Credit: Jen Lowery / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com, Shutterstock/Eugene Powers
Tom Schwartz claims it wasn’t Scheana Shay, but Tom Sandoval, who convinced him to kiss Raquel Leviss for the Vanderpump Rules cameras.
Just over a week after Sandoval’s alleged affair with Raquel was exposed, and amid claims of Schwartz being used as a “decoy” to the reported infidelity, an old interview has surfaced, in which Schwartz placed blame on Sandoval — and Sandoval admitted he was “stocked” about the hookup.
“I’m guilty by association,” Schwartz told ET Canada, as seen in a March 9 clip. “Oh my God. [Sandoval] made me do it. I didn’t want to do it. He’s like, ‘If you don’t do it, you’re a wussy’ … He steamrolled me.”
Although Sandoval didn’t like being blamed, he said it was a “fun” scene to film for the new season.
“I was stoked [about their on-camera kiss]. I thought it was fun,” Sandoval said. “They went behind this little greenery wall, and I went and cracked two beers and handed it to them.”
While Ariana Madix has remained silent in regard to her longtime partner‘s reported romance with their mutual friend, Raquel, an insider told Us Weekly in the latest issue of their magazine that her and Sandoval’s relationship “had been hanging by a thread” prior to their split.
“It became a companionship based on convenience rather than one built on love and romance,” the source alleged.
But that isn’t to say Ariana isn’t completely devastated by the betrayal. In fact, according to a report from TMZ on March 10, she’s steaming mad and nowhere near a place in which she’ll be able to accept Sandoval’s explanations about the matter. Instead, she has no interest in communicating with Sandoval at all and has been putting out a “screw you” vibe.
As Pump Rules fans will recall, Sandoval initially offered a statement of apology in which Ariana wasn’t even mentioned. Then, a week after the news broke, he finally released a message in which he admitted to making mistakes and being selfish.
“I made mistakes, I was selfish, and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly,” he wrote on Instagram. “I can only imagine how devastating this has been for Ariana and everyone around us. I feel really horrible about that. My biggest regret is that I dishonored Ariana. I never meant to disappoint so many people, including our loving families and friends.”
TMZ went on to share that Ariana is currently in Mexico for a friend’s wedding, to which Sandoval had also been invited but had to decline, prior to the scandal, due to a prior engagement.
While Ariana is well aware that she and Sandoval will have to hash things out eventually, especially since they share a home, doing so is not a priority for her at this time.
Vanderpump Rules season 10 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.