Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney are both dating after their divorce — and even ended up interested in the same person.
Vanderpump Rules fans saw both Schwartz, 41, and Katie, 37, share respective kisses with singer Tori Keeth in the season trailer.
“How did it come to this? I’m convinced there was some sort of magnetic pull or shift and I’m in a parallel universe now,” Schwartz quipped to Us Weekly exclusively on Wednesday, January 17, at the season 11 premiere. “For better or for worse, I don’t know yet.”
Katie was equally confused that she ended up in a triangular situation with her ex-husband, whom she confirmed her split from in March 2022.
“I didn’t plan it, because I didn’t know that they had been chatting or talking or there was a thing happening when I had been like, ‘Oh, hey,’” Katie explained to Us on the premiere red carpet, which was held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. “I was like, what am I gonna do, just be like, ‘Oh, why don’t you guys just [go ahead]?’ I’m like, ‘No, I like her too, so I’m going to hang out with her too. And whoever she likes more, I guess she’ll just [decide].’”
Katie added, “It was just a weird thing. Some people thought I was maybe gonna go after her just because of Tom. I was like, ‘I don’t wake up in the morning and plan my day around what this man is doing,’ so I just had already decided what I decided, and I wasn’t gonna let that stop me.”
While the Something About Her founder played coy about Tori’s final decision, she did confirm to Us that she’s still on the market.
“I love being single,” Katie gushed. “I love having crushes, and I love when people flirt and all that, but it’s, like, it’s so bleak, I don’t know. I need someone to be really impressive to me.”
Until a “pretty special” suitor sweeps Katie off her feet, she’s “good on [her] own” for the time being. “So, until that comes, I’m going to keep doing my thing,” Katie noted.
Schwartz is also currently single, telling Us that he’s “just chilling” at the moment.
“[I’m] looking forward to the future with an optimism, an eagerness I haven’t had in a long time. I’ve just been a basket case for way too long,” he said.
While appearing on Winter House late last year, Schwartz found a connection with Below Deck star Katie Flood.
“We’re still really good friends, we’re not dating,” he said on Wednesday.
During the Winter House season, Schwartz was wary about dating Flood, 32, since she shared a name with his ex-wife.
“I’ve worked past that. And by the way, I want to issue a public apology. That was terribly immature of me,” he told Us. “I was falling apart in that moment in life, and anyways, I’m so honored that she’s in my life, she’s in my orbit. We’re still really good friends. We text each other, we still hang out. We’re not dating.”
Katie and Schwartz were together for more than a decade before their divorce, which was finalized in October 2022. They are currently on “fine terms.”
“We’re not besties, we’re not buddies, but we have the dogs still, so it’s fine. I don’t have any ill will,” Katie told Us on Wednesday, referring to their arrangement to share custody of their two pets. She then threw shade at Rachel “Raquel” Leviss’ recent claims that Schwartz knew about his BFF Tom Sandoval’s affair with Rachel months before he claims. “I want the best for him, but, like, the man just constantly keeps, I don’t know. There’s always something that pops up that I’m just like, ‘God, when are you gonna [stop].’”
Vanderpump Rules returns to Bravo Tuesday, January 30, at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Hannah Kahn
