Poking fun at the situation. Tom Schwartz may be laying low amid Tom Sandoval’s cheating scandal with Raquel Leviss — but he still found a way to laugh off the drama.
The Minnesota native, 40, took to Instagram on Saturday, April 1, to share a meme from Gwyneth Paltrow‘s skiing accident trial. “Look at Schwartz body double! He’s a lawyer for Gwyneth. Lol,” read a caption alongside a photo of the actress’ attorney. “This Schwartz is from a parallel universe where he applied himself and never met Sandoval.”
Schwartz, for his part, added a coffin emoji via his Instagram Story. The lighthearted social media joke came nearly one month after news broke of Sandoval’s affair with Leviss, 28.
Us Weekly confirmed in March that the Missouri native, 40, and Ariana Madix called it quits after nearly a decade together due to his infidelity.
“They were having problems for a while,” the insider shared, noting that things “only came to a breaking point” when the Florida native, 37, found out that her then-boyfriend was unfaithful with their Vanderpump Rules costar.
At the time, Sandoval issued a statement slamming speculation that Schwartz was aware of his relationship with Leviss. The Tom Sandoval and the Most Extras band member later posted a second apology after being called out for not mentioning Madix in his initial response.
“Hey, I fully understand and deserve ur anger & disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz, my friends and family out of this situation … Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions. This was a very personal thing,” Sandoval wrote via Instagram on March 4. “Also, Schwartz & Sandy’s might have my name on it, but also there are 3 other partners and 20 employees, who especially rely on the restaurant for income for them and their families. Just like TomTom, I’m a small part of a much bigger thing. Please direct ur anger towards me and not them. They did nothing wrong.”
He concluded: “I’m so sorry that my partners, Greg, Brett, and Schwartz and our employees have to suffer for my actions. I will be taking a step back & taking a hiatus out of respect for my employees & partners.”
Meanwhile, Schwartz broke his silence on his best friend’s controversy, telling TMZ last month, “[Sandoval’s] OK, I think. Relatively speaking. I mean, he has a sense of profound sadness, rightfully so. I think he feels like a piece of s–t, and to some extent, maybe he is. But he knows he f–ked up. The whole thing is just really sad.”
At the time, the businessman admitted that the drama affected his and Sandoval’s restaurants. “It’s f–king complicated. That’s the understatement of the year. I think Tom’s OK. Really, I’m just sad about the negative impact it’s having on our business, but I think cooler heads will prevail, and I’m just gonna keep on keeping on,” he continued.
Schwartz, who hooked up with Leviss in August 2022 after his split from Katie Maloney, denied that he was a cover for the affair. “No, that’s not true, he said, adding: “Unless I was a pawn in the game.”
