Tom Sandoval Details First Kiss with Raquel, Says He Broke Up with Ariana on Valentine's Day

Appearing on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast Tuesday, the "Vanderpump Rules" star went into detail on what allegedly went down between him and Raquel Leviss ... and what was going on in his relationship with Ariana Madix when the two started hooking up.

He first claimed that he and Ariana had been basically living separate lives in recent months, saying that over the span of their nine-year relationship they had come to act more like "best friends, family and sometimes roommates." He said the two were "lacking" when it came to intimacy and even said they would travel alone more often than together for events like wedding.

"That was sort of discussed, but it kind of went unsaid. Our communication was not great. I feel like that's a fault on both of us," he said, before claiming the two had both been dealing with anxiety and depression over the past year and had two very different ways of handling it. Sandoval added that with his 40th birthday approaching, he started "to feel trapped," before realizing he was in a "really bleak" situation and needed to "make a change to feel alive again, to feel motivated."

Saying he was in a "very dark place" in his life and "yearning for a connection," Sandoval noted that he and Raquel started to become "really, really good friends." Though he claims he tried to push Tom Schwartz to date Raquel, his business partner wasn't into it ... and, eventually, Sandoval and Leviss kissed.

The first kissed happened sometime after the guys' night seen on the show's most recent season, but before Scheana Shay's wedding, he said. Sandoval added the two were in his backyard, by a firepit when it happened, after he found himself locked out of the house.

"We kissed. It was like magnetic. We were talking, moving closer. And then all of a sudden we're like kissing," he said. "I felt something that I hadn't felt in so long. Like, emotionally."

"After Raquel and I kissed and I felt this way, I got my ass into therapy immediately to try to figure out what the hell I'm gonna do because the feelings were very, very strong," he continued. "Those feelings that I had started to kind of take over. Logic, all that s--- went out the window."

Sandoval agreed with Schwartz saying Raquel was like a drug to him, saying the two would FaceTime and talk all the time, all while realizing it was a "very unhealthy" situation. "It made us both obsessive over trying to see each other and stuff," he continued, before revealing how he felt when Schwartz then kissed Leviss in Mexico while the cast was there for Scheana's wedding.

Saying his costar had no idea about his own lip-lock with Leviss when they kissed in Cancun, Sandoval said Schwartz and Raquel only made out because they had already "been crucified like they were in a full blown relationship by Katie and Lala." He explained, "If you're gonna treat us like we're in a relationship ... it was more like a rebellious thing" -- before admitting that, yes, he was "a little jealous" when he found out it happened.

"I was not questioning our connection and I was more proud of them for saying, 'F--- you,'" he said. Sandoval also said Schwartz later told him he had "no intention" of pursuing Raquel further, which is when Sandoval then told the other Tom about his own moment with Leviss.

He went on to claim that while he and Raquel did their best to resist each other, he also convinced Madix to go into couple's therapy with him. During those sessions, he said, he "started to slowly plant the seed" about breaking up with her, telling her first that he was "having doubts" before bringing up hypothetical questions like wondering how she would react if they did split.

"She had heard things and seen things about Raquel but was very much turning a blind eye -- or trusting me I guess," he continued, saying that he and Leviss were seeing each other "as often" as they possibly could. Sandoval said that even though he was FaceTiming Leviss "all the time," Madix never realized "because that's how separate our lives were." He added, "I had to tell her, 'Have you not noticed how distant I've been lately?' And she's like, 'Oh, you have?' She didn't even notice, that's how our relationship was, we had separate lives."

"So when I said hypothetically if we broke up, she basically was like, well, [I'm] definitely not going to the reunion, I'm quitting the show, f--- the sandwich shop, we're selling the house and deleting all social media and I'm moving away," he then claimed.

Sandoval said he did actually break up with Ariana on Valentine's Day, explaining it was never a holiday they put much stock in when the Mandels laughed about his timing. He claimed he told her they could keep it a secret and not post anything until they could "figure out a way to navigate this" in a way that "helps us both out." Tom said she was "very upset" and "punched" him, before going into denial.

"She's like, 'I'm, like, not letting you leave me. You're gonna have to force me out of this relationship,'" he claimed. "I didn't know what to do. She was completely in denial and not accepting it."

He said the day Ariana found out about Raquel, the alleged exes "weren't in a relationship," weren't being physical with one another and "nothing was happening," period. Sandoval claimed Madix was still "trying to convince me not to be broken up" and even said that before the concert where she discovered the illicit messages between him and Raquel she asked him about "getting [his] sperm checked to fertilize my eggs."

"It really scared me," he said, before unloading a bit on Ariana for allegedly not wanting to show their relationship woes on the reality show.

"You haven't had to deal with any real drama on the show for years. Then s--- hits the fan with you and then you quit? You quit the show? That's not fair. I even said that to her in therapy," he continued. "Tom and Katie went through a divorce, James and Raquel went through a breakup on the reunion, but we break up and you're like, 'I quit.'"

Acknowledging "nothing is excusable for what I did" and saying he "f---ed up" and "definitely deserved" some of the hate coming his way, Sandoval said the only person he owes any sort of explanation to is Madix. "On camera, off camera, if Ariana wants to know any details, I'll fully go into that. She's the only one who deserves that," he said.

When asked where things stand with Leviss now, he simply said, "We're really good friends, we're not putting any label on it. We're also taking a break." After Howie joked they were "friends with benefits," Sandoval added, "Not right now."

As for his future on the show, he said the scandal "obviously shot our ratings way up" and said "it's not gonna be easy to go back or film" if he sticks with it. However, he added he's not contractually obligated to return.

"Vanderpump Rules" airs Wednesdays on Bravo.