Okay, so I’m in the middle of a Vanderpump Rules rewatch and I think I’ve finally figured out exactly when Sandoval shifts — and it’s way more specific than I expected.
The Season 8 finale happens. Then COVID hits. The reunion is just awkward Zoom boxes, no real energy, no real accountability. Life pauses.
Then we jump to Season 9, two years later — and everything feels different.
Half the cast has babies. People have moved on, grown up, recalibrated. And then Sandoval shows up with that wormy facial hair and a completely different vibe. And this is where, in my opinion, he turns weird.
Those two years between Seasons 8 and 9 feel like a psychological turning point. This is when the whole “let’s do shrooms and stare at the stars” energy really kicks in. He’s more spaced out. More performative. More convinced he’s unlocked some elevated level of coolness the rest of the cast just doesn’t understand.
He starts:
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Talking back to Lisa more openly
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Belittling Schwartz (and Katie) more noticeably
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Acting like he’s the most interesting man in California
This is post-TomTom, post-cocktail book with Ariana
, and right in the middle of the second bar rollout with all that “it’s gonna look like your grandpa did acid” nonsense. You can almost watch his ego inflate episode by episode
What really stands out is how self-important he becomes. He’s no longer the scrappy bartender with ambition — he’s acting like a misunderstood creative genius surrounded by people who just don’t “get it.”
To me, Season 9 is where it becomes clear: either Sandoval is slowly losing the nice-guy version of himself… or the mask is slipping and this is who he’s been all along.
That gap between Seasons 8 and 9?
That’s where the shift happens.
Curious if anyone else clocked this — or if I’m late to the party
