Ariana Madix has accused Tom Sandoval of trying to "manipulate a narrative".
The 37-year-old star split from Tom, 39, after it was revealed that he had a months-long affair with Raquel Leviss, and Ariana has now slammed her ex-boyfriend.
Asked why their split has attracted so much attention, Ariana told Glamour: "There are layers to it. The best-friend layer, the fact that [he] and I were together for so long and so many people, including myself, saw us as endgame.
"It’s the deception, the trying to manipulate a narrative, the fact that so many people have been through this themselves and they recognise parts of it."
Ariana was a "snooper" in her past relationships - but she made a conscious decision to change her ways when she started dating Tom.
As a result, the 'Vanderpump Rules' star never had any idea that Tom was cheating on her.
Asked how she felt when she found out, Ariana shared: "I think the shock prevents you from being sad immediately. It was like the air was sucked out of my lungs. It was shock, disbelief on some level, but then also anger."
In May, Ariana admitted to being "glad" that she found out about the affair.
During an appearance on the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast, Ariana explained: "The plan was to end the relationship without any sort of mention of an affair or cheating. Whether that was pre-reunion or not or pre-going to film Winter House or not. And then they would just start dating.
"The narrative that he was the victim in our relationship or [that] I just suck would have already been planted."
Ariana suggested that Tom's "plan" was ruined when news of his affair leaked.
She said: "If I had found out the way you all had planned ... I would have been just a cog in the machine of this whole narrative."
