After years of touting their close brother-sister bond, Ariana Madix and younger brother Jeremy Madix are reportedly on the outs.
Fans of the Vanderpump Rules star began speculating the reason behind the sibling rift last month after Jeremy was spotted hanging out with Ariana’s ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval, despite being one of the first people to come to his sister’s defense after it was revealed last year that Sandoval had been carrying on a months-long affair with Rachel Leviss behind Ariana’s back.
Jeremy revealed to Us Weekly last week that he and Ariana haven’t spoken in months, and while he appears to be running in the same social circle as Sandoval as of late, Jeremy recently told the outlet that it has nothing to do with why he and his sister aren’t currently speaking.
“Why I haven’t been talking to my sister and Scandoval are two totally separate things,” he said last week. “I just want to clarify that I haven’t talked to my sister due to me having to stand up for my fiancée.”
Jeremy popped the question to his girlfriend Rachael on Sunday at Jax Taylor’s bar, Jax’s Studio City, with Jax, Brittany Cartwright, Scheana Shay and others in attendance.
Later that night, Scheana even posted a video to her Instagram Story of the newly-engaged couple celebrating over a bottle of champagne.
While his relationship with Rachael seems to be supported by a number of current and former ‘Vanderpump Rules’ stars, Jeremy claims Ariana hasn’t been as welcoming to her future sister-in-law.
“There’s been some small micro-aggressive gestures toward my fiancée and that’s what’s led to me not talking to my sister,” he told Us Weekly. “It’s been going on for quite some time. I think that we’ve just been kind of letting it pass, because, of course, I’m always going to have my sister’s back. But I was put in a position where I choose my sister, or do I choose the person I’m going to spend the rest of my life with?”
Jeremy didn’t elaborate on the alleged “micro-aggressive gestures” Ariana has made toward Rachael, but did say that he feels “no one can really put their finger on why” there is a disconnect between the two ladies.
“Ariana is a sweet, kind girl,” he said. “I love her so much. So it’s not always in your face all the time. It’s just little slight things that maybe not everyone would notice.”
Jeremy claimed last month that he last reached out to his sister in December–- presumably via text.
“I reached out to her in December basically just saying, ‘I love you so much. I would love to talk to you soon,'” Jeremy told the magazine, adding that Ariana never opened or responded to his message.
Still, he said he’s hopeful that the two of them can get back to a better place.
“I haven’t heard from her and I would love to hear from her when she can,” he said. “I know she’s super busy and I’m extremely supportive of everything that she’s doing and everything that she’s accomplished, but I miss her and I would love to hear from her.
“That’s my sister, she changed my diapers,” he continued. “She loves me very much. She’s always kind of seen herself as my protector, and I would say most certainly we could get to a point of being closer. That’s kind of what I’m yearning for.”
Jeremy admitted that neither he nor Ariana are “very good about communicating” their feelings, insisting this is why the two “need to just have a raw, organic talk.”
He does not, however, have any desire to try to mend fences with Tom Sandoval, although Jeremy says he would like to speak to Tom.
“I don’t think that me and Tom could ever be friends again and be where we were. I’ll always have my sister’s back,” Jeremy said. “But obviously there’s things that I would like to call Tom out on. He did something very grotesque to me and my family, and I think that that deserves a conversation.”
Ariana has yet to publicly respond to her brother’s comments.
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(Photos: Instagram; Bravo)
“micro-aggressive gestures”
That’s where he lost me.