Ariana Madix embraces Scandoval on Dancing with the Stars, delivers fiery tango

Ariana Madix made her Dancing with the Stars debut, which was nothing short of impressive.

The Vanderpump Rules star was casting for DWTS hot on the heels of Scandoval — when her boyfriend of nine years, Tom Sandoval, was caught carrying on a months-long affair with one of her closest friends.

Now, Ariana is getting the last laugh as she tangoed herself to a Week 1 top score in a gorgeous red dress that looked a lot like the one she wore to the Vanderpump Rules reunion.

It was a revenge dress indeed, and we can imagine that Tom, who said he’d be watching and cheering for Ariana, felt some kind of way as his ex-girlfriend lit the ballroom up for the last dance of the night.

Ariana Madix’s first dance was all about revenge — and we all know that the best revenge is a life well lived — or, in her case, a dance well danced.

While Ariana’s goal in joining DWTS was to put Scandoval behind her, wearing a remake of her revenge dress while putting her literal best foot forward only has Vanderpump Rules fans talking about the affair that set everything off. The good news, though, is that Ariana is coming out on top of it all.

Before her dance, Ariana addressed what happened to her, saying, “My life has been a roller coaster in the last year. My partner of nine years and one of my best girlfriends were having an affair behind my back. And everybody got to watch it all play out and my life blow up on television. But this scandal does not define me.”

Ariana Madix danced to Love Myself (Riddler Remix) by Hailee Steinfeld

Ariana Madix and her DWTS pro partner, Pasha Pashkov, both wore red for a dance that started, very fittingly, in front of a bar.

The song choice was perfect for Ariana, considering all she’s been through this year. The pair tangoed to Love Myself (Riddler Remix) by Hailee Steinfeld, and, as the last dance of the night, they really showed out.

As hearts burned in the background and on the dance floor, Ariana and Pasha twirled and spun their way into viewers’ hearts in the best dance of the evening.

The judges loved Ariana and Pasha’s dance, but viewers loved it more

Ariana and Pasha set the bar high for Season 32 with their fiery tango. The judges, Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli, gave them 21 out of 30 for their first score — the second-highest score of the night, with only Charity Lawson doing one point better.

While the judges may have loved what they saw, viewers loved it more, with one commenter giving high praise to the DWTS wardrobe team. They tweeted, “P.s. someone please give the #DWTS wardrobe team a raise for this one [clappy and fire emojis] ICONIC look for Ariana Madix’s ballroom debut.”

P.s. someone please give the #DWTS wardrobe team a raise for this one 👏🏻 ICONIC look for Ariana Madix’s ballroom debut🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/3zyv4t9h95

— Desiree Murphy 🦋 (@desireemurphy_) September 27, 2023

Another wrote, “I LOVE that Ariana made her revenge dress from the reunion into her costume for her first dance.”

I LOVE that Ariana made her revenge dress from the reunion into her costume for her first dance 💀💀🤣🤣 #PumpRules #DWTS pic.twitter.com/MSdSOiJNDx

— Erin Roby (@erin_roby) September 27, 2023

It looks like we all know how Tom Sandoval was feeling, watching his ex-girlfriend get revenge on the dance floor. One viewer tweeted, “Sandoval watching Ariana killin it while wearing a replica of her revenge dress.”

Sandoval watching Ariana killin it while wearing a replica of her revenge dress:#DWTS #PumpRules pic.twitter.com/w60BFnOiey

— Marie Cervantes (@9woodMac) September 27, 2023

We can’t wait to see how Ariana and Pasha top their first dance when the show returns next week.

Dancing with the Stars airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.