As Lizzo said, it’s about damn time!
If you somehow missed it Vanderpump Rules drama, disposal of Well done reality series were shocked last week when Ariana Madix broke up with her longtime boyfriend, Tom Sandovalafter she found out he cheated on her with her friends (and close friends) Rachel Lewis. How did he know about their seven month relationship? The 37-year-old saw an intimate video of the former pageant queen on her phone during one of her cover band shows. Ugh, horrible!
Since the news broke, many of his current and former teammates have spoken out about the situation. But there was one person who seemed to be silent during the past week: Sandoval’s best friend and business partner, Tom Schwartz. In fact, a former co-star Christian Doute called him out for sharing his “honest” thoughts behind closed doors but not standing up in public. He said:
“Tom Schwartz is the king, and he has to stand firm. Enough is enough. He just buries his head in the sand and thinks that things will go away and things will happen. It seems that he can be honest front with us in real time and texting, “I do not agree with this’ or ‘I really feel that way,’ but they don’t do anything.
Related: Scheana BLASTS Raquel For Trying To ‘Blame It Up’ With A Block Order!
Well, it looks like Schwartz caught on to Doute’s criticism for finally giving his thoughts on Scandoval! Talk to TMZ at the airport on Saturday, the 40-year-old revealed that Sandoval felt “very sad” about the situation:
“[Sandoval’s] OK, I thought. Relatively speaking. I mean, he has a deep sadness, right. I feel like a piece of s**t, and to some extent, maybe it is. But he knew he wasn’t happy. It’s all just so sad.”
As for Ariana, Schwartz expressed her concern for the author of the cocktail book – but noted that she has a lot of “support” around her:
“Luckily, Ariana has a great support system, and she’s with her friends. I’m not sure where she is. I hope she has a good life, just having fun. I hope she’s on the spree of life. I just hope this all ends , you know?”
We bet – especially because the whole debacle has been bad for business Schwartz & Sandy.
And thickening the scandalous plot, Schwartz was just taking heat for hooking up with Raquel in August last year – long before Sandoval’s relationship was exposed. Considering how close the bartender is, many fans believe Katie MaloneyHer ex-husband kept the relationship under wraps for months. In fact Lisa Vanderpump and Stassi Schroeder believe Schwartz should know about it! However, Sandoval shut down the rumors, claiming his friend “just knew about it.” Kristen even noted on her podcast earlier this week that she “found out last month” and “told Ariana before it blew up in her face and humiliated her.” However, viewers did not buy and ran with the theory that the kiss with Raquel was a cover-up!
So what does Schwartz have to say about this? Well, the Minnesota native wouldn’t confirm or deny rumors that he knew about Raquel and Sandoval’s scandalous relationship, teasing that everyone would “watch the show.” Considering that the camera is rolling to cover the consequences of the relationship, we ask the cast to be limited in what they can say at this time! But, they can’t give you a simple yes or no answer?! But Schwartz refuted the theory that he only kissed Raquel to preserve his relationship with Sandoval, saying:
“No, that’s not true. Unless I’m a pawn in that game.”
That would be pretty s****y if they used people. He then added:
“It’s f**king complicated. That’s the understatement of the year. I think Tom’s OK. Really, I’m just sad about the negative impact it has on our business, but I think cooler heads will prevail, and I’ll keep going.”
So there you have it, folks! As LVP previously mentioned in Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Schwartz “sits on the fence” and “tries to placate everything and play both sides.” And that’s exactly what he did with his first statement about the scandal. Classic, Schwartz. Reaction, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via Bravo/YouTube, MEGA/WENN, Raquel Leviss/Instagram]