Tom Schwartz fled Pump Rules reunion for Stars on Mars as it prepared him for Season 11
Vanderpump Rules star Tom Schwartz basically went straight from that explosive reunion shoot to filming Stars on Mars in Australia, a much-needed “sabbatical” and a step away from his “bubble,” which he believes he has really needed.
Sometimes distance is just the thing when things are so overwhelming that you get overwhelmed. Tom Schwartz I definitely found that out when he left LA for Australia.
The “Vanderpump Rules” The star agreed to join the cast of the Fox competition series Stars on Mars because, as he said Rolling StoneHe was “looking for a way out” after the stress and chaos of Scandoval.
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I know you have to be wary of escapism, but a lot has happened in my life, things have been a bit chaotic, and after they softened my tone, I thought, ‘yeah, let’s do it'” said Schwartz.
Of course, the aforementioned Scandoval had an impact on Schwartz as well Tom Sandoval was his best friend of ten years and business partner in two restaurants. Sandoval was caught cheating on his longtime girlfriend earlier this year Ariana Madix with her best friend and co-star, Rachel Leviss. Schwartz apparently knew more than he was letting on — certainly ahead of the rest of the cast, including Ariana.
The whole thing exploded bigger than any reality show scandal likely could have done, dominating mainstream media headlines and making the main cast and several other members household names Lisa Vanderpumps “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” spin-off family.
Certainly, all of this tremendous attention was greater than any of them expected or expected, and made a trip to nowhere in Australia a “welcome retreat” for Schwartz.
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“I was trying to get out of my little bubble that I was in,” he explained. “We all have problems, and in the last year and a half to two years I happened to have had a lot of them at once. You know, when it rains, it pours. So it was a nice little break.”
It was even more than the scandoval for Schwartz, as the tenth season of the long-running reality show also covered his divorce from his co-star Katie Maloneybusiness problems at one of his ventures with Sandoval, Schwartz & Sandy’s and health problems of his father and brother.
For Schwartz, that distance and the fact that a competition-based reality show is very different from what he’s used to, helped give him a fresh perspective on his life and career back home.
“I could step out of my little bubble and say, ‘You know what? I’m so grateful,” he shared. “I’m so happy with all the opportunities I’ve been given and everything I’ve been able to experience in my life so far.”
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He also appreciated being able to be his own man after months of such a strong connection to Sandoval and the cheating scandal that came with it. The three-week break from all of that was “bliss.”
In fact, although the cast were allowed to use their phones during filming, Schwartz said he chose not to use his phone at all, except that as a business owner it was irresponsible and “my mom would have killed me.”
The whole experience would prove life-changing for Schwartz after so many months of heaviness. “Coming back here I felt a little lighter on my feet,” he said. “My worries of the day suddenly didn’t seem so worrying.”
He said he feels “recalibrated,” like he’s recalibrated his mind, body and spirit. “I just felt like myself again,” he explained.
Schwartz has been focusing his time and energy on Schwartz & Sandy’s since his return and in the run-up to filming Vanderpump Rules Season 11, which is slated to begin in a few weeks. As for his personal relationship with Sandoval, Schwartz reiterated what he told Brittany Cartwright on her podcast, When Reality Hits.
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“It goes without saying: I didn’t even have to tell Tom that verbatim [Sandoval]but I’ve just taken a little break, focusing on myself and looking forward to the next chapter in my life,” he said.
“I have to be honest, I’m not particularly proud of how I’ve responded to adversity over the past year and a half,” he continued. “I think I faltered a little. After my experience in Australia, where I was away on a small sabbatical for a while, I now feel better equipped to tackle whatever life throws at me.”
He encourages anyone, given the opportunity, to try to “take a little break from what you’re going through” to physically, emotionally, and spiritually detach. It allows you, like him, to be “more confident and optimistic” about what’s next.
What comes next for Schwartz is a big unknown. After the explosive Scandoval himself and the revelation that he continued to lie about the schedule of his affair throughout the reunion, the status of each cast member is unknown. They’ve weathered cheating scandals and drama before, but can they weather it?