Tom Sandoval Claims Ariana Madix Was 'in Denial' About Split, Told Him: 'I'm Not Letting You Leave Me'

The Vanderpump Rules star said his ex Ariana Madix was "not accepting" their split prior to news of his hookup with Raquel Leviss going public

Tom Sandoval is opening up about the end of his relationship with longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix amid news of his affair with Vanderpump Rules costar Raquel Leviss.

On the latest episode of Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast, Sandoval claimed that he split from Madix two weeks before his affair with Leviss was made public.

"I had already broken up with her two weeks earlier," he told host Howie Mandel. "And I told her, I said, 'Listen, we don't have to post anything on social media. Let's talk through this. Like, I understand.'"

"We were on hold for like, a big job too, for mixology, like, together," he added. "[I said,] 'We can keep this between us — like we've always kept stuff between us — and figure out a way to navigate this that helps us both out [and] makes it easier."

Related:Tom Sandoval Says 'I Still Love Ariana' Despite Affair with Raquel Leviss That Ended 9-Year Relationship

Sandoval recalled how she was allegedly "very upset" when he suggested ending their relationship, noting, "She freaking punched me and all this s—, but after she calmed down, we started talking."

PEOPLE has reached out to Madix's rep for comment on Sandoval's claims, and a source close to Madix disputes Sandoval's account, saying "they were fully together" when the news first broke.

During the conversation, Sandoval remembered realizing that Madix was in denial over their breakup, and him feeling unsure about how to move forward.

"A couple days later, I sit down and talk with her again, and she's like, 'I'm not letting you leave me. You're going to have to force me out of this relationship,'" he said. "And I was like, 'Ariana, I don't think I could be faithful in a relationship with you right now.' I was saying all of these things. I hadn't told her about Raquel yet."

The TomTom co-owner added: "She was like, 'If you break up with me, you will effectively be ending my life.' ... I didn't know what to do. She was completely in denial and not accepting it."

Related:Tom Schwartz Says He's Not Going to Abandon Tom Sandoval amid Scandal: 'He Knows He's a Monster'

The reality star revealed there was an emotional distance between the pair and she was reluctant to accept his apologies during their relationship.

"She doesn't like when you do something wrong and you apologize, she thinks it means nothing because if you do it again then it's like you're not even really sorry," he shared.

Sandoval claimed that Madix would "never apologize ever," adding, "She doesn't give up in any kind of argument."

When asked if he planned to break up with Madix after the reunion, he adamantly denied it, saying, "That was absolutely not my plan."

"My plan was actually to break up with her in therapy and I had basically slowly sort of talked to her about it," he shared, noting that there was a shift in demeanor at the time.

"Ariana like, fully 180-ed, into this like, beautiful — not saying 180-ed — but became so accepting of me, like so much less judgmental," he recalled.

Sandoval also alleged that Madix had asked him about fertilizing her eggs for embryos after their relationship ended, sharing, "She was trying to, like, convince me not to be broken up… she asked me that day as we were leaving about, like — because we had talked about fertilizing eggs, which I never did."

He added: "She was like, 'So what do you think about doing a sperm check to fertilize my eggs?' And I'm like, 'What? We're broken up.'"

RELATED VIDEO: Vanderpump Rules: Ariana Madix Confronts 'Stranger' Tom Sandoval After Split and Says She Wants Him 'to Die'

PEOPLE confirmed the end of Sandoval and Madix's nine-year relationship in March. At the time, a source said the pair "had been having problems for a while" but his months-long affair with Leviss was "the final straw" for Madix.

"She put up with a lot over the years, but she won't sit back and be disrespected this way," the insider added.

Related:Tom Schwartz Says Tom Sandoval Told Him He Was 'in Love' with Raquel Leviss in January: 'She's His Heroin'

Both Sandoval and Leviss issued public apologies to Madix, who posted her own statement on Instagram on March 16.

"i want to express my most sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support i have received from friends, family, and people i've never even met," she wrote. "when i have felt like i couldn't even stand, you all have given me the strength to continue and seen me through my darkest hours. to say i have been devastated and broken is an understatement."

Noting that she was still "reeling from this betrayal on so many levels," she added an implied warning: "what doesn't kill me better run."

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Vanderpump Rules airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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