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Tom Schwartz wants Vanderpump Rules viewers to know that he was not doing Tom Sandoval‘s dirty work amid his business partner’s months-long affair with Raquel Leviss.
While appearing on Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright‘s podcast on Wednesday, Schwartz admitted to feeling “resentful” towards Sandoval as he also opened up about the status of their friendship, his “Scandoval” regrets, and the revelation that is expected to be revealed on part three of the season 10 reunion.
“If I had to guess it would probably just be that [Sandoval and Raquel] never stopped hooking up [after their one-night stand] or maybe they hooked up even earlier than they first said they did,” Schwartz said on the June 7 episode of When Reality Hits With Jax and Brittany.
As Schwartz noted, he was led to believe that Sandoval’s initial hookup with Raquel, which he said “apparently” took place “in a car outside of Tom’s house,” was a one-time thing. However, months later, he suspects “it never stopped,” despite his own make-out with Raquel.
“Me and Raquel, we never had real chemistry. It was never going anywhere,” he insisted. “I was kinda a sad little sack of sh-t and it was like, I guess it was convenient. And had I known it would’ve [Katie Maloney] so much I would’ve never done that.”
“My knee-jerk reaction was to discount her feelings and minimize it because I was thinking from my perspective… Because I would be like, ‘Good for you, hell yeah!’” he added.
As for the moment he learned Sandoval was in love, Schwartz said that happened earlier this year.
“Around like, January, he came to me and told me he’s in love and it’s like, real deal. He’s 100 percent breaking up with Ariana. He’s already tried before but this is not just a fling. He’s in love,” Schwartz recalled.
While many think Schwartz knew that Sandoval and Raquel were hooking up for the entirety of their affair, Schwartz said it was not a “behind the scenes” secret. In fact, he doesn’t know exactly when he learned about what was going on between them.
“People think Tom Sandoval was coaching me on what to say, which could not be further from the truth,” he stated. “By the way, I threw out a random date… I did not mark this on my f-cking calendar. I have no idea when he told me but it was around, sometime in like late August-ish, sometime in the summer after the wedding.”
“It looks like my world revolves around Tom Sandoval… and Raquel, and it could not be further from the truth,” he continued. “I’m Tom Schwarz. I did not have an affair. This is not my life but I am an unfortunate confidant. It’s not my story to tell and no matter what they show on the show… no one’s gonna ever know that full story except for Tom Sandoval and Raquel.”
Because the cast is so against Sandoval and Raquel at the moment, with many saying they will never film with them again, Schwartz doesn’t know what will happen during season 11.
“We’ve been through so much f-cked up sh-t together… We’ve bonded. Maybe we’ve trauma bonded through all of this. And part of me thinks we’ll be able to work through this,” he admitted, again saying that he doesn’t agree with the mob mentality of fans.
“I get this is super f-cked up and people are disgusted by the whole thing but man, people online are scary sometimes. Holy sh-t,” he complained.
As for his regrets, Schwartz admitted to being overly nonchalant.
“I was so kind of nonchalant about this and I just accepted everything that Sandoval told me about it. Why would I not believe him, you know?” he explained. “And I wish I would’ve done more due diligence. Maybe I should’ve gave him an ultimatum … My biggest regret is just how nonchalant I was about it. It looks like I was a co-conspirator.”
Since their businesses, including Schwartz & Sandy’s, were impacted by the cheating scandal, Sandoval has “apologized to [Schwartz] a lot.” But still, the two men aren’t on great terms.
“He made a big mess and he left it for us to clean up back at the businesses and it’s hard for me not to be resentful. I’m taking a break from Tom right now. I haven’t seen him in a while,” Schwartz revealed.
“I really feel like he exploited me cuz I do love Tom and I took to heart everything he told me about Ariana and now that I’ve heard her side of the story… she has vehemently denied all of this stuff,” he added.
Part three of the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion airs tonight, June 7, at 9/8c on Bravo.