Vanderpump Rules star Tom Schwartz used humor to shed more light into his relationship status with Jo Wenberg.
During the Tuesday, February 20, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Schwartz, 41, was asked why he initially denied dating Wenberg after calling their connection a “whirlwind romance” on Tuesday’s episode of VPR.
“There were maybe mixed signals there a little bit. We had a lightning in a bottle situation for a while there,” Schwartz explained to Andy Cohen. “I don’t know if it was sustainable given my mental state of being. I don’t know if I was equipped to be in a conventional relationship.”
Schwartz joked he “should have been committed” instead of seeking out a girlfriend, adding, “I was in a very weird place like I have never experienced in my entire life. I’ll shut up now.”
Wenberg, a former friend of VPR alum Kristen Doute, made her official debut on Tuesday’s episode of the Bravo hit after being mentioned off screen. Viewers got a glimpse at Schwartz’s dynamic with Wenberg as she spent time with him and Tom Sandoval.
“Jo is a human being — Jo is a light in my life,” Schwartz gushed. “I want to clear things up. Jo was never living with me. Was she staying with me sporadically? Yes. She’s not my girlfriend, she never was. We had a whirlwind romance but we are just buds now.”
Schwartz went on to tell Wenberg that his friends thought she was his “secret roommate” too, noting, “I mean we did spend a lot of time together last summer so I get the optics of it.”
In response, Wenberg pointed out that she and Schwartz “still” hang out often. The pair previously sparked romance rumors following Schwartz’s divorce from Katie Maloney.
“Jo is a badass hairstylist. I think she’s a beautiful soul,” he exclusively told Us Weekly during an interview in February 2023. “We’re not living together and we’re not dating either, but she’s just someone who I appreciate on a deep level and she’s a really cool human being, and we’re just hanging out.”
At the time, Schwartz admitted he wasn’t ready for a serious relationship. He showed his support for Wenberg after Maloney, 37, shared her thoughts on their connection.
“Jo is spooky. I mean none of us could stand to be around her. Her energy is on par with a crackhead,” Maloney wrote in an Instagram comment in February 2023. “But when Tom and I announced our divorce almost a year ago the last thing she text[ed] me was, ‘I love you, and I’m so supporting of your inner thoughts and visions / live in the moment, you’re a gem and I’ve always respected you. I love you. Xo Jo.’ She is a psycho and I will also light her on fire.”
Schwartz called Maloney out for her comments at the season 10 reunion when he said she would be hit with a “cease and desist” if she continued. In addition to his current friendship with Wenberg, Schwartz hinted earlier this month that he had someone new in his life.
“I would say I am not, not dating. I’m hanging out,” Schwartz added on WWHL. “I think she would prefer that I didn’t say, but I’m hanging out.”
