Katie Maloney Gets Emotional Addressing Her Split From Tom Schwartz: ‘I’m Doing the Right Thing’

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Katie Maloney Gets Emotional Addressing Her Split From Tom Schwartz: 'I'm Doing the Right Thing'

Sharing her side. Katie Maloney didn't hold back while emotionally addressing what led to her split from Tom Schwartz. "I am sure all of you have heard that Tom and I have announced via Instagram that we are ending our marriage. As I said, it is something that I never thought I would have to announce but here we are," Maloney, 35, said during an episode of her "You're Going to Love Me" podcast on Friday, March 18. The reality star noted that the news "may or may not come as a shock" to some people, adding, "Now that it is out there and I can share a little bit more. I will probably be sharing more as time goes on. It is still a tender topic." Earlier this week, the twosome took to social media to confirm in separate statements that they had parted ways. “Well this sucks," the TomTom co-owner, 39, 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.” Schwartz admitted that his “heart aches” as he deals with the major life change. "How am I supposed to capture 12 years of love in a f--king canned Instagram caption. I'm not quite ready to use the 'D' word bc it's too painful," he continued. "We had some of the most blissful, romantic, fun times humanly possible over the course of our relationship. I'm talking heaven on earth level joy. She taught me so much about love & being a better partner." [jwplayer bdE5xZrq-zhNYySv2] On Friday, Maloney opened up about the struggles that she faced ahead of pulling the plug on their relationship after 12 years. "I realized that I had to really start prioritizing myself and my happiness as well. It just needed to happen. That's just what everything inside of me was saying, I thought it got to a point where I just felt like I was going to burst," she revealed. "For months, it was building up. I felt just disconnected. I felt like I was drifting further and further away." Shortly after the pair announced the news, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that not everyone in their lives saw it coming. “They weren't living this fairy tale and a lot of their friends picked up on that," an insider shared, while noting that certain Vanderpump Rules cast members "weren't even aware that they were officially separating" until their social media statements. Another source revealed that the breakup wouldn't affect their potential future on the show. "Fans will see their divorce play out," the insider said, adding that no contracts have been signed yet for season 10. Scroll down for all of Maloney's bombshell confessions about her relationship with Schwartz: [podcast_block]

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Katie Maloney Gets Emotional Addressing Her Split From Tom Schwartz: 'I'm Doing the Right Thing'

Sharing her side. Katie Maloney didn't hold back while emotionally addressing what led to her split from Tom Schwartz. "I am sure all of you have heard that Tom and I have announced via Instagram that we are ending our marriage. As I said, it is something that I never thought I would have to announce but here we are," Maloney, 35, said during an episode of her "You're Going to Love Me" podcast on Friday, March 18. The reality star noted that the news "may or may not come as a shock" to some people, adding, "Now that it is out there and I can share a little bit more. I will probably be sharing more as time goes on. It is still a tender topic." Earlier this week, the twosome took to social media to confirm in separate statements that they had parted ways. “Well this sucks," the TomTom co-owner, 39, 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.” Schwartz admitted that his “heart aches” as he deals with the major life change. "How am I supposed to capture 12 years of love in a f--king canned Instagram caption. I'm not quite ready to use the 'D' word bc it's too painful," he continued. "We had some of the most blissful, romantic, fun times humanly possible over the course of our relationship. I'm talking heaven on earth level joy. She taught me so much about love & being a better partner." [jwplayer bdE5xZrq-zhNYySv2] On Friday, Maloney opened up about the struggles that she faced ahead of pulling the plug on their relationship after 12 years. "I realized that I had to really start prioritizing myself and my happiness as well. It just needed to happen. That's just what everything inside of me was saying, I thought it got to a point where I just felt like I was going to burst," she revealed. "For months, it was building up. I felt just disconnected. I felt like I was drifting further and further away." Shortly after the pair announced the news, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that not everyone in their lives saw it coming. “They weren't living this fairy tale and a lot of their friends picked up on that," an insider shared, while noting that certain Vanderpump Rules cast members "weren't even aware that they were officially separating" until their social media statements. Another source revealed that the breakup wouldn't affect their potential future on the show. "Fans will see their divorce play out," the insider said, adding that no contracts have been signed yet for season 10. Scroll down for all of Maloney's bombshell confessions about her relationship with Schwartz: [podcast_block]

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Their Separation

Maloney explained that they had been separated for "a little over a month" before they announced their split.

"It's been emotional, for sure," she revealed, noting that they "still live together" and are handling the situation in a mature way. "The transition so far is going really well. We're just trying to navigate these steps together and really work on becoming friends in that sense."

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock; Tommy Garcia/Bravo

Deciding to Call It Quits

During the episode, the former SUR waitress clarified that there wasn't any specific incident that led to the breakup.  

"There wasn't some crazy fight that resulted in this. It was my decision, which was probably the hardest and most painful decision I've ever had to make. But [it was] the best and only way I can describe it is just waking up and having this voice that just became louder and louder," Maloney detailed. "[Also] just events in my life and in our relationship coming into focus and feeling the weight of them on me."

The Bravo personality recalled waiting to "deny" the feelings she started to have about her marriage.

"I wanted to push them out of my head because I love Tom. We have built a life together, he was my person and I wanted to be with him forever. But ultimately, I just wasn't happy," she said. "For a long time, I sat with it. I thought about it and I didn't talk to anyone about it for a long time. I wanted to know, if it was just something else that was making me feel this way [and] that it was coming from a different place."

After the questions "didn't stop" coming up, Maloney realized that she could "no longer deny" her emotions.    

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Choosing Herself

While reflecting on her conversation with Schwartz, Maloney referred to it as the "hardest thing" because she knew she would "crush" him.  

"I had really prioritized Tom, our relationship and our future and wanted to plan for that so badly. But I didn't often prioritize myself or my happiness. That was really what was weighing on me," she continued. "I love being with him. But ultimately, I was just not fulfilled and there's other things that maybe one day I can talk about. ... I just realized that the choice I had to make was to just open up and tell him how I was feeling."

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Trying to Move Forward

"I feel very strongly that I'm doing the right thing. But it doesn't make it easier. It's really hard not to think about all of the best times and your wedding and everything that's going on," Maloney shared on Friday, adding that she wanted to "cling on" to the good moments between them. "But when everything else inside of you, the burning inside of you, is telling you that you deserve more, then you have to listen to that."

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock; Broadimage/Shutterstock

Where They Stand Now

Maloney called her current living situation with Schwartz "peaceful" and "loving" as they figure out their individual futures.  

"It's been the best case scenario I could possibly imagine or hope for. We're still figuring out the next steps, I don't think we're going to live together forever," she shared. "This past month has just been us having a lot of discussions and processing all the emotions along the way."

For Maloney, telling their loved ones about the split caused some embarrassment because it felt like "a failure."

"But I'm so grateful that we don't have resentment and animosity. It would be truly heartbreaking. If we got to a point in our marriage, where there was resentment and anger and we spent a lifetime together and ended up hating one another after that I would be truly heartbroken," she pointed out.

The Utah native concluded: "The fact that we have so much love for one another still and can end marriage on a positive note and transition into a beautiful friendship — that was the foundation of our relationship. That was the core of it. We've had an amazing friendship throughout these years. The romantic side is over but the friendship is still there."