Why Did Tom Sandoval Cancel His Lawsuit Against Ariana Madix?

The mess known as Scandoval continues to hold its grip on Vanderpump Rules fans.

The controversy — which stemmed from Tom Sandoval cheating on his girlfriend of 10 years, Ariana Madix, with their mutual friend and co-star Rachel (formerly Raquel) Leviss — definitely brought buzz back to the long-running Bravo series. But the fallout has been ongoing ... and going ... and going ...

So what's going on now? You may have heard that Tom was suing Ariana. But apparently there's more to this story, and Tom took to Instagram to straighten a few things out.

Here's a quick rundown on the sitch.

If you'll recall from the Scandoval archives, Ariana reportedly first discovered Tom's affair when she was holding onto his phone for safekeeping (after he'd dropped it) while he performed with his band on stage, only for her to see an explicit video of Rachel on his phone. This, according to Tom's lawsuit, was an "invasion of privacy."

As expected, the internet went wild after learning the news. Meanwhile, Ariana's attorney released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter calling out Tom's continued attempts to "torment" his client, from his affair to the "months of emotional warfare" to these "frivolous claims."

"Mr. Sandoval knows full well what sort of privileges he and Ms. Madix shared in regard to their personal communication devices. If he or his mistress had their way, it would be illegal for someone to discover their spouse or significant other was having an affair," her attorney also said.

Well, fast-forward a couple of days after this news broke, and Tom took to his Instagram page to release his own statement about the whole matter ... this time insisting, "In no way am I suing Ariana Madix." He claimed that his lawyer had assured him that this cross-complaint was "customary," but that the actual terms were "not articulated" to him, and that he should have "done more of my due diligence." He said he was removing that lawyer from his team and that the action against Ariana was being withdrawn.

Tom also said that he hopes "Ariana and I can both FINALLY move on with our lives." Well, considering the legal mess that Scandoval has created, that might take a while. For a breakdown on said legal mess, check out our more in-depth story here.