season 7 after Beau Clark’s mom, Isa Clark, explained the phenomenon.
“It is so hard to see outside of that, but I agree with Scheana. It’s like whatever someone can do to stop feeling the anger, because the anger’s really only eating away at you,” she said.
Scheana added that she “hated” seeing Ariana react like that and it was “really hard” in the moment.
“That hurts the people around her who just want her to just, you know, be the star that she is and shine as bright as she can, which she is, but knowing she’s so hurt inside, it’s like I want all of that to go away,” Scheana added. “I just want it all to be happy, light.”
Sandoval himself had little to add to the discussion other than saying that what happened to the dog had been an “accident.”
“The whole thing was an accident, of course it was an accident. That’s why I’m saying be upset, be angry, but I just,” Jax said before stopping and shaking his head.
James Kennedy said he had “never seen that side of Ariana before.”
As for Ariana herself? She didn’t take much weight in the others’ opinions on it.
“Like whatever,” she said. “Being butthurt about me being mad about that. Like ‘kay.”
“You can choke,” Katie Maloney added.
To catch up on all the latest drama in Season 11, watch Vanderpump Rules Tuesday nights on Bravo or available streaming the next day.