A long time coming? Ahead of their split, Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney weren’t always “seeing eye-to-eye” when it came to their relationship.
“They tried for a long time to make it work but the truth is they’ve been struggling as a couple these past few months,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly about the duo, noting that they “got into a lot of arguments” before pulling the plug on their marriage.
Vanderpump Rules viewers originally met Schwartz, 39, and Maloney, 35, when the reality series premiered in 2013. The pair’s ups and downs continued to be documented as they got engaged two years later. They had two weddings during their time on the show — a 2016 event in California and a Las Vegas ceremony in 2019 due to past paperwork issues.
Earlier this week, the twosome took to social media to share separate statements announcing their breakup after 12 years together.
“I never thought I would have to make an announcement like this. But I feel it’s important that I’m open about my life with you,” the Utah native wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, March 15. “After 12 years on an adventure through our life together, Tom and I are ending our marriage. This ending is not met with resentment or animosity, no sides to choose. We have deep admiration for one another that will always remain and cherish our friendship.”
Schwartz, for his part, noted how difficult it was to “capture 12 years of love in a f–king canned Instagram caption” in his own post. “Well this sucks,” he wrote alongside several photos of him and Maloney over the years. “I’m not the victim. Not gonna write too sad a song. Fully respect Katie’s decision and we’ve had healthy, productive conversations about it. It would be far sadder if she decided to stay with me whilst not happy.”
According to a second source, the former SUR employees chose to “end their relationship amicably” but Maloney “really wanted for it to be over.”
“Katie realized how unhappy she is and Tom really wanted it to last between them. He worked really hard to make it work but the issues continued,” the insider said. Another source added, “They’re both sad about the breakup. People tend to grow apart after spending years together and that’s what happened.”
Ahead of their split, the former couple previously addressed how their home life differed from what fans saw on screen.
“I just want to say, I feel like the misconceptions of our relationship is that we are like, Tom’s deeply unhappy and I’m a miserable shrew of a wife,” Maloney said on a February 2021 episode of her “You Are Going to Love Me” podcast. “I mean, we don’t hide our fights. We have, you’ve seen on the show like pretty intense, horrific fights that, you know, suck. But, we’ve always been willing and able to like, live our relationship out loud. So you, you do see like the worst of the worst, but that’s not like the constant daily for us.”
At the time, Schwartz admitted that he wasn’t always sure about his future with Maloney. “There were points in our relationship. Which always kills me to say, which I didn’t think we were going to make it, you know?” he said. “But you know, there were points in the relationship where I was reluctant and unsure about our future as we’ve talked about many times, but, you know, right now, I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
With reporting by Diana Cooper and Travis Cronin
