Ariana Madix's pre-Scandoval support of Raquel Leviss continues to stun Vanderpump Rules fans.
In E! News' exclusive preview of the Bravo series' April 19 episode, Madix and Tom Sandoval—who broke up last month after his affair with Leviss went public—defend the former beauty queen against attacks from co-star Katie Maloney.
The bad blood stems from Leviss romantically pursuing Maloney's ex Tom-Schwartz on last week's episode, despite her warnings not to.
Sandoval checks in with Maloney after the incident by asking her in the sneak peek, "Are you guys not friends anymore because of him and Raquel making out?"
After she replies yes, he defends Raquel and his Schwartz and Sandy's co-founder by replying, "I don't think it was really like a big deal. They were just two single people that are decent looking in like Mexico that just decided to make out."
However, Maloney has a completely different view of their hookup.
"We've had 900 conversations about it and he's told me a hundred times, 'I'm not interested in her, Nothing's ever gonna happen,'" she explains. "It's too close to home."
Maloney adds that she now has to deal with the "aftermath" of her former husband kissing someone in their friend group, something Madix understands.
As Madix notes to her then-boyfriend, "Well, they're not friends anymore so there's an aftermath and now it's going to make it really difficult for her and Raquel to be friends."
However, when Maloney slams Leviss, adding, "She's a f--king whore," the pair chime in to defend her, with Sandoval responding, "She's not a f--king whore."
Madix agrees, "She's not a whore. She does not get paid by anyone to do anything.
Maloney's reply? "Well, then she should," she says, "because she's acting like one."
Unbeknownst to Madix at the time, Sandoval and Leviss had already begun their secret months-long affair when their conversation with Maloney took place. In his first post-Scandoval interview on April 11, the TomTom co-owner revealed he and Leviss had already shared their first kiss before her August 2022 makeout with Schwartz in Mexico.
See the awkward talk in the preview above.
Vanderpump Rules airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Bravo. Keep scrolling for a complete timeline of the Scandoval drama.
(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family)