Tom Sandoval has opened up publicly, at least kinda sorta, saying he couldn't handle the whole cheating thing better, but at the same time, he gives himself some wiggle room by talking about the clarity of hindsight.
Tom was outside Pop Music Studios in the San Fernando Valley Monday night when a photog asked if he had regrets about cheating on Ariana with Raquel. He says he does, but also says, "Hindsight's always 20/20, man."
As for why he's taking so much heat, given it's not the first-ever cheating scandal on "Vanderpump Rules," Tom passes it off this way ... "I just think it was really unexpected."
He says he regrets cheating, but the fact is ... he's still with Raquel. We got photos of Tom and Raquel out after the explosive reunion show. They were chowing down at Musso and Frank in Hollywood and looked very much like a couple.
TMZ broke the story of details from the yet-to-be-aired reunion show, in which things got so heated Andy Cohen had to step in between 2 cast members to avert a physical fight.
There has been financial fallout. Tom acknowledges, his restaurants have taken a hit since the scandal broke.