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Tom Schwartz isn’t proud of how he handled Tom Sandoval‘s affair with Raquel Leviss.
Months after it was revealed that Sandoval had cheated on Ariana Madix for months — and that Schwartz knew about the secret romance — the Vanderpump Rules star is sharing his downfall while also looking back at his time on Stars on Mars and sharing how the FOX series gave him a newfound perspective on life.
“I heard a soft pitch for it, and they had me at Mars,” Schwartz said of the series during a June 17 interview with Rolling Stone. “I was looking for an escape. I know you have to be wary of escapism, but there were a lot of things going on in my life, things were slightly chaotic.”
Before Schwartz ventured to Coober Pedy, a small town in Australia for filming, he had been faced with not only Sandoval’s affair but also a divorce from former partner Katie Maloney and a number of family issues, including his brother’s cancer diagnosis and his father’s near-fatal blood clots — all while trying to open his and Sandoval’s bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s.
“For me, it was a welcome retreat,” he said of Stars on Mars. “I’ve been looking to get out of my little bubble that I’ve been in. We all have problems and this past year-and-a-half to two years, I happen to have had a lot of them all at once. You know, when it rains it pours. So it was a nice little sabbatical.”
As he continues to face backlash for keeping Sandoval and Raquel’s affair under wraps, Schwartz hopes fans aren’t getting the wrong idea about him.
“I hope I don’t seem overly self-indulgent or neurotic because I’m not that guy. It’s just the past few years really got me,” he explained. “It was a combination of so many things happening.”
Luckily, traveling around the world to appear on Stars on Mars offered a much-needed break that Schwartz described as “bliss.”
“I was able to step outside of my little bubble and be like, ‘You know what? I’m so grateful. I’m so lucky for all the opportunities I’ve been given and everything I’ve got to experience thus far in life,” Schwartz stated. “And I have so many great friends and family and I’m full of love and gratitude.”
Looking back at the months since “Scandoval” broke in March, Schwartz said he feels like his life has “become mired in someone else’s life.”
“It’s been strange. Scandoval swept the nation and, you know, I don’t mean to sound insensitive because there was human cost and these are my friends, but it just was like, [being in Australia] I could step outside myself looking at it,” he noted. “It was just a very strange experience.”
In addition to limiting his use of his phone during his trip, Schwartz said he took in all his castmates had to offer.
“It’s cool to wake up and the first thing you hear is, ‘Morning Tommy,’ from Lance Armstrong, you’re getting life coaching from Richard Sherman, roasted by Marshawn Lynch, Adam Rippon giving me love, I was getting life lessons from [Tallulah Willis],” he shared. “Any self-help or motivational book or podcast or whatever will always talk about surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you, more successful than you. As far as on Mars, that’s what I did. I was surrounded by greatness and it’s contagious.”
Although Schwartz greatly enjoyed his time on the show, he admitted there was one thing he didn’t like: “The worst part of being in this business is having to watch yourself on TV.”
“I love myself until I see myself on television and hear my nasally voice and my gangly walk,” Schwartz confessed. “It is painful to watch myself, but everything else about it, I love.”
Once he returned back to Los Angeles, Schwartz found himself with a shifted outlook.
“I felt like I was a little lighter on my feet when I got back here. My worries of the day all of a sudden didn’t seem so worrisome,” Schwartz revealed. “I felt like when I came back I recalibrated and I reset my mind, body, and soul. I just felt like myself again.”
Since then, Schwartz has been spending tons of time at Schwartz & Sandy’s as the bar gets back to normal post-“Scandoval,” during which the venue was targeted with vandalism and negative Yelp reviews.
“There’ve been trials and tribulations,” he shared. “We were so far behind getting the place open but it was a labor of love and we have such an awesome team.”
As for what he’s not proud of amid “Scandoval,” Schwartz admitted he didn’t respond in the best way.
“It goes without saying: I didn’t even have to say this verbatim to Tom [Sandoval], but I’ve just been taking a little break, am focusing on myself and, you know, I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my life,” Schwartz said. “I gotta be honest, I’m not super proud of the way I responded to adversity for the past year and a half. I think I floundered a little bit.”
Moving forward, Schwartz said his experience on Stars on Mars “better equipped” him to handle future challenges.
“I just feel a little bit more confident and optimistic going into it,” he explained. “It’s easier said than done depending on your circumstances, kids, and finances, but if you can just take a little break from whatever you’re going through and go to another country, another city, or give yourself a little breather, it does wonders for the soul.”
Vanderpump Rules season 11 is expected to begin filming sometime later this month.