What I would've done if I was on Tom Sandoval's PR team

If you don’t know, Bravo is a reality TV network with some of the most known (and messy) reality TV shows. Bravo is responsible

for all of the Housewives series, Vanderpump Rules, The Valley, and so much more. Of course, with reality TV comes drama, scandals, and gossip. Specifically, one of the most infamous scandals that has come out of Bravo is “Scandoval.”  In this blog, I will be dissecting “Scandoval” and what I would've done if I was hired to bring Tom Sandoval out of this horrible scandal. 

It all started on Bravo's hit TV series, Vanderpump Rules. Vanderpump Rules began in 2013 following the lives of the staff at SUR, a restaurant in West Hollywood known for hiring young, attractive, and messy men and women trying to make it in the entertainment industry. This scandal begins when two of the main cast members, Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix, begin dating in 2013 during the second season. They spent 10 years in a relationship and even bought a house in the Valley together. This all came crashing down when another cast member, Raquel Leviss, began a 9-month affair with her good friend Ariana Madix’s boyfriend, Tom Sandoval. That is where the infamous scandal gets its name, a play on word of Tom’s last name. Of course, once Ariana Madix found out, everything hit the fan. Not for her, but for her now ex boyfriend of 9 years, Tom Sandoval. In fact, one might say Madix could thank Sandoval for cheating on her because after the public found out, Madix’s career exploded. She starred on Broadway’s Chicago, Dancing with the Stars, and even became the host of Love Island USA for two seasons. For Tom Sandoval, however, his career was basically over. His restaurants began struggling, he received never ending hate comments, and safe to say, everyone basically hated him. 

It might seem nearly impossible for Tom Sandoval to rebuild his reputation after what he did, and the way he handled it, his career did in fact never recover from this. Now, I am not sure if he hired a PR team, and if he did, they didn’t do a very good job during this crisis. He issued a shallow apology, never took accountability, blamed everyone else, and even promoted his band a few days after the scandal. Of course, this didn’t sit well with the public. Instead of rebuilding his reputation, his way of handling it only showed more that he was self-centered and didn’t care about the lives he had negatively impacted from his affair. 

If Tom Sandoval were to hire me during the scandal, I would've had him handle it completely differently. Although I don’t think the public would have ever looked at Tom Sandoval the same after the scandal, I do think with the right PR tactics, he could’ve shown the public he does care, he is willing to change, and take the steps in the right direction to recovering from this. First, I would have had him make a real apology. The apology would show that he cares about what he did, directly and publicly apologizes to Ariana Madix, and addresses his future plans for personal growth. After publicly apologizing, I would advise him to delete all of social media for at least 3 months, allowing him the time to reflect and genuinely grow on his own. I think when people take the time off of social media after a scandal like this, it shows the public they do care and are working on recovery. I would also advise him to NOT promote his band. The quick shift from an apology to promoting his band on social media did not show authenticity and accountability, which is what the public wanted. Another thing I would've done is align his growth with a cause. He would often publicly discuss on the show after the scandal that his mental health was at an all time low. I think highlighting that, yes he messed up, but also that he is human and mental health is still important regardless of what he did. Perhaps volunteering, donating, and promoting an organization that focuses on mental health would've shown that he does take accountability and he is working for change. 

Today, Tom Sandoval is still hated by a majority of the world. I do believe if he were to pursue the right PR tactics, his reputation could've been seen in a more positive way today. PR has the ability to change the way the public sees someone or something and that is what is so important and powerful about the industry.