I got kind of excited yesterday when I watched Ariana Madix’s Instagram story and she was outside her house with moving boxes and a U-Haul. I thought she was finally getting away from her shared home with ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval, months after his affair with Raquel Leviss was revealed. She captioned the post “ready to dip out,” clearly a dig at Tom’s lie about Raquel’s sleepover and Raquel’s recent dumping of Tom, but it turns out the moving pics were most likely a staged sponcon. Later in the day, Ariana posted that she was “moving up, not out” yet and she was getting her “financial house in order.”

She may be moving on, but she’s not moving out — yet.

Even though we got pictures of Ariana Madix seemingly leaving her shared home with Tom Sandoval, she may have been using the interest in her living arrangement to dupe fans and make a quick buck.

“I’m moving up, not out,” she said in an ad on her Instagram Story. “Well not yet at least. It’s time to get my financial house in order. I will have more to share with you very very soon.”

Although Madix didn’t mention any brand by name, she was seemingly in cahoots with SoFi — a personal finance company — as she was wearing a sweatshirt with their logo.

On Monday, the “Vanderpump Rules” star was photographed packing various boxes — noticeably labeled “finances” — and luggage into a U-Haul truck.

Madix, who recruited some of her friends for the elaborate ruse, was even seen moving into a new home roughly 15 minutes away, where she was met by the U-Haul.

On top of that, an insider told Page Six that she was “relieved to get out of that house” and “ready to begin a new chapter.”

Earlier that day, Madix also posted a video of herself standing in front of a bunch of boxes, captioned “ready to dip out 😉.”

Reps for Madix didn’t immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.

Last week, the 37-year-old admitted she was planning on moving out of the $2 million home, where she and her ex-boyfriend had been cohabitating ever since their split in March.

“My plan is to sell the house,” she said on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” noting that the exes “do not interact on any level.”

“I want my money out of that house as quickly as possible,” she added. “And I want to move on.”

[From Page Six]

I mean, the very neat cardboard boxes, the SoFi sweatshirt, and how good she looked while “moving” should have been a big clue for me. But I was just excited she was getting away from him! Still sharing the house and only speaking through intermediaries seems rather torturous. The ruse was a bit silly — packing the U-Haul and driving it to a house 15 minutes away — but Ariana has to do what she has to do to get paid and out of that house. She said she wants to get her money out and buy something on her own — L.A. real estate is expensive so she probably needs the extra cash from deals like this one so she can get something comparable on her own. And personal finance and financial literacy for women is very important — many women find themselves in dire straits financially after a breakup so this is a good partnership. A little cheesy, but I still think it was a fine move for Ariana.

In less fine moves, the Internet is aflutter with the theory that Tom Sandoval has a new girlfriend after Raquel Leviss dipped out. He was spotted around Texas with a local influencer named Karlee Hale. She has since deleted her accounts. Hm, is she embarrassed? Tom says they’re just friends who were hanging out while he was in Texas performing with his band. I’m going to sound like a f-ckboi here, but people are too quick to slap a label on things and I don’t think Tom is lying. I don’t think she’s his girlfriend; they’re probably just hooking up or friends with benefits. I could only find one picture of Karlee and she doesn’t look like Ariana, but she’s sort of the same “type.” Someone probably feels regret for blowing up his life.

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Photos credit: Backgrid and via Instagram/Ariana Madix