Standing by his side. Vanderpump Rules star Katie Maloney is opening up to Us Weekly about the cheating rumors surrounding her husband, Tom Schwartz.
The reality star, 30, admits she felt embarrassed when confronted with information that he had made out with one of fellow cast member LaLa Kent’s friends during the January 1 episode of the Bravo series.
“There’s a whole range of emotions that was going through me. It was humiliating, really,” she tells Us after witnessing the drama unfold onscreen too. “I was so embarrassed, being at SUR, Guillermo’s party, and having this bomb dropped on me, it was really disappointing. … I was really devastated. It was really hurtful.”
Mainly because she thought they had overcome their issues prior to tying the knot in August 2016. “It was just disappointing that we had been in such a good place. I mean, we went to hell and back before we got married, and essentially we’d had to burn our relationship to the ground, and once we had gotten married we’d really recommitted and were on such a good path together that I just would never have expected to hear that,” Maloney says. “And then there was also some doubts in my mind, too, of the legitimacy of the story, just wondering why Lala was bringing it up. So there was just kind of a combination of, like, a lot of things, and mostly a lot of embarrassment.”
Schwartz’ reaction to the accusations was one of defensiveness and almost bewilderment. “I get frustrated with Tom … Oftentimes when there’s serious issues or something that he … confrontation that makes him feel uncomfortable, his go-to is just joke and laugh about it,” Maloney tells Us. “But I wasn’t really in the mood for that. But also that was also kind of what was making me confused, even more so than just watching it, but it in person his bafflement … When I saw him, I’m like, ‘Dude, I don’t think he remembers this. I genuinely don’t think he remembers this.’ But that doesn’t make it OK, or an excuse but I don’t think he could admit any guilt, because he couldn’t remember it.”
One of the more shocking details of the alleged affair was that he called this girl “Bubba,” which is the pet name he uses for his wife. “I’ve heard him say that to other people but in the context that it was being said, like, ‘Oh, yeah he was making out with me, calling me Bubba’ was just like … that to me was just kind of gross to hear that, because this girl was really trying to make it seem like he was falling in love with her or something,” Maloney shares. “And I was just like, ‘No, no, no.’ Like, there are times when Tom gets drunk and he’ll call other people Bubba. But that really is our name for each other. For this girl to insinuate that he was mistaking her for me or that he was, you know … that’s what grossed me out.”
Schwartz’ drinking has been an ongoing story line in the series and he blames his state of drunkeness on not being able to remember the apparent kiss. “I don’t want to worry about my husband making out with people that are not me, obviously,” Maloney says. “I don’t want to have to worry about his safety. That really became a bigger issue to me than anything else. …That’s really serious if you’re black-out drunk and not know what has happened and why and how and where and who. There’s a lot more serious things that could happened than him just drunkenly making out with someone. And that’s really where my concern is too.”
This isn’t the first time the couple have faced infidelity. Schwartz admitted to hooking up with a girl while they were together in an earlier season of the show. “I don’t think cheating is OK. I don’t condone it. I don’t recommend it, but I think it’s something that unfortunately happens even to the best people,” Maloney says. “And people can make really bad decisions and hurt people when they didn’t want to. But, I think if you have a realistic outlook on just the unfortunate things that happen, you know, there’s no such thing as happily ever after. And relationships are hard work and we are human and flawed individuals. So, I think as much as it’s not easy to deal with, I think it’s something that is realistic and if you can be open to that, I think you can handle it better. But it’s not about OKing it and just slapping the wrist. It’s discretion that obviously lasts for some time. But that’s just how I do it.”
Meanwhile, Schwartz maintains his innocence. “Still, to this day, he does not recall anything and could not even pick this girl out of a crowd,” Maloney tells Us.
Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
