Tom Sandoval BEFORE Scandoval Inquiry

I am on my first watch - currently on Season 8, Lala just had her panic attack in Mexico where she needed to be pet by all of her friends (by the way, has it ever been confirmed that they're all on Molly/Ex during this scene?? Because....what). I'm obviously new-ish to this series and these people but I'm wondering, what were people's opinions on Tom Sandoval BEFORE Scandoval hit? He has a lot of character and personality - whether you vibe with it or not - and makes for pretty good TV. My boyfriend thinks he's hilarious (in a laughing AT him way, not with him) but I think he's mostly a self centered twerp that has very sparse glimmers of being an actually good person...the way he stands up for his friends and holds down on what he thinks is right is admirable, I will give him that.

Ariana seems to currently be a fan favorite - was she always this way, or did it sprout from pity or redemption arc after things went down? Did her being with Tom give him some brownie points for fans that he wouldn't have gotten otherwise? I ask because he is spoken about in the current day with so much vitriol (deservedly) but where I'm at in the show rn, he's just a genuinely cringey and silly guy so I'm wondering how others perceived him at this point and prior.