Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo
Tom Schwartz appeared on Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright‘s podcast last week, where he finally had some stern words for his longtime friend and business partner Tom Sandoval about his sordid affair with Raquel Leviss.
While also addressing his time on Stars on Mars, offering updates on rumored girlfriend Jo Wenberg and ex-wife Katie Maloney, and explaining why he’s encouraged Sandoval to “marry” Raquel, the Vanderpump Rules cast mate shared how Schwartz & Sandy’s has been doing and demanded Sandoval “drop the ego.”
“I really kinda hit it off with everybody, Ronda Rousey, Tanashe, Ariel Winter… It was so fun, and I’m grateful I got to do it,” Schwartz said of appearing on Stars on Mars on the June 7 episode of When Reality Hits With Jax and Brittany. “I went up there to just reset my mind, and I accomplished that. It was awesome. It was so fun.”
As Pump Rules fans may know, Schwartz had a tough 2022 as he was faced with one brother’s cancer diagnosis, another’s stint in rehab, and other family issues — in addition to his divorce from Katie.
“I still love her, respectfully, not like in love with her… We’re cordial, but she’s so busy opening her sandwich shop, which looks f-cking awesome, so props to props to [Ariana Madix] and Katie. But it’s not like we’re BFFs,” Schwartz said of his former spouse. “We’re not going out and getting dinner… That was one thing that made me really sad. We were together for 12 years. Getting the divorce, even though it was amicable, it’s f-cking stressful.”
And when it comes to dating, Schwartz shot down the idea that he’s in a secret relationship with Jo.
“I’m not dating anyone. I don’t have a secret girlfriend that lives with me. I’m single and not ready to mingle,” he declared. “I think [Jo]’s hilarious, beautiful, talented, Jo’s the sh-t. I just don’t want a girlfriend. I just got out of a 12-year relationship.”
Schwartz is also focused on his bar, which has gotten tons of backlash since Sandoval and Raquel’s affair was uncovered back in March. And, as he continues to spend time at the venue, he’s learned the major issue that his guests have with Sandoval.
“One thing I’ve gleaned from a lot of patrons and people who like the show is, first of all, yeah, they’re repulsed and disgusted by this whole thing. It’s vile. It’s indefensible but one thing they always say is they’re like, ‘From our point of view, it doesn’t seem like he has remorse… and Raquel too. And it further exacerbates the situation,” he shared.
Luckily, that hasn’t stopped fans from flocking to the bar.
“This weekend was absolutely slamming,” he revealed. “I gotta shout out to my partners, Brett and Greg, they’ve had to deal with a lot of f-cking harassment because of this. People are calling in and stuff. If they think Tom Sandoval is ever going to hear these voicemails they leave, he doesn’t hear any of it. Our employees have to deal with that.”
As for TomTom, Schwartz said it is doing “great” before confirming he and Sandoval sold a percentage of his stake in the restaurant to put towards Schwartz & Sandy’s.
“We took out a small percentage just to help us get to the finish line, but we’re still involved,” he confirmed of the two of them.
As fans continue to wonder if Sandoval and Raquel are still together, Schwartz confessed to being unsure as he also said he encouraged Sandoval to marry their co-star at the reunion.
“That was the last thing I said to him before we left the reunion,” he revealed. “I was like, ‘Dude, after all this sh-t that you put me through and everyone else around you through, you better marry this f-cking girl.’ And I’m happy to report that I have no idea.”
With Raquel continuing her mental health treatment at an undisclosed facility, Sandoval has been touring the country with his band, Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras, which Schwartz said he’s “happy” about.
“I’m happy for him. I know he’s very passionate about the band,” he noted.
But that said, Schwartz admitted Sandoval often looks as if “he just doesn’t give a f-ck” as he lives “out his rockstar dreams” after blowing up the life of his former girlfriend, Ariana.
“He’s gotta drop the ego,” Schwartz stated.
Also, on Jax and Brittany’s podcast, Schwartz said that while he wasn’t trying to evoke sympathy, he felt fans should know what he was going through in 2022 so they understand he wasn’t fully present to process the correct steps to take after learning of Sandoval and Raquel’s relationship.
“Maybe I was self-involved by necessity. Opening a bar is intense, and when you couple that with what Tom Sandoval, the narrative that he had told me, he sold me a sh-t bill of goods,” Schwartz stated. “Ariana’s story’s completely different. He was telling me that he had been trying to break up with her over the course of many months … His version of the story is that she treats him like sh-t, she belittles him, they have no intimacy, and that they’re more or less roommates.”
Schwartz went on to slam Sandoval for putting the blame on Ariana for his “vile” actions.
“It’s really F-ed up when people try to shift the blame in a situation like this. To imply, ‘You should have known. All the signs were there,’ That’s vile,” he admitted.
Vanderpump Rules season 11 is expected to begin filming sometime later this month.