Tom Sandoval's Assistant Ann Opens Up About Setting Aside Her "Personal Feelings and Ethics" (EXCLUSIVE)

Apparently, the only thing worse than being caught in the middle of bickering parents during a divorce is being the assistant of one reality star being ping-ponged back and forth between them and the reality star's ex. At least, that's the case for Tom Sandoval's assistant, Ann Maddox, on and off Vanderpump Rules. And she shared exclusive details with Distractify about what it has been like in the middle of two people who are also in the middle of tons of drama.

Ann appears in Season 11 as her first time on the Bravo series. And every scene where she is forced to be part of Tom and Ariana Madix's uncomfortable breakup is, well, uncomfortable — for her and for viewers. After the "Scandoval" cheating scandal, Tom is on the outs with the majority of the cast during Season 11, and now, Ann has the deal with the breakup too, since she is the go-between person with him and Ariana. And it's a lot.

Ann was Tom's assistant long before Scandoval. However, her work likely got a lot harder once Tom made the decision to set Season 10 of the Bravo series on fire. According to Ann's LinkedIn profile, she started working as an assistant for Tom Sandoval Inc. in 2020. Her profile doesn't say she no longer works for Tom, but there are rumors that she quit her job as his assistant. When we asked her about it, she had to remain coy, but promised that "all may be revealed" on Vanderpump Rules.

Ann also shared that being the messenger for Ariana and Tom opened up and helped her face previous issues from her parents' divorce.

"Being the go-between can get tense when there is a disagreement," she admitted. "It stirred up some residual emotions from my parents' divorce, which can be tough to juggle at work."

Being close to Tom and Ariana well before Scandoval also meant navigating murky waters for her.

"When you’re a personal assistant, you become very close to your boss and their family," Ann told us. "You might cultivate a tighter bond than you would at an average 9-to-5. But when your boss becomes involved in a ginormous scandal such as Scandoval, it can be tricky setting aside your personal feelings and ethics, and supporting your boss’s needs while being professional."

Other than now being known as Tom's assistant, Ann co-hosts a podcast called We Signed An NDA. She hosts the podcast with Amanda Lifford from Viall Files. Together, they dive into "Hollywood celeb life, but from the point of view of assistants."

"We dive into VPR and the world of Bravo naturally, but we also interview different assistants and behind the scenes staff to compare our battle wounds with each other," Ann shared with us.

During Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules, Ann is devoted to helping Tom communicate with Ariana, while also being around the house for what appears to be his every need. But it appears to have been a bit much for the professional assistant to handle, because according to Tom Schwartz, Ann resigned in January 2024.

When Schwartz and Sandoval appeared on The Viall Files podcast in late January 2024, Schwartz spilled the alleged tea. He shared that "she resigned" shortly before he and Sandoval appeared on the podcast. Ann hasn't confirmed her resignation, and like we said, she teased that viewers may see developments about it on the show.

And either way, Ann does seem plenty busy with her podcast. On it, she sometimes drops little hints about where she stands within the Vanderpump world now.

Watch Vanderpump Rules on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.