Vanderpump Rules alumni Tom Schwartz, 42, has opened up about his dating life in a new interview, a year after he hinted that he was in a relationship on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. Now though, it seems like things may have taken a turn.
Last February, rumours swirled that he was dating then 23-year-old advertising associate Sophia Skoro, with Schwartz admitting he was ‘hanging out’ with someone special.
‘I think she would prefer that I didn’t say, but I’m hanging out,’ he explained, noting that the person – presumed to be Skoro at the time – liked to remain private. The couple went public later that year, with Schwartz telling Nick Viall on The Viall Files podcast that he didn’t want to ‘put pressure’ on the relationship, but they enjoyed their time together.
‘We actually met on a whim at TomTom,’ he said. ‘It’s funny, ironically, around that moment, I made a pledge, not only to myself, but to the universe, that I will not hang out or date. I’m just going to be single and work for the next two years. … Then I bumped into her.’
Schwartz and Skoro were still together as of December last year, with the pair heading to Schwartz and Sandy’s – the bar Schwartz owned with fellow VPR castmate Tom Sandoval – on its final day of service before closing. The Tom’s announced the closure of Schwartz and Sandy’s last November after financial difficulties, two years after opening. ‘This was not an easy conclusion,’ Schwartz wrote on Instagram at the time. ‘There’s some peace in knowing I gave my absolute all into S&S, fully committed with every fibre in my being.’
Seemingly Skoro was at Schwartz side during the difficult closure, which is rumoured to be in large part due to a downturn in business after the last season of VPR, when the fallout from Sandoval’s affair with cast member Rachel Leviss – having previously been in a nine-year relationship with co-star Ariana Madix - was laid bare to viewers. While Madix saw support from fans, with sales surging for merchandise sold on the website for her sandwich shop, Something About Her – a joint venture with cast mate Katie Maloney -, the Tom’s on the other hand saw their bar inundated with negative reviews about the now infamously named ‘Scandoval’.
So, what’s going on with Skoro and Schwartz now? It doesn’t sound like much. ‘Honestly, I am not formally dating anyone, I am just hanging out,’ Schwartz told Us Weekly, adding that he didn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day this year. ‘There is not much to say about my love life,’ he concluded.
In January, Schwartz told the Lady Gang podcast that while he ‘really enjoys’ hanging out with someone, ‘dating is the last thing on [his] mind.’ Hmmm, interesting. To be fair, it’s classic Schwartz to be so non-committal, right? We saw the same behaviour play out during his 11-year relationship with co-star Maloney, the latter of whom practically begged Schwartz for a real commitment for years before they wed in 2016. ICYMI, Maloney is now happily dating guitarist Nick Martin, whom she has been in a confirmed relationship with since November. Isn’t it funny how life works out?