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Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo, Instagram
Tom Schwartz appeared on Tuesday’s Watch What Happens Live, where he answered a series of questions about his love life and more.
While also commenting on Jax Taylor‘s separation from Brittany Cartwright, 35, and offering an update on his and Tom Sandoval‘s bar, Schwartz revealed if he was in love with ex-flame Jo Wenberg, shared who he made out with in Las Vegas, and confirmed whether or not his ex-wife, Katie Maloney, 37, has met his new girlfriend, Sophia Skoro, 23.
“[Katie is] aware of her and she said something really sweet about her. I won’t repeat it but Katie was lovely about Sophia,” Schwartz confirmed on the April 16 episode of WWHL.
Schwartz was then met with a round of rapid-fire questions about his past romance with Jo.
After sharing that they met through Kristen Doute, 41, and revealing he was attracted to Jo’s beauty and spunk, Schwartz denied leading her on.
“I don’t like that narrative,” he stated. “We had such a good time together and it was a mutually beneficial super fun relationship, well, I don’t know if it was a relationship, situationship. It was fun and we had a good run while it lasted.”
As for her claim that they told one another, “I love you,” Schwartz said they were simply “fond of each other.”
“I think it was some sort of shade of love. But I don’t think it was the real article,” he explained.
As for Katie calling her spooky and saying she has “crackhead energy,” Schwartz labeled the diss “egregious,” insisting Jo is “a darling.”
Although Jo has been accused of knowing about Sandoval’s affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, 29, since they went to Big Bear together, Schwartz clarified, “She knew what they told [her].”
“As far as she was concerned, Tom and [Ariana Madix] were breaking up,” he noted.
Because Schwartz went public with Sophia after refusing to make things official with Jo, he was also met with a question about why he felt more comfortable with Sophia, who he’s been dating for about five months.
“During that time, I just honestly, my life was so tumultuous and I just wanted to hide in my little hermitage. I had some minor PTSD, and I just wasn’t in any sort of place to be in a conventional relationship, publicly, privately, I just was all kind of messed up,” he reasoned.
Another fan wanted to know why he confronted Katie about her hookup with Max Boyens rather than his BFF.
“I saw her first,” he replied.
When someone else asked if Scheana Shay, 38, was the girl he admitted to Katie he made out with in Las Vegas during a chat in the back alley at SUR on an early season of Pump Rules, Schwartz confirmed, “That was a different girl.”
“I’m not proud of that either. It was one of Katie and [Lala Kent]’s friends from back in Utah,” he revealed.
As he sat alongside fellow guest Kristen, the two of them revealed they’d never kissed, agreed that Ariana’s life is better without Sandoval, and said they didn’t believe Jax, 44, and Brittany would get back together.
Also on the live broadcast, after he confirmed Sandoval’s recent apologies are “from the heart,” Schwartz was asked if he felt Sandoval and Raquel were truly in love.
“There’s a fine line between love and infatuation but at one point in time, I heard it from both their mouths, they were in love,” he shared.
Later, on the WWHL: After Show, Schwartz shared his opinion of Jax’s new bar, Jax’s Studio City, after a fan asked him how it compares to his own place, Schwartz & Sandy’s.
“His is more of a sports bar. It’s a sports bar/cocktail lounge and I’m honestly really proud of him,” Schwartz stated. “He’s really stepped up and he’s a great host. It’s a tough business. It’s grueling. It’s rough on your personal relationships. It’s all-consuming and he’s done a heck of a job.”
As for how business is at Schwartz & Sandy’s now, a year after “Scandoval” led to boycotts and poor reviews, Schwartz said they’ve seen a “resurgence.”
“We got new food coming, new drinks, new music performances, DJs, new sound system. It’s a renaissance,” he declared. “We have synergy again. We’re communicating well and everything feels shiny and brand new.”
Vanderpump Rules season 11 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
