A long time coming? Tom Schwartz hinted at seeing cracks within Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix‘s relationship before their split amid his affair with Raquel Leviss.
During the Wednesday, May 10, episode of Vanderpump Rules, the TomTom co-owners, both 40, continued preparations for the opening of their Schwartz & Sandy’s restaurant. As they lamented over the lengthy process, Sandoval told his BFF that he wanted to “go somewhere really cool with Ariana.”
The Minnesota native went on to ask whether Sandoval and his then-girlfriend were in an “OK” place. “Yeah. I mean, I feel like sometimes just, like, my very presence annoys her,” Sandoval replied with a sigh.
Schwartz — who finalized his divorce from Katie Maloney in October 2022 — sat with his pal’s response before chiming in. “It just seems like it speaks to maybe a bigger issue,” he said.
He continued to give his two cents in a confessional, telling the cameras, “You never know what’s going on behind closed doors, but based off what I’ve seen, they just seem like they’ve devolved into roommates, you know? [I’m] seeing a lack of intimacy when they hang out, they don’t really, like, acknowledge each other. It’s not looking good.”
Sandoval later claimed to his business partner that Ariana didn’t “go out of [her] way to do things” for him and their home. “And it f–king hurts me after a while,” he added. “I just feel like, at times, that she doesn’t [like me].”
Schwartz subsequently encouraged the musician to “address” his concerns before “they magnify over time.”
Us Weekly confirmed in March that the Fancy AF Cocktails coauthors — who began dating in 2014 — called it quits after Sandoval’s affair with Raquel, 28, was uncovered. He and the beauty queen issued public apologies to Ariana for their behavior as production continued on season 10 of Pump Rules.
As more details about the cheating scandal emerged, Lala Kent, Scheana Shay and more cast members began to parse Sandoval’s friendship with Raquel for clues about their romance. Schwartz, meanwhile, had his own fling with the California native during the season — but she denied in a March interview that Schwartz was helping her and Sandoval cover up their affair.
One month later, Schwartz gave fans insight into how much he really knew before the scandal made headlines. “I learned about the affair in August,” he claimed on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, noting that the duo had a “one night stand” before their “emotional affair.”
He continued: “In January, [Tom] came to me and told me that he was in love with Raquel. … Tom kind of got flagrant. He was brazen after he told me he was in love. It was like a release for him.”
Schwartz alleged that he was fed a “narrative” that Sandoval and Ariana were already “broken up.” The former SUR bartender echoed that argument while sharing his side of the story on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast later that month.
“Like many relationships, it felt like it became more of, like, a best friends, family [thing] — sometimes roommates,” Sandoval said in April, claiming that he tried to dump Ariana on Valentine’s Day. “There were a lot of ways where the relationship was just lacking the intimacy, the connection. … I had no mojo, no game anymore.”
Sandoval reflected on his “disconnect” from Ariana during Wednesday’s Pump Rules episode. “We definitely argue a lot more than we did, for sure, earlier on in our relationship. … I can count on less than [one] hand in our nine years together that Ariana has ever said, like, ‘Wow, you’re right,'” he claimed.
The season 10 finale of Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Wednesday, May 17, at 9 p.m. ET, followed by the three-part reunion special.
