How a Cheating Scandal Landed Arianna Madix on to Peacock’s hit show “Love Island US”

Arianna Madix has garnered praise and attention hosting the popular reality love competition show “Love Island US”

Maddix’s witty commentary and extraordinary outfits has often been a welcome  relief on the tension ridden love show. 

Audiences may be surprised to find out Madix is no stranger to a tumultuous love story. 

Many audiences first met Ariana Madix, 40 years old, on the Housive series spinoff “Vanderpump Rules”.

Madix was a bartender at “Sur”, a restaurant owned by Housewives veteran Lisa Vanderpump. 

Her first seasons on the show were plagued with cheating allegations as Madix came between one couple on the show, Tom Sanadavol, 42, and Kristen Doute, 42. 

However, Madix quickly became a fan favorite. As Madix and Sandavol’s relationship grew she was known to be a more level-headed member of the eccentric cast.

“Vanderpump Rules” was rife with cheating, lying, and manipulation, but through the year Madix and Sandavol remained a strong couple. 

That was until March 3rd, 2023.

After more than 9 years in a relationship, news broke that Sandavol was cheating on Madix with another cast members ex-girlfriend!

This might have been par for the course in earlier seasons. 

However, as the characters on the show neared their 40, many had moved away from their more scandalous behaviors.

This came as a complete shock to viewers. 

Madix and Sandavol had recently purchased a house together and had almost started the IVF process, leaving many confused about his decision to cheat. 

Through the fallout, Madix found out that Sandavol had been cheating for months.

Many times, shortly after cameras went off, Sandavol and one of Madix’s best friends at the time, Raquel, would sneak away to hook up.

This went on for months, with Sandavol even taking Raquel to meet his parents while Ariana was distracted, grieving the loss of her grandmother and her dog.

The intensity and cruelty of the affair were so extreme that news stations nicknamed the event “Scandavol”.

Madix’s performance at the season’s reunion with both Sandavol and Raquel gained attention from many viewers as well.

The two-part reunion pulled in a series high 4.1 million viewers.

Bringing a show with decreasing relevance back to the forefront.

However, Madix had no interest in sharing the stage with her cheating ex-partner.


After pointing out several biases within production that seemingly favored Sandavol and set him up for redemption, Madix refused to film with him.

Madix’s decision to disassociate from Sandavol left many in the cast enraged, and after a season of chaos, Madix decided it was her time to go. 

But let’s be clear, she left with something!

Madix has soared since her breakup.

Madix was the lead in the Broadway musical “Chicago”, where she played the iconic black widow Roxie Hart.

Ariana Madix was named the host of Love Island in 2024.

Additionally, Madix has multiple projects coming down the pipeline recently, including acting on ABC’s “Will Trent”.

If you want to explore deeper click this link for the Vulture article with an detailed timeline.

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