Vanderpump Rules

Ariana Madix is making bank off the heartbreak of her ex-bf Tom Sandoval's cheating scandal -- potentially pulling in a strong 6-figures for each brand deal she inks, according to one expert!

Branding expert, Bernt Ullmann, tells TMZ ... The "Vanderpump Rules" star was probably making roughly $15k to $30k for each brand deal before the explosive cheating scandal came to light -- but he says those numbers have drastically changed now.

The fact that she's the victim of the "Scandoval," instantly makes her a fan favorite, and means her asking price instantly goes way up, too.

Ullman says it's highly likely she's making at least $75k per deal with the well-known brand partnerships -- but adds that number could be $200k ... based on all the media buzz, Bravo's record-setting ratings, and Ariana's skyrocketing social media impressions.

We know Ariana's already done partnerships with many different brands -- including Bloomingdales, UberOne, BIC razors, and MyJoyBurst Cocktails -- since it was revealed Tom blew up their 10-year relationship by cheating on her with their costar Raquel Leviss.

You'll recall, Ariana also recently teamed up with Raising Cane's to promote viewership for part one of the 'VPR' reunion.

On Monday, she pretended to move out of the home she still shares with Tom, but that too, wound up being a sponsored gig with financial services company SoFi.

Clever fake-out, for sure.

Ullmann says as nice as the brand deals are, Ariana should also be thinking long-term -- suggesting if she builds her own brand she can generate revenue and rack up her own assets to sell or license later down the line.

The "Scandoval" drama isn't a total loss for Tom Sandoval -- while his affair with Raquel Leviss is definitely costing him friendships, it's not hurting his finances where his band is concerned.

We're told concerts for "Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras" have been a big hit amid all the drama. For example, their show at the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Connecticut earlier this month had a massive turnout, marking the first time the venue's had people lining up to get into a 350-seat theater.

Tom's crew sold out the Gramercy Theater in NYC the following night, with the line wrapping around the block -- even 'SNL' star Chloe Fineman got to meet Tom backstage after the show. We doubt she waited in line.

Tom's band also sold out shows in Pennsylvania and Texas. Their Houston venue, in particular, expected 1,000 fans to show up, but was instead bombarded with twice that number ... making it one of the club's most successful shows ever.

The band even rocked a fundraiser on May 11 at DC's Howard Theater, where they donated $10k to Drew Strikes Back ... an org that raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

We've also learned Tom hit a big milestone during this recent stretch of shows ... celebrating 50 days sober.

Tom tells TMZ ... his recent fallout with Ariana Madix has been a difficult and emotional thing for him to navigate, adding he's been in "some really dark places at times and music has really helped me get through it."

He says he's grateful for the big turnouts and is excited to keep the second leg of his summer tour going for him and the group.

Of course, Ariana's been doin' pretty well on the other side, too -- not only does she have a new boo, but she's been striking brand deals with SoFi, Raising Cane's, and even a sex toy company!

Derek Hough says Ariana Madix makes perfect sense for the next season of "Dancing With the Stars" ... he feels it's the right move for her now that she's captured America's attention.

We got Derek at LAX and the 'DWTS' alum told us Ariana follows the formula for the dancing competition show ... the perfect candidate.

That formula, as Derek explains, loosely goes like this, at least for reality stars ... they get their big break and become household names, then go on 'DWTS' to raise their profile.

Ariana's a textbook example ... she's been dominating headlines since March when she found out her longtime boyfriend Tom Sandoval was cheating on her with their "Vanderpump Rules" costar Raquel Leviss.

Derek says he's been consumed with planning his upcoming wedding rather than paying attention to the Scandoval ... but he knows a good story when he hears one, and he quickly endorses the Ariana move.

Raquel Leviss and her family are so terrified after a wave of death threats stemming from her affair with Tom Sandoval, they've contacted the country's top law enforcement source for help ... TMZ has learned.

The "Vanderpump Rules" star's rep tells TMZ ... Raquel and her family have been on the receiving end of violent and graphic death threats both online and over the phone that has gotten so bad they've had to contact the FBI.

We're told some of the alleged threats include messages sent to Raquel through social media, saying ... "Tear you limb from limb" and "Un-alive and dump the body."

A source close to Raquel tells TMZ ... it's understandable why people hate her for the Scandoval, but to elevate that hate to the point of threatening Raquel and her family takes things too far and is disturbing.

A spokesperson for the FBI tells TMZ ... "FBI neither confirms nor denies investigations. Obviously, we review all allegations reported to us and encourage anyone who believes their life is in imminent danger to call 911."

As we reported, Raquel's getting mental health treatment in the wake of the cheating scandal, and we haven't seen her out in public in weeks ... so she's clearly in a bad spot, and the alleged threats aren't helping.

As we reported ... Tom and Raquel were raked over the coals during part one of the "VPR" reunion, with some of their fellow costars threatening Tom with violence.

But death threats are on a whole other level.

The "Vanderpump Rules" reunion wound up as expected for Tom Sandoval ... he was turned into a human piñata by fellow cast members angry over his affair with Raquel Leviss, which, as everyone knows, destroyed his longtime relationship with Ariana Madix.

Part 1 of Season 10's reunion kicked off Wednesday night as Bravo host Andy Cohen sat down to hash it all out with the entire cast of 'VPR' -- Tom, Ariana, Lisa Vanderpump, Lala Kent, Scheana Shay, James Kennedy, Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz.

Interestingly, Raquel was squirreled away in a private room watching from a TV monitor because, at the time the reunion was shot, she had a restraining order against Scheana, who allegedly punched her during an argument. The order has since been dismissed.

With the cast seated around Andy, the insults began flying almost immediately ... and as usual, Tom was the primary target, but Lisa was clearly in his corner.

In one back and forth, Ariana voiced her disgust at Tom for cheating on her, saying, "I think he caused the divide in the relationship because he was f***ing other people.”

Lisa stopped Ariana and asked, "Other people is very different [than just] Raquel."

Ariana replied, "He’s f***ed more than Raquel.”

Then Lala jumped in, calling Tom "a dangerous human being." But Lisa again ran to Tom's defense, dismissing Lala's statement as "ridiculous." Lala responded, "I didn’t ask for anyone else’s opinion."

James had several fiery exchanges with Tom, labeling him a "clown" and mocking him as he cried while apologizing to Ariana. At one point, James, who was once engaged to Raquel, left his seat and got up in Tom's face, leading to both men almost coming to blows.

After Andy calmed the situation down, he asked Tom the most pivotal question of the night: Why didn’t Tom come clean to Ariana about his affair with Raquel from the get-go?

Tom said, "I was obviously scared to. Also she was going through a lot during that time, and I didn’t want to add anything," referring to the death of Ariana's grandmother.

The rest of the show was more of the same ... meaning Tom playing the piñata and his detractors hitting him with sticks, but in a verbal -- not physical -- sense, of course.

Round 2 of the 3 part reunion will kick off next Wednesday at 9 PM ET. Bring the popcorn.

Tom Sandoval can't catch a break from a single one of his castmates, including Tom Schwartz ... who's now revealed he knew about his friend's affair much sooner than Sandoval let on.

Andy Cohen got down to the nitty gritty with the "Vanderpump Rules" cast Wednesday on part 1 of the show's highly-anticipated reunion ... asking Schwartz when Sandoval told him about his affair with Raquel Leviss.

Schwartz says August, which seems to catch Sandoval by surprise because he'd maintained a different timeline. But, the folks at Bravo were quick to cut to a prior sit-down interview between Andy and Sandoval, where he says he told his friend in January ... a whole 5 months later.

The entire 'VPR' gang was sure to call out Sandoval on his lie. Lala Kent straight up asked, "What you guys didn't get your timelines straight before this?!"

As we reported, Sandoval got destroyed on Wednesday's episode for blowing up his 10-year relationship with Ariana and cheating with Raquel.

What's more interesting about the timeline mix-up ... in front of cameras, Sandoval had urged Schwartz to hook up with Raquel, despite the fact he'd already had sex with her -- and Raquel and Schwartz actually did kiss in August.

Sandoval tried making it clear, he and Raquel had only had a "one night stand" at that point, and later rekindled their flame. Strange turn of events, to say the least ... and there are 2 more parts of this reunion to come!

Ariana Madix has been serving up plenty of revenge lately ... and now she's serving up chicken and fries thanks to a gig with Raising Cane's!!!

The "Vanderpump Rules" star was all decked out in Cane's work attire Wednesday during her hour-long shift. She was super upbeat as she greeted customers from the drive-thru window and handed out chicken fingers, fries, slaw, toast and of course, the company's special sauce.

The customers seemed equally as excited to get their food from the reality star ... snapping pics and videos, even offering her words of encouragement.

As you know, Ariana's become a fan favorite ever since her explosive breakup with Tom Sandoval. Remember, he blew up their 10-year relationship by cheating on her with their costar Raquel Leviss ... and more and more details have been aired out of just how nasty things got.

Since all the fallout, Ariana has been picking up gigs left and right. You'll recall, she recently made it seem like she was moving out of their shared home, but it wound up being another brand deal.

Ariana Madix says Tom Sandoval cheated on her with Raquel Leviss while they were all in the same house -- and even when Ariana was sleeping in another room!!!

The "Vanderpump Rules" star made the stunning revelation in her new interview with host Alexandra Cooper on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast.

In Wednesday's episode, Ariana explains Tom -- her former boyfriend -- and Raquel -- her ex-best friend -- were sneaking around behind her back and jumping into the sack with each other. And it was all secretly going on as the three were filming 'VPR' this past season.

Ariana put it like this ... "I think they had sex in my guest room while I was sleeping in my own bed that he and I went to bed in together and then he left the bed and went to the guest room and f***ed her."

Ariana also addressed speculation she and Tom had an open 9-year relationship. She said, "Honestly, I think [that rumor] came from him," meaning Tom.

She added Tom never told her they were not monogamous ... and, according to Ariana, they were still romantic, sleeping in the same bed and going out on dates -- even on Valentine's Day.

Then Ariana tackled Tom's claim he repeatedly tried to put the kibosh on their relationship. She says the two discussed calling it quits during an "hours-long" convo in which she threatened to abandon the reality show, move out of L.A. and deactivate her Instagram account.

And Ariana made one point abundantly clear ... she never wanted to kill herself even though Tom claimed she threatened suicide after their breakup. She said, "I was saying that this life will be over for me, because I'll go do something else... I'm not talking about physically harming myself."

Despite warning signs, Ariana admitted she ignored the fact Tom was hanging out more with friends at bars while she was sitting home alone.

Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix's late friend, Ali Rafiq, collapsed in his parents' house before he was eventually found dead ... TMZ has learned.

Ali's sister, Rabia Rafiq, tells us her mother found Ali on the floor of their St. Louis home Friday afternoon, and she says it appears he had fallen and hit his head on a table.

We're told Ali was found dead on the floor around 4 PM Friday ... about 3 hours after they believe he passed. He had called his father from the house about 4 hours earlier.

Ali's sister says her brother had no known illnesses, other than asthma ... and the family didn't believe that was ever a serious issue for him. We're told there were no signs of foul play, and no indicators as to why he collapsed.

Ali was a big foodie who loved to post pictures of his meals, but his sister says he was not overweight or unhealthy.

The Rafiqs are Muslim and Ali's sister says their religion calls for bodies to be buried ASAP ... so the family buried Ali on Saturday, right after his body was released to the family.

Because Ali died Friday and was buried the next day, we're told Tom did not have a chance to fly out to St. Louis in time for the burial. We're told Tom got to his hometown Sunday and has been spending time with Ali's parents, and visiting the gravesite to say goodbye to his friend.

Ali's sister says Tom's parents attended Saturday's funeral and FaceTimed with Tom so he could feel like he was there ... and Ariana sent flowers.

As we reported ... Ariana looked somber Saturday when she got back into town from her trip to NYC, paying tribute to Ali with a social media post. Tom also shared a remembrance post.

Ali's sister says his death certificate cites "organ failure" as the cause of death, but the family is waiting for toxicology reports to learn what really happened.

Ariana Madix is still living under the same roof as her ex-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval ... turns out her "move" out of their home was just a clever way for her to make some money off the "Scandoval."

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Ariana has NOT moved out, as it appeared yesterday, and that whole scene with her carrying boxes out of the house was sponsored content.

The "Vanderpump Rules" star pulled out all the stops Monday to make it look like she was moving out of the Valley Village home she shares with Tom ... she had a U-Haul truck parked in the driveway and she recruited some friends to help her move boxes.

Paparazzi snapped photos as Ariana smiled while carrying boxes labeled "finances" out of the house ... loading them in the U-Haul truck and a black SUV.

Ariana even paused to relish the moment with an upbeat selfie video on Instagram, which she captioned, "ready to dip out 😏."

But, Ariana has since revealed the real truth behind it all -- she made subsequent posts, first hinting ... and then revealing she was in a bed with a finance company.

In the ad, Ariana says ... "I'm moving up, not out. Well not yet at least. It's time to get my financial house in order. I will have more to share with you very very soon."

Tom Sandoval is NOT dating Texas influencer Karlee Hale despite media reports to the contrary, TMZ has learned.

A rep for Tom tells us ... the "Vanderpump Rules" star is just friends with Karlee and recently hung out with her because he happened to be in Austin performing with his band. The rep noted there were other people in their group at the time they were seen together.

The Sun published a TikTok video of Tom and Karlee seated at a table in a hotel restaurant last Wednesday. Tom was apparently trying to fly under the radar, wearing a white baseball cap with the brim covering his face.

The sighting reportedly came on the heels of Tom and his 'VPR' co-star Raquel Leviss calling it quits on their seven-month affair. According to Page Six, Raquel pulled the plug on their romance, quoting a source as saying, "Raquel dipped out. Sandoval is not for her." However, PEOPLE reports Tom and Raquel's relationship status hasn't changed as they were never a couple.

Since that report last week, Tom and Raquel have yet to comment on the status of their relationship.

Back in April, Tom told paparazzi ... Raquel was getting treatment at a mental health facility after the fallout from Tom's much publicized break up with longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix.

Ariana Madix is officially saying goodbye to the last major tie she had to her ex-boyfriend, Tom Sandoval ... moving out of the place they once called home together.

The "Vanderpump Rules" star was spotted Monday at their Valley Village crib, gathering some of her things and loading up a U-Haul moving truck. Ariana had a few folks on hand, helping her put items into different vehicles.

Ariana certainly looks happy to move on, sporting a huge smile on her face, even pausing to relish in the moment on IG with a cheery selfie vid captioned, "ready to dip out 😏."

Remember, Tom and Ariana were still living under the same roof, up until now ... despite their 10-year relationship coming to an explosive end once she found out Tom cheated on her with their 'VPR' costar Raquel Leviss.

The two each owned 50 percent of the home, per property records. As we reported, they were sleeping in separate rooms and pretty much avoiding any communication as much as possible.

Ariana Madix looked exhausted Saturday leaving LAX ... emotionally drained after losing her close friend Ali Rafiq.

The Vanderpump Rules star kept her shades on as she made her way through the terminal in a brown sweatshirt and matching pants.

She arrived back in L.A. the same day she paid tribute to Rafiq, sharing a photo of them on Instagram.

"I keep wanting to text you. It feels like this can't even be real. We were just planning your trip to LA. Talking about our futures and all the things we were looking forward to,' she wrote, before ticking off the things she missed about her late friend.

While the two were obviously close, Madix actually met Rafiq through her ex, Tom Sandoval. The duo were childhood besties, and Tom also shared a post in remembrance.

Madix's life has been full of change recently, starting with the end of her nine-year relationship with Sandoval after discovering he cheated on her with her close friend, Raquel Leviss.

She's dealt with the fallout from the breakup for the last two months and even seemed to be putting the drama in her rearview by firing up a new relationship with fitness coach Daniel Wai.

With all the "Scheananigans" surrounding the "Vanderpump Rules" stars these days, it's time to take a breather from the "Scandoval" of it all and make things a little lighter and brighter ... Now is YOUR shining moment to take the floor and guess these kids before they were survin' up crispy chickens!

Catch this blue-eyed gent behind the booth ... you won't be seeing him today, but he may be seeing YOU next Tuesday!

This gal loves her tequila, and there's "just something about her" that makes you want to join in on her rage texting.

"Vanderpump Rules" star Scheana Shay hasn't gotten an apology from Raquel Leviss for all the restraining order drama earlier this year ... but thinks a convo about what went down will eventually become a reality.

Scheana told her side of the story on the latest episode of her podcast, "Scheananigans with Scheana Shay," claiming Raquel still hasn't reached out to apologize or even explain why she slapped her with the TRO.

She says she didn't block Raquel's number or social media accounts just to see if she reaches out to apologize ... it sounds like it ain't doing any good. Scheana's pretty sure their discussion will go down, but it'll have a very different vibe compared to the chats they used to have as pals.

Scheana also says Tom reached out to her after the paperwork was filed ... apparently putting the blame on Raquel's family who allegedly talked her into getting the restraining order. She says he made it feel like a Britney Spears situation -- no control and forced to file because her parents told her to.

TMZ broke the story, Raquel was granted a temporary restraining order against Scheana in March -- claiming she punched her in the head, causing some injuries around her eye.

Scheana denied the whole thing, with her lawyer calling Raquel a "known liar and a cheat." As you know, Scheana won in the end -- with the whole thing eventually getting dismissed.

Scheana says she was ready to lay it all out on the table with Raquel when cameras went back up after Tom and Raquel's affair was made public.

Scheana claims when Ariana was in Canada filming a movie, Tom had Raquel over for a sleepover. She says the next day her and Raquel had their court hearing ... while Scheana was sitting in court, Raquel was allegedly in Tom's bed.

Tom Sandoval is back at the home he shares with ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix ... arriving alone and looking somber on the heels of the explosive "Vanderpump Rules" finale.

We got these shots of Tom pulling up to their place Thursday morning in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley, and he was riding solo, which has become the norm for him since the "Scandoval" broke.

It's a pretty good indication of what life is like for Tom now -- Ariana wasn't home, she's off in New York City for work and play, hanging with her new bae and doing a media blitz about Tom with several outlets.

We're told Tom appeared somber and in low spirits Thursday morning and his only companion was the guy helping him unload music equipment ... who might just be an Uber driver.

He and his band have been touring in Texas, but they don't have another gig until next week in Illinois -- so, lots of time to sit and think. For better or worse.

As we reported ... Ariana went on "Watch What Happens Live" Wednesday night and cast doubt on reports of a breakup between Tom and Raquel Leviss. Ariana says Raquel sent a letter earlier this week to the house. It was for Tom, not Ariana.

Maybe Raquel's letter will brighten Tom's mood ... unless it was a breakup note.

TMZ broke the story ... Tom and Ariana are still living in the home they share together despite his affair with Raquel, but they're sleeping in different rooms and are rarely there at the same time. Never been a better time for them both to be busy!