Tom Schwartz is moving forward on his own amid the fallout from #Scandoval.
On Monday’s episode of Stars on Mars, the 40-year-old Vanderpump Rules star revealed he is stepping back from his friendship with business partner Tom Sandoval after his “incredibly messed up” affair with Raquel Leviss.
“It seems each time I try to weigh in or talk about, ramble on about it, drivel on, I inevitably sound like I’m somehow justifying it or making excuses for it, and I’m not,” Schwartz shared. “There’s just no excuse for it.”
“Any sort of version of his side of the story has become obsolete because of the way he handled it. Ultimately, that’s his life. That is his life,” he added. “I did not have an affair. I am not him. It’s just so strange that I’ve been absolutely mired in this. It’s taken on almost a life of its own.”
“I’m done with it permanently.” #PumpRules pic.twitter.com/y0bshKioOw
— BravoBabe (@thebravobabe_) June 11, 2023
Schwartz concluded that he is now “stepping away from it permanently.”
During the episode, the reality star also opened up to his costar Natasha Leggero about the “torrid affair” between Sandoval and Leviss, adding, “It’s horrible and I feel complicit.”
After Sandoval’s ex Ariana Madix recently said Schwartz “actively participated in my downfall” by hiding the affair, he shared his own side of the story.
“I didn’t cover for him, but I had his back,” he explained. “He came to me, confided in me that he was in love with someone else.”
“My friend had an affair that just happened to swipe the nation and it’s incredibly messed up but the thing is I’ve become mired in it,” he added. “That’s been a huge source of just angst in my life. I’ve been in this extended funk.”
On PodcastOne’s When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany last week, the TomTom bar co-owner revealed that he was “taking a break” from Sandoval.
“He made a big mess. And then you know, he left it for us to clean up back at the businesses,” he told hosts Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright. “And it’s hard for me not to be resentful of him.”
The television personality added that he feels Sandoval “exploited me because, you know, I do love Tom and I took to heart everything he told me” about Madix, who he said “vehemently” denied her ex’s version of their split as per outlet.
Schwartz added that his friend needs to “lose the ego,” adding, “he needs a change of heart, humility and to say ‘I’m sorry’ — not ‘I’m sorry, but…” (Both Sandoval and Leviss issued public apologies to Madix on Instagram back in March when news of the affair broke.)
Last month, Madix, 37, called out Schwartz during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen when host Andy Cohen asked if Madix thought Schwartz was “covering” for her then-boyfriend’s affair with Leviss.
“I don’t think it was covering,” Madix replied. “I think it was actively participating in my downfall.”
Vanderpump Rules can be streamed on Peacock.
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