Sophia Michaels
When news of Scandoval originally broke in early March 2023, Ariana Madix opted to remove herself from social media and deleted her Instagram and Twitter accounts in the wake of the scandal. Ironically, despite Madix no longer being on the platform, her ex Tom Sandoval chose to post his public apology to her on Instagram on March 7. Raquel Leviss, who had been one of Madix’s closest friends prior to diving into a relationship with Sandoval, followed suit with an Instagram apology on March 8, even though Madix was still absent from the platform.
By March 9, Madix had returned to Instagram — but with some major changes. Though she originally refrained from posting, she spoke volumes by unfollowing Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss, and Tom Schwartz. A little less than a week later, the former SUR bartender issued her own statement on Instagram, her first comment following all of the drama, with a bold post. Alongside a photo of the star beaming in a gorgeous green and pink dress, Madix began, “i want to express my most sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support i have received from friends, family, and people i’ve never even met in the last two weeks. when i have felt like i couldn’t even stand, you all have given me the strength to continue and seen me through my darkest hours. to say i have been devastated and broken is an understatement.” She closed her lengthy and heartfelt statement with an empowering final line, writing, “what doesn’t kill me better run.”
