Whether you’re a Vanderpump Rules fan or not, it’s impossible not to have heard about the cheating scandal that rocked TV. And the drama is far from over...
Tom Schwartz has finally opened up about BFF Tom Sandoval’s affair with Raquel Leviss, offering an update on where the couple stand now.
During his appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Tom said 'I learned about the affair in August,' revealing it was a 'one-night stand' that led to Raquel and Tom’s 'emotional affair.'
'The one-night stand was in August and then it became, from my point of view, an emotional affair. Which is still inappropriate but I didn’t think it was linear. [Then] in January, he came to me and told me that he was in love with Raquel.'
The star – who shares a business, a bar, with his BFF – revealed the news left him 'flabbergasted but not surprised' with revelation, describing their affair as an 'open secret.'
'Tom kind of got fragrant. He was brazen after he told me he was in love. It was like a release for him,' he explained, adding that Tom fed him a 'narrative' that he and then-girlfriend Ariana Madix had broken up.
Talking about where the lovers are now, Tom explained 'He’s like a shell of himself. He’s not realising the negative impact this has had on his other ventures. Businesses, bars, the band. He took advantage of my kindness and put a lot of people, not just myself, in very compromising situations where out integrity was at stake. I think – Tom has ADHD – and honestly, he became obsessed [with Raquel.] He is notorious for having an obsession.'
But despite some tough love, Tom ended his talk by urging fans to ‘hug’ the disgraced star. He said ‘Tom, I know the whole world hates you. But I’m not going to abandon you, old buddy. He knows he’s a monster for what he did. If you see him, maybe give him a hug. Even if he doesn’t deserve it, give him a hug. He’s down bad.’
And the call for love did not go down well…
One fan laughed, 'The look on everyone’s face when Schwartz says to hug Sandoval.'
Another fan tweeted, ‘Tom Schwartz needs to realise, if roles were reversed Sandoval wouldn’t be telling people to go hug Schwartz. He’d be saying “I told him not to” and saving himself.'
And co-star Lala Kent took to Instagram, saying ‘Did Schwartzy really just say “if you see Sandoval in the street, give him a hug”? We’re atomic wedgie-ing his ass. We’re punching him straight in the dick!'
Last month, fans were left shocked after Tom and Raquel’s cheating scandal rocked the world. With a timeline spanning months, Tom’s then-girlfriend Ariana was left heartbroken after discovering her partner of nine years was secretly sleeping with their co-star and close friend, Raquel.
But despite admitting she was left feeling ‘devastated and broken’ by her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal, Ariana took the recent filming of the Vanderpump Rules reunion as an opportunity to get her own back with the ultimate revenge dress.
Ariana was a vision in red in a two-piece Mônot cut-out design, proving the upcoming reunion is bound to be the most dramatic one yet...
Earlier that day, Ariana had teased her hot look with host Andy – saying her revenge dress might just make her ex’s ‘eyes bleed'. And she was serving looks all day – being photographed getting out of her car wearing a jumper reading ‘1-800-BOYS-LIE’ on the front.
Fans were quick to show their support for Ariana, with one viewer tweeting 'The best thing Tom Sandoval ever did for Ariana was cheat on her! Now she's free to shine like the Diamond she always was, he was always a weight keeping her down.' Quoting Taylor Swift, another wrote 'Lately she's been dressing for revenge 👀'.
If this isn’t the best way to bounce back from a breakup, then we don’t know what is…
Teasing the reunion - which was filmed late last month - host Andy promised that the episode would go down in history as a 'top 10' of all time for streaming platform Bravo.
You can catch up with episodes of Watch What Happens Live on YouTube. Whilst the reunion has been filmed, it hasn't yet been released - with an expected airdate of April/May.
Weekly episodes of Vanderpump Rules air exclusively on Hayu every Thursday, same day as the US