In the wake of Scandoval, Tom Sandoval has done everything in his power to reframe his public image to varying degrees of success. His alleged rude comments to Ariana Madix at BravoCon 2023 didn’t help his case.
Now, Tom has been doing the press run as Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Season 2 has come to a close. Tom put in quite the performance but was ultimately disqualified by The Umpire.
He went into the competition saying he wanted to be punished for Scandoval, and it would seem he got exactly that. Now, while making the interview rounds, the Vanderpump Rules star has shown a great deal of empathy and self-awareness.
Tom felt “stupid” hearing his Special Forces fellow competitors’ stories
Tom spoke with TMZ about the Special Forces experience. In referring to Scandoval, he said, “One of the good things about [Special Forces] is – besides when they brought that sh*t up – I wasn’t really thinking about it too often … The beauty of that situation was being able to just focus on the things in front of you.”
The fact that there were “No phones, no anything, no contact with the outside world,” was healing for Tom. “You’re just there, worried about the people next to you and what you have to do.” When the experience was initially over, Tom admitted he “felt like it was exactly what [he] needed.”
Before Special Forces, Tom confessed to feeling “consumed” by his scandal. He also credited “meeting everyone and hearing everyone else’s stories” with helping him gain “perspective in life.” Tom even admitted feeling “stupid … because in the grand scheme of things, comparatively to everybody else,” Scandoval wasn’t a big deal.
Tom returns to screens when Vanderpump Rules Season 11 hits Bravo in January 2024.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF TOM’S TIME ON SPECIAL FORCES? DO YOU THINK HE TRULY GAINED PERSPECTIVE?
