Love's Price Tag: When Supporting Your Partner Becomes a Financial Battle

When Tom Sandoval opened his home to ex-girlfriend Victoria Lee Robinson and her father Will Robinson in October 2024, it seemed like a generous gesture. What followed was over a year and a half of financial entanglement—and now, conflicting stories about who paid for what.

According to sources close to Tom Sandoval, he covered virtually all household expenses during the time Victoria, Will, and their four cats lived with him. Neither Victoria nor Will was working at the time, and Tom allegedly footed the bill for everything plus two storage units for Victoria’s belongings. His supporters claim her only meaningful financial contribution came after she received a settlement, when she paid a few months of rent on a new place while Tom worked to sell his Valley Village home.

But Victoria’s camp tells a very different story. Sources close to her adamantly dispute that version, insisting she spent substantial amounts of money during their time together and is upset about how much she personally contributed. The disagreement over finances has become just one piece of a messier puzzle—one involving police calls, arrests, and restraining orders.

The situation escalated dramatically earlier this month. Victoria was arrested after Tom alleged she assaulted him. Video footage also captured Will Robinson shoving Tom before Tom pushed back, apparently causing Will to fall into a lit fire pit. Police responded twice over the weekend while Victoria was moving out of the home. Tom was granted temporary restraining orders against both Victoria and Will, forcing them to leave. Will’s own request for a restraining order against Tom was initially denied pending a later hearing.

What started as an act of kindness—or so the narrative goes—has devolved into a cautionary tale about mixing personal relationships with money. When households collapse, so do the stories people tell about them. The version Tom’s team is selling looks nothing like the one Victoria’s supporters are defending. Somewhere between those two accounts lies whatever actually happened. What we know for certain is this: financial support in relationships is rarely as simple as the person paying the bills remembers it to be.