Tom Sandoval's Assistant Is The Real Hero Of Vanderpump Rules Season 11

The queen bee of Vanderpump Rules Season 11 is not Ariana Madix, even though she emerged victorious after her ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval’s cheating scandal, complete with brand deals galore and a Broadway role. Instead, many fans agree that Sandoval’s (former) assistant, Ann Maddox, is the true MVP of the season.

Maddox (no relation to Madix) worked for Sandoval for three years, starting in December 2020, but had never appeared on camera before this season. But after Scandoval erupted, Madix initiated a no-contact policy between herself and Sandoval while they still lived in their shared Valley Village home, forcing Maddox to become their go-between.

As a result, viewers see Maddox making several awkward requests on behalf of Sandoval, reporting Madix’s responses back to her boss, and awkwardly tracking their whereabouts so they don’t run into each other — always with a smile on her face. And she still had to keep up with her usual assistant duties, like cleaning up after his pool parties (which Madix remarked should not be part of her job).

Her glowing disposition during Scandoval has garnered sympathy and admiration among Bravo fans and fellow Pump Rules stars, who think she deserved better. Maddox is not allowed to openly agree or disagree after signing a strict nondisclosure agreement, which is why she’s only conducting interviews via email. But as she tells Bustle, working for Sandoval gave her an unexpected jump-start.

Getting The Job

Maddox started out as a production assistant and transcriber for reality TV companies. But like most former Survers, she had acting aspirations and started booking commercials. As a result, she started working odd jobs that gave her more time to go to auditions, like nannying, babysitting, pet sitting, and eventually, becoming a personal assistant.

Working with Sandoval was Maddox’s first time assisting a celebrity. Prior to that, she worked as an assistant for the owner of an online spelling bee competition and a “really great” stop-motion animator. She also helped an unidentified “executive producer,” who she states was “not nice and always angry, and that’s me being polite.”

“They slammed keyboards on the desk, called me stupid more often than I could stomach, and would not let me go to the bathroom, which led to me getting my period all over my pants and having to tie a sweatshirt around my waist,” she recalls. “It was the junior high walk of shame all over again!”

Maddox was working as a server at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre before the pandemic caused the venue’s workers to lose their jobs. “I posted on Facebook that I was looking for a job, and a mutual friend of Ariana’s responded,” she says. “One phone interview later, I was hired!”

Scandoval Changed Everything

At the time, Maddox was not well-versed in the Bravosphere but thought it “sounded like fun assisting a reality TV star that was famous for their wild antics.” Over the next two years, she grew to love the show, which is why Scandoval was just as devastating for her as it was for all longtime fans, causing a personal moral dilemma about her job.

“When Scandoval happened, I was crushed,” she says. “I kept my job for as long as I could, but I’m a sensitive lady. The emotional toll started getting pretty heavy. My father had also passed away eight months prior to Scandoval. Stacking grief on top of the chaos at work, I felt like I had no relief. But I also really enjoyed working in this niche world. I didn’t know if I should leave or stay.”

Maddox seemed to have found the perfect solution in a preview for the March 26 episode, when Madix asked her if she knew anyone who would be interested in a potential assistant job and she volunteered herself. “Working for Tom, I really got to know Ariana, and she’s really great,” Maddox says. “We also have similar senses of humor and ethics, so I always enjoyed our chat sessions at work.”

Ann’s “Pretty Fantastic” Next Steps

Maddox stopped working for Sandoval just before Season 11 premiered, spawning rumors that she had indeed become Madix’s assistant. While the circumstances around her departure remain a mystery, it may not have been by choice.

“What if I told you... I actually did not resign?” Maddox teases.

Madix recently clarified on Watch What Happens Live that she didn’t have an assistant, but there would be further “developments” this season. Maddox confirmed as much to Bustle, saying she’s currently working “a 9-to-5 temp job” as she waits for a “pretty fantastic” position to open up.

While it’s unknown how she left things with Sandoval, things are looking up for Maddox, who’s taking advantage of her Pump Rules notoriety by launching the We Signed an NDA podcast about “assistant life in Hollywood” and opening a Cameo page “on a stoned whim.” But don’t expect her to spill the tea on her experiences with Sandoval, due to her NDA.

“Do you have a good lawyer?” she asks. “Because otherwise, I’ll probably have to carry these stories to the grave!”