Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo
Tom Schwartz answered a bevy of questions about “Scandoval” during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday night.
Before targeting fans’ “vitriol,” explaining why he’s more upset with Tom Sandoval than Raquel Leviss, and sharing his thoughts on their future, the Vanderpump Rules star revealed why he didn’t tell Ariana Madix about their affair and confirmed when he found out about the romance.
“[Sandoval] did a good job of placating me and also, I’m consumed with my own life, my own problems and he told me he has a game plan, he’s going to do the right thing, and then he just kinda continued to procrastinate,” Schwartz explained of why he didn’t tell Ariana on the April 5 episode of WWHL. “I [was] being fed a narrative that he has broken up with Ariana or attempted to multiple times, many, many times, and he’s not happy. They’re not healthy. They’re not intimate.”
Although Jax Taylor suggested Schwartz had only recently learned about Sandoval and Raquel’s relationship, Schwartz admitted to host Andy Cohen that he actually learned that Sandoval had cheated with Raquel in August 2022.
“I learned in August, in late August, about the affair, the one night stand, allegedly, and no, I was not acting as a decoy,” he stated. “The one-night stand was in August. But it was like a crisis. Tom was having like a midlife crisis.”
“I only know what I was told. The one night stand was in August and then it became, from my point of view, became like an emotional affair, which is still inappropriate, but I didn’t think it was a linear thing,” he continued.
Then, in January, Schwartz learned more about what was going on between Sandoval and Raquel.
“Tom came to me [and said] he’s in love with Raquel,” Schwartz recalled. “I was flabbergasted but not surprised because … it was [kind of] an open secret. After that, Tom kind of got flagrant. He was brazen after he told me that he was in love. It was like a release for him.”
While Schwartz could’ve gone to Ariana with the information, he thought Sandoval would eventually come clean.
“He was gonna sit [Ariana] down, he was gonna tell her the whole thing — well his version of the whole thing, probably a highly edited version — he had a plan,” Schwartz shared.
As for how Ariana feels about him today, Schwartz said he believes she’s “completely indifferent.”
“I still love her. I’m here if she ever needs me and I’ll respectively reach out sporadically,” he revealed.
According to Schwartz, he isn’t trying to evoke sympathy for Sandoval but feels that some fans have gone too far.
“He knows what he did is disgusting. He literally could not have handled that affair in any worse possible way. I understand the vitriol. I get it. But the vigilantism is getting a little out of control,” he told Andy. “I just want to remind people, to take a breath, he knows what he did is terrible, so does Raquel. The threats, the mob mentality, is getting a little out of control.”
Schwartz then explained that during a recent visit to St. Louis, Sandoval was met with unruly fans.
“People were taking pictures and threatening to pour beers on him and apparently some people yelled at him ‘Cheater!’” he shared.
And while Schwartz confirmed he’s “mad at Raquel,” he said most of his wrath is aimed at Sandoval.
“I’m more upset with Sandoval because he took advantage of my kindness and he put a lot of people, not just myself, in very compromising situations where our integrity is at stake,” Schwartz stated. “Honestly, he became obsessed. He’s notorious for having one single obsession. Maybe it was the sidecar… That’s his heroin. He’s addicted. It’s an infatuation of all infatuations. Raquel is Tom’s heroin. He got lost in the sauce.”
Later, on the WWHL: After Show, Schwartz revealed if he believes Sandoval and Raquel’s romance will last.
“I think it will be a miracle if they make it,” he admitted. “I know they care so much about each other, but even in the short time they’ve been in love … It’s become toxic and I don’t know if it’s sustainable … And then you add in the entire nation thinking you guys are scumbags.”
“I think it’s too much but we’ll see if love prevails,” he added.
Vanderpump Rules season 10 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.