Ariana Madix Returns to New York After Selling $3.1 Million Los Angeles Home
Reality TV star Ariana Madix may have spent the summer hosting “Love Island USA” in a lavish villa in Fiji, but now the host is packing her bags for New York City—months after finally cutting ties with the $3.1 million Los Angeles home she shared with her ex and former “Vanderpump Rules” co-star, Tom Sandoval.
Madix, 41, who got her start on Bravo in 2013, is headed back to Broadway. She’ll star as music legend Connie Francis in a limited engagement of the musical “Just in Time” from Sept. 12 to Nov. 22.
“It’s a pinch-me moment to be able to come home to the Broadway stage, and all I could have ever hoped for,” the Emmy-nominated host enthused in a statement obtained by Deadline.
“I am beyond excited to work with the legends behind ‘Just in Time’ and to entertain audiences at one of my favorite theaters in the city!”
The venue Madix is referring to is Circle in the Square Theatre, located in the heart of New York City’s Theater District. The space was recently home to a production of “Romeo and Juliet,” which featured original indie-rock music by Jack Antonoff.
In an appearance on “The Tonight Show,” the actress further explained to host Jimmy Fallon the sentimental tie she already holds to her new role.
“I’m so thrilled,” she said. “I’ve been listening to Connie Francis music since I was a kid. It’s the kind of songs my dad would play on the piano and stuff, so I’m thrilled to come into the show.”
The TV personality made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in “Chicago” in January 2024, and returned for an encore run later that summer. But castings aside, Madix is no stranger to the Big Apple.
Born and raised in Melbourne, FL, Madix moved to New York after college to pursue a sketch comedy career. She became a bartender at famed Midtown Manhattan spot Butter, before eventually moving to L.A. and making her way onto the cast of “Vanderpump Rules.”
“Some parts of it are like riding a bike … taking the train and walking everywhere, things like that,” Madix told Extra of her first return to the Big Apple in 2023.
“I was like, ‘OK, I remember how to do this.’ And then other things are just … it’s a different city than when I lived here before, because I was here pre-Instagram, pre-iPhone, pre-social media. It is very different in a lot of ways, but I think that’s just, you know, the world at large.”
Madix has personal ties to the city, as well. Boyfriend Daniel Wai, whom she’s been linked to since 2023, resides in the Big Apple full time, which means the couple navigate a long-distance romance but get to spend additional time together when the star’s professional endeavors take her to the East Coast.
Although the city that never sleeps has plenty to offer Madix, she doubled down on her L.A. lifestyle with the $1.6 million purchase of a Hollywood Hills home in March 2024, following her split with Sandoval. The move keeps her close to Something About Her, the West Hollywood sandwich shop she opened with former “Vanderpump Rules” co-star Katie Maloney in 2024.
At the time of the sale of Madix’s new three-bedroom abode, the exes were still at odds over what to do with the 4,400-square-foot Valley Village home they purchased together for $2.08 million in 2019. While Sandoval wanted to remain in the home, purchasing Madix’s share, she hoped to split the proceeds in a forced sale.
Madix filed a complaint against her former lover in January 2024, in which she asked a judge for a “partition by sale,” meaning the court would sell the property and split the proceeds between the two owners.
Sandoval responded to the litigation by alleging that Madix failed to “state sufficient facts to state a cause of action” against him, adding that he didn’t believe a portion of the home should be given.
When the news of the lawsuit broke, Madix told People she was ready to move on, with reports at the time claiming that both she and Sandoval were continuing to reside in the five-bathroom, 5.5-bathroom property, even after their acrimonious split.
“I own the house. I felt like it was the last thing, and I’m just really motivated to be able to get my investment that I made into the house out so that I can make another investment and be able to fully move on from being tied to that,” she said.
“I want things a certain way when I think it’s the right time. So I’m ready. I want to own my home.”
Eventually, after a yearslong legal battle, the former couple reached a settlement on the property—and agreed to put it on the market. But before that could happen, it came under offer, according to listing agent Ashley Fultz of DMF Realty, who disclosed on Instagram that a buyer had come forward to offer the full ask before it could hit the market.
“We’ve been keeping a secret! We had this beautiful home in Valley Village that we were prepping for market and before we could post about it or list it, we got it under contract for full-price off-market,” she wrote. “All contingencies were removed and we’ll be closing this bittersweet chapter in a few weeks!”
Records show that Sandoval and Madix ended up making a very impressive profit on the home, which sold for $3.1 million on May 11—more than $1 million more than they had bought it for.
And while Madix’s new home doesn’t offer quite as much space as the property she shared with Sandoval, it has plenty of impressive features of its own, including a “tranquil” primary bedroom retreat, “iconic views,” and “a meticulously landscaped backyard,” according to its listing.
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