A controversial clarification. Tom Schwartz‘s attempt to explain why he never defended his ex-wife, Katie Maloney, took a turn due to his choice of words.
“Here’s the thing, early on in our relationship, she abused [the request to defend her] a little bit. She was always getting in tiffs and she’s like, You’re with me or against me,'” Schwartz, 40, said during the Wednesday, April 5, appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “She demanded unconditional loyalty early on.”
The TomTom co-owner noted that Maloney, 36, “put a lot of work” into adjusting her behavior.
“She’s way better now. Katie, I love you but in the beginning, she was kind of a monster,” he continued. “She was a monster. She has had a falling out with every single person in her life multiple times. And I just didn’t like getting dragged into all that and I guess I became a little numb when she actually did need me it’s like the boy who cried wolf.”
After follow guest John Lowe questioned his use of the term monster, Schwartz played dumb about saying the word twice and called his former spouse an “angel.”
Maloney, for her part, took to social media to call out Schwartz, tweeting, “I was called a monster too many times to count… tonight’s #wwhl didn’t phase me. Sadly.”
The Minnesota native’s surprising comments came the same day that Vanderpump Rules viewers watched the former couple attempt to address their issues on screen. In a new episode, Maloney got emotional while discussing the distance between her and Schwartz after their split.
“The only thing I could ever come up with [on why Schwartz is never on my side] is just that he just didn’t like me. He might have loved me, but he just didn’t like me,” she said after getting in an argument with her then-estranged husband.
Schwartz, however, claimed that Maloney was to blame for their past problems. “You abused the wife, husband card. You can’t pull it 16 times a day,” he said. “I was a great f—king husband. I am going to tell you why I didn’t [defend you] more often toward the end of our marriage. Because you abused it early on.”
The former couple, who started dating ahead of the hit Bravo show‘s debut in 2013, announced their decision to part ways before filming season 10. As cameras started rolling, Us Weekly confirmed in August 2022 that the bar owner got cozy with Raquel Leviss at Scheana Shay and Brock Davies‘ wedding.
While Schwartz and Leviss’ flirtatious romance was explored on the show, news broke off screen that the California native, 28, had an affair with Tom Sandoval. Us confirmed in March that Sandoval, 40, and Ariana Madix called it quits due to his infidelity.
Schwartz revealed what he knew about the situation during his WWHL appearance, saying, “I learned about the affair in August. The one-night stand was in August and then it became, from my point of view, it became an emotional affair. Which is still inappropriate, but I didn’t think it was linear. [Then] in January, he came to me and told me that he was in love with Raquel.”
Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET. Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen airs Sundays through Thursday nights on Bravo, and is available next day on Peacock.
