Breakups

Raquel Leviss had an awkward first encounter with Tom Sandoval's mom, who knew all about their secret affair ... and we're told the meeting wasn't even supposed to go down.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Raquel took another trip to St. Louis -- Tom's hometown -- in January, following her first outing the month before. They were at a bar with his friends when the place abruptly had to close due to an ice storm warning in the area.

The group decided to take shelter at Tom's mom's house, which was nearby ... making it the first time Raquel had ever met her -- and yes, his mom Terri knew all about their affair.

We're told Terri wasn't cool with their situation but was cordial during the quick exchange. Tom didn't introduce Raquel as his GF, despite the fact Terri already knew.

The group ended up spending the night ... and Tom and Raquel ended up in the same room.

TMZ broke the story, Raquel made her first St. Louis trek at the end of December, with Tom giving her a tour of the city ... but we were told his family had no interest in meeting her, especially knowing what was going on behind the scenes.

The wife of Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds is officially divorcing him ... after the estranged couple announced their separation last year.

According to court records, Dan's wife Aja Volkman filed Tuesday in L.A., pulling the plug on a marriage that lasted over a decade. They have four kids together.

As we reported, the soon-to-be exes called it quits in September, and a couple months later Dan was linked to his new GF Minka Kelly.

We've seen them on a handful of dates since then -- from grabbing dinner to holding hands on a walk to some lunchtime PDA.

Dan's been in pretty good spirits since his split from Aja ... and not only because of Minka. We recently saw him dancing up a storm on a cruise to Mexico last month.

Things between Ariana Madix and her Coachella boo are lookin' like more than just a festival hookup ... because nothing screams "serious" quite like taking someone to the airport.

Ariana was spotted once again with Daniel Wai Monday after their fun in the Indio sun ... and, again, they were making out -- curbside at LAX -- before he headed inside to jet off.

The pics, at least, make it seem like Ariana is really into this guy.

Setting aside the super-public PDA, Ariana drove him through infamous L.A. traffic to one of the busiest airports on the west coast -- talk about commitment!!!

As we reported, the "Vanderpump Rules" star was in full rebound mode over the weekend ... video obtained by TMZ showed Ari and the fitness coach lockin' lips pretty passionately while dancing the night away.

While some speculated this could've just been a fling, the LAX trip might be a sign it's a lot more legit ... 'cause gas ain't cheap!

Taylor Swift looks to have herself a new attitude when it comes to hitting the town -- ever since we found out she's single, she's going out in public way more and looking super happy.

T. Swift was out again in New York City Monday evening, flashing a smile as she headed out for dinner at a SoHo restaurant.

Interestingly, Taylor made no effort to avoid photogs while looking confident in a brown short sleeve top, jeans and boots (gotta be an Easter egg in there somewhere).

It's Taylor's second straight Monday night out in the Big Apple ... last week, she was in the West Village, breaking bread with pal and longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff and his fiancée, actress Margaret Qualley.

Taylor being photographed in public twice in 8 days is pretty rare air for her, and a clear change since the split from Joe Alwyn.

Fact is, even before Joe, Taylor was never one of those celebs who frequents hot spot restaurants or clubs -- so it feels like this is a deliberate change of course.

Taylor going back to NYC between concert dates is worth noting too -- when she was there last week, she hit up the Electric Lady recording studio.

Braxton Berrios is taking post-breakup hotness to new heights (not that he didn't look amazing before) -- the newly signed Miami Dolphins receiver posted several shirtless pics in the gym, and ................ damn!

As we previously reported, the 27-year-old pro out of the University of Miami recently split from his girlfriend, Sophia Culpo, sister of Olivia. It's unclear who initiated the breakup but it'd probably not be too wild an assumption to think the model and social media star is missing those chiseled abs just a little.

A lot of Braxton's followers -- including some of his famous friends -- had fun with him in the comments. Golf star Justin Thomas comments, "Have a carb man"

Berrios responded... "Haven’t had one since 04’" 😂

New Fins teammate, QB Mike White also chimed in ... "Photoshopped"

Now, BB will be back in beautiful Miami, the city where he played his college ball ... and something tells us he won't have any trouble finding a new lady in his life.

Raquel Leviss is getting treatment at a mental health facility on the heels of her affair with Tom Sandoval going public.

TMZ has confirmed the "Vanderpump Rules" star recently checked herself in.

ET, who was the first to report the story, says Raquel made the decision with her family to seek treatment. What's interesting is ... she reportedly made that decision before the so-called "Scandoval" became a thing.

A source claims she had planned to start the treatment before the reunion taping last month, but decided to officially wrap up the season before going. It's unclear what kind of treatment she's getting, but a rep for Raquel tells TMZ ... "she isn't there for rehab, but rather mental health and trauma therapy."

TMZ broke the story ... Raquel and Tom were together behind Ariana Madix's back for quite some time, but it all came to the surface last month when Ariana found sexual texts exchanged between the duo.

Since then Tom and Raquel have been dragged through the mud, in public, and at the taping for the 'VR' reunion ... and as we reported, things were so tense things almost got physical between some cast members.

We've also learned Raquel spent time with Tom in his hometown around the holidays -- while he was still dating Ariana, which is why his family didn't want to meet her.

Taylor Swift made a subtle change at her concert Thursday night in Tampa -- well, face it, nothing's subtle with the Swifties -- and it seems to revolve around her breakup.

Taylor uses a song when she goes offstage and eventually reappears with the next "era" of her work. The transition song up until this concert was "Everything Has Changed," which is about a happy relationship. At the Tampa concert, however, the transition was "Holy Ground," a song looking back wistfully on a failed relationship.

If that's not enough to make you think she's referring to her breakup with Joe Alwyn, she opened her show with this -- "Is it just me or do we have a lot of things to catch up on?"

Taylor's set list remained the same, but she did make interesting references ... for example, "I've been thinking a lot about one of my albums recently. One of my albums has been on my mind a lot ... lots going on in my brain about it."

At one point Taylor flexed her bicep and gave her arm a kiss ... a pretty clear indication she's still standing strong.

Taylor had a slight wardrobe malfunction at one point when her garter fell off during a song. Her singers came to the rescue.

Taylor's fans generally pick up on every little Easter egg, but we're thinking they missed a series of clues for weeks ... clues that she broke up with Joe. It seems she wanted it front and center for her tour, and when fans didn't pick up what she was puttin' down, someone leaked the breakup news.

Meanwhile, Taylor's hit up Electric Lady recording studio in NYC ... so she's up to something!

Ne-Yo says Taylor Swift has all the inspiration to write her next hit song now that she's broken up with her longtime boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.

We got the "So Sick" singer at LAX and asked him about the silver linings to all the emotions involved in a romantic split ... and Ne-Yo told us some of his best songs are directly tied to heartache.

Ne-Yo says Taylor won't have to suffer through the breakup as much as a regular person ... because talented songwriters like them can take bad energy and turn it into something positive ... like hit records.

As Swifties already know, Taylor's got tons of songs about Joe and past breakups ... and Ne-Yo predicts she's gonna use this split for more tracks.

Amanda Bynes was having relationship problems the week before she was found roaming the streets naked ... her ex-fiancé says they broke up ahead of her mental breakdown.

Paul Michael tells TMZ ... two weeks before Amanda's breakdown, she had disappeared for 3 days and finally came home with another guy. They argued, she said she didn't care about him anymore and they ended the relationship. Paul packed up his things and left their home.

Paul says he was shocked at her disappearance and behavior, because up to that point, she seemed stable ... focusing on her nail care business and seemingly happy.

He thinks something happened to her and whatever it was happened quickly, because when she returned home with the guy Amanda seemed like a different person. A little more than a week later, Amanda was in desperate shape.

TMZ broke the story ... Amanda was walking near Downtown L.A. March 19 without any clothes. She waved a car down and told the driver she was coming down from a psychotic episode. Amanda borrowed the driver's phone and called 911 herself. She was placed on a psychiatric hold for 3 and a half weeks.

Paul says he hasn't spoken with Amanda since he left their home.

Lala Kent says she had a feeling something was going on between Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss before their affair devastated Ariana Madix ... with her suspicions dating back to the summer.

We got the "Vanderpump Rules" star at LAX Tuesday and asked about Tom bringing Raquel to his hometown back in December, when he was still dating Ariana.

Lala says the affair, which we first reported in March, was a shock to folks outside the reality TV show cast ... but she says she and Katie Maloney felt "something was off" months before Raquel visited Tom in St. Louis.

While Lala had her suspicions during the summer, she says Ariana didn't know Tom was cheating on her until March, when she was absolutely gutted.

The signs were there all along ... Tom and Raquel were rocking matching necklaces back in October, and she kept popping up at his shows and his restaurant, hanging out with him without their other cast members around.

Tom Sandoval is opening up about his affair with Raquel Leviss in a slightly unhinged interview with Howie Mandel -- one where he, apparently, decided on the fly to remove his signature mustache.

The "Vanderpump Rules" star talked about the 'Scandoval' on Tuesday's episode of the "Howie Mandel Does Stuff" podcast ... claiming he's been learning a lot from the experience of cheating on his longtime GF Ariana Madix.

He said there was "no thrill" in it for him, just an anxiety-filled ride. Tom also revealed the first time he kissed Raquel was before she kissed his business partner, Tom Schwartz ... and claims he called things off with Ariana on Valentine's Day.

Tom goes on to complain about being so recognizable, which is when Howie offers to get rid of the stache. We're not saying it was planned, but for some reason, Tom had all the tools with him to get it done.

This is where it gets a little odd -- Tom's moment of vulnerability turns into a DIY trim ... switching from razor to scissors, then to a different razor before his upper lip is bare.

There is one funny moment when Howie's trim job gets a little too, umm ... Adolf-ish for Tom's liking.

As we reported, Tom was rocking out Friday with his band The Most Extras -- it was the debut of his 'stache-less face.

Taylor Swift clearly has a major hold on her fan base, 'cause the pants she wore on her first public single-girl outing have already sold out ... with some fans already looking into a deeper meaning behind her fashion choice.

Taylor wore a pair of "Butterfly-patch Cropped Jeans" from a brand called Area out in NYC Monday night. The pants, which come complete with a bedazzled butterfly on the leg and retail for $673, were still available online early Tuesday morning. However, Swifites were quick to track down the item, causing the pants to sell out from multiple retailers in a few hours.

Like just about everything Taylor does, her fans even hunted for clues in the singer's fashion choice -- believing the butterfly may symbolize rebirth and starting over.

As we reported, Swift wasn't alone for her night out in NYC's West Village, joined by pal Jack Antonoff and his fiancée, actress Margaret Qualley.

It's been less than a week since news broke about Taylor's relationship with Joe Alwyn coming to an end after 6 years together -- and the public outing in NYC was certainly a rare one -- only time will tell if Taylor's deciding to come out of her cocoon a little bit more.

Before the world even knew Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval were a thing, he was comfortable enough to bring her home -- making the bold decision to bring her around his friends and family -- an offer his loved ones shut down ... TMZ has learned.

Check out the photo, obtained by TMZ, showing Tom and Raquel posing in front of the Apotheosis of Saint Louis in his hometown on December 29. We're told the two spent time together there ... Tom even brought her to hang out with some of his closest friends.

Our sources say Tom's family knew Raquel was with him in town, but had no interest in meeting her. We're told they thought it was inappropriate for him to bring another girl home while he was still with Ariana -- and they didn't support his seemingly new, secret relationship with Raquel.

As for his friends, our sources say Tom told them he was trying to break things off with Ariana right before the trip, and they were going to therapy together.

After the hometown visit, the two drove to Chicago for one of Tom's shows, but Raquel didn't attend out of fear she'd get recognized.

TMZ broke the story ... Tom and Raquel have continued to be an item even after the two were both roasted on the "Vanderpump Rules" reunion show. In fact, they grabbed dinner together at Musso and Frank Grill just hours after taping wrapped.

Turns out, the two were a serious thing wayyy earlier than anyone could've thought ... and the timeline just continues to get a whole lot messier.

We covered all the drama in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

There's nothing like a familiar face for Taylor Swift in the wake of her split from Joe Alwyn ... as she's getting by with a little help from her pal and longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff.

T. Swift hit NYC's West Village Monday night for a bite at Via Carota, and, apparently, has no issues being the third wheel ... now that she's single. She dined with Jack and his fiancée, actress Margaret Qualley.

The timing of the trio's night out for some Italian is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, Taylor's hardly looking super sad -- at least on the outside -- which might support the theory her breakup from Joe didn't go down all that recently.

Secondly, freshly heartbroken folks rarely wanna hang out with freshly in love couples ... like Jack and Margaret, for instance. They got engaged last May after about a year of dating -- so, again, we'd guess Taylor wouldn't be in the mood to catch up on Margaret and Jack's wedding plans ... IF she and Joe had just broken up.

As we reported, news of Taylor and Joe's demise, after 6 years of dating, leaked over the weekend, but they hadn't been seen together in public in a long time -- and some fans noticed he hadn't been at any of her Eras Tour shows either.

So far, neither is saying exactly when they split ... or who called things off.

Of course, TS and singer/songwriter Jack have worked together for years ... he's co-written or co-produced several dozen of Taylor's tracks. Who knows, maybe they hashed out her next great breakup song while breaking bruschetta!

Taylor Swift's music is seeing a huge spike amid news of her breakup with Joe Alwyn -- but the interest is focused on specific tracks, with a specific muse in mind ... take a guess.

The numbers are in -- as aggregated by TS stan SpotifySwiftie -- and it looks like several songs from TayTay's past few albums have seen massive streaming increases in the past 48 hours ... but, perhaps unsurprisingly, they're all tunes rumored to be about her now-ex.

The songs in question span her last 5 projects -- which cover the time frame that she's been with Joe -- and they range in percentages ... from as low a boost as 23% to as high as 106%, and everything in between. There are 11 tracks we're talking about here, BTW.

'King of My Heart' from her album 'Reputation' and 'happiness' from 'evermore,' for example touch the low end of the totem pole (at 23% increases each) ... whereas other songs like 'Sweet Nothing' ('Midnights') and 'the 1' ('folkore') are at 30% and 39%, respectively.

Other songs, however, have even more plays ... cuts like 'New Year's Day' ('Reputation'), 'peace' ('folklore') and 'Daylight' ('Lover') have jumped 40%/48%/58% in streaming stats.

The song of hers that has the largest upswing is 'Cornelia Street' ('Lover') at 106%. Some of the telltale lyrics in there that allude to Joe include this line ... "And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends // I'd never walk Cornelia Street again // That's the kind of heartbreak time could never mend." It's been reported they shared a home on this NYC street, for real.

Funny enough ... there's actually viral video of New York-based Swifties leaving flowers at the rumored house they used to live in -- mourning the fact that Joe and Taylor are dunzo.

The news of Taylor Swift's split from longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn breaking during a pause in her tour might not be sheer coincidence ... according to marketing guru Brittany Hodak.

Brittany, who's an admitted Swiftee, joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" for a closer look at the timing of Taylor's breakup going public -- and, as an expert on Taylor's marketing brilliance, she suspects the singer is, in a way, manipulating the media.

For starters, Brittany says Taylor has always been meticulous about managing news cycles ... so it's quite interesting for the split to "leak" to the public smack in the middle of a 13-day break in her Eras Tour.

Brittany says the timing of it all suggests Taylor wanted the story to break so she would be back in the news during that break in the action ... shifting attention and momentum back to her tour when she would, otherwise, be off the radar.

As we reported ... Taylor's last-minute song change in her setlist is also getting picked apart. She removed "Invisible String," a song about soulmates, and inserted "The 1," a track reminiscing on a former relationship.

The timing of Taylor and Joe's breakup is unclear, and Brittany speculates the split might have happened weeks or even months ago ... and the song swap could have been intended as a hint to fans.

Don't get it twisted, Brittany isn't suggesting Taylor would time a breakup for a marketing opportunity ... but she thinks there's at least a decent chance she was waiting to see if news of the split came out during the tour.