Billie Lee defends Tom Sandoval friendship: He and Ariana Madix are ‘both hurting’
Billie Lee defended her friendship with “Vanderpump Rules” villain Tom Sandoval, saying his ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix — on whom he cheated — isn’t the only one “hurting.”
After fans blasted Lee for cozying up to Sandoval amid the fallout of his affair with co-star Raquel Leviss, she took to Instagram to explain her stance.
“Tom and Ariana are my family, they have been there for me over the years and I wouldn’t be where I’m am today without them,” the “Pump Rules” alum, 39, penned in a post on Tuesday, making sure to deactivate the comments.
“It saddens me that people are so fixated on picking a side. Both are human and are both hurting in their own ways.”
The former SUR server went on to argue that she is “allowed to be friends with one of [her] best friends who made a mistake while still holding him accountable and not commending what he did,” adding that any other approach is “extremely immature.”
“There is a world where you can support and be there for both parties,” she continued, “and that’s the world I choose to live in.”
Lee concluded, “Ariana seems to be in a way better place, I’m so happy that she is moving on and Tom is really working hard on himself. I’ll continue to love and support them, unconditionally.”
Despite her public allegiance to “both parties,” Madix, 37, has unfollowed — and maybe even blocked — Lee on the social media platform in recent days.
As it so happens, the ex-Bravolebrity was photographed attending an event with Sandoval, 40, in West Hollywood on Friday for a hangout deemed controversial by many, including Kristen Doute, who previously dated the bar owner.
“😒 as she cried at Ariana’s house days after Ari found out [about the affair]… smh,” the fellow “Pump Rules” alum wrote in a scathing comment on @cici.loves.you’s post about the outing.
But Lee fired back in a comment of her own, “ya I was crying because they BOTH are my family! It was sad and still is!”
“What were you doing while I was crying!?” she continued. “Literary [sic] taking selfies with everyone including Ariana. Like who does that!? It felt like a funeral and you were taking selfies 🙄.”
Lee went on to accuse Doute, 40, of being a “fake and performative” friend and encouraged her to “read the room!”
Paparazzi then caught Lee arriving at the Valley Village home Sandoval still shares with Madix on Sunday around 10 p.m.
The casually dressed pals hit up a local cocktail bar for drinks.
Follow Page Six’s coverage of ‘Scandoval‘
- Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss, Ariana Madix drama, explained
- How Ariana Madix found out about Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss’ affair
- Ariana Madix rips ‘subhuman’ Raquel, ‘rat’ Sandoval in ‘Pump Rules’ reunion trailer
While it’s unclear what time they returned to Sandoval’s residence, Lee was snapped making her way out the front door and to her car the following morning — in the same clothes she was wearing the night before.
Despite the optics of the situation, a source tells Page Six that the two are just friends.
While Sandoval was enjoying Sunday Funday with Lee, Madix was at Coachella making out with personal trainer Daniel Wai.
In a comment that is no longer there, Lee gushed beneath Madix’s photo from the music festival, “It’s your happiness shining through for me 🤩🫶🏻.”
As for 28-year-old Leviss — whose relationship with Sandoval is apparently on pause — she is currently at a “voluntary facility” for “mental health counseling” and “trauma therapy.”
