Vanderpump Rules Fans Don't Mince Words About Tom Sandoval & Tom Schwartz
Now that Season 10 of "Vanderpump Rules" has come to a close, one thing is clear: Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz are both absolute clowns. In light of the news that Sandoval stepped out on his girlfriend of nine years Ariana Madix with fellow cast member and Madix's close friend Rachel "Raquel" Leviss — who, bafflingly, was romantically linked with Schwartz during the season — Bravo picked their cameras back up and resumed filming. This led to the season finale, "#Scandoval," which saw the aftermath of Sandoval's deception... as well as Schwartz's, considering he covered for his best friend and business partner for months.
Fans didn't hold anything back going after the pair on social media; on Twitter, @kgeich made a pitch-perfect reference to two equally odious "Succession" characters, writing, "Schwartz & Sandoval are the real life Disgusting Brothers." @wrexweed was just relieved that their empire of lies has fallen, and especially thrilled that it was Maddox who knocked over their house of cards: "I've been waiting YEARS for somebody to obliterate Schwartz and Sandoval's bullsh*t expectations for their parody of a lifestyle and I am so happy it's Ariana Madix." Madix herself called Schwartz one of Sandoval's "flying monkeys" during her "Watch What Happens Live" appearance, making it clear that she's aware that her now-former friend was hiding her ex-boyfriend's secret all along.
Tom Sandoval is the new villain of Vanderpump Rules...
There's no question that, at every turn, Tom Sandoval has made the crappiest, meanest decision he possibly can. Even the way he treated Schwartz after Madix found out about his affair drew derision from fans; as @MarTEAnisEddy wrote on Twitter, "The fact that Sandoval was more genuinely apologetic to Schwartz than to Ariana, that shows you the type of [trash] he is."
Whether he was yelling at Madix and making shoddy excuses for how he treated her or weeping in Schwartz's directions, fans also noticed Sandoval had some big inconsistencies in his argument tactics. @_thebravobabe took serious issue with a particularly awful one: "Sandoval putting Ariana's delicate mental state on display, and weaponizing it...that's the darkest of dark." Fans also took obvious issue with Sandoval saying he normally "would have deleted" the intimate video of Leviss that revealed the affair, like @Bravalita: "I loved how Sandoval said that "normally" he would delete that stuff, but that specific day had been a chaotic day so he didn't have the time to delete it... like he normally would. Tell on yourself some more!"
Perhaps @alexandergold put it best: "I didn't know it was possible to hate Tom Sandoval more than I already do and I was so wrong. Putting blame on the person you cheated on for your affair is the lowest. Karma will make Ariana happier and more successful than she ever would have been with him.
...but Tom Schwartz's nice guy schtick has also run its course
Compared to Sandoval, Schwartz has always seemed a bit like a dumb, lost puppy more than anything else — but thanks to the revelation that he knew about the affair for months and kept the secret, fans are turning on him too. @queensofbravo chimed in on the matter, tweeting, "Make no mistake, Schwartz. You're not being canceled because you're friends with Tom, you're canceled because you knew about the affair for weeks and were pushing a fake storyline to hurt your ex-fiance Katie." (To clarify, Schwartz's likely staged "romance" with Leviss deeply hurt his soon-to-be ex-wife Katie Maloney, driving a permanent wedge between them.)
@MarkJCampbell agreed, saying, "Tom Schwartz isn't making jokes and playing all cute and innocent now is he. He knew about the affair all of this time and lied, covered it up and laughed about it along with Sandoval and Raquel. He deserves just as much vitriol as the other two." A Reddit thread about his conversation with Maloney, where he largely shrugged off any responsibility and veered into complete non-sequiturs, agreed — after Maloney took him to task, Schwartz mumbled something about how Florida has "man-eating Nile crocodiles," ostensibly an attempt to explain that there are worse things happening in the world. (Maloney responded, "You sound like a country song.")
u/OGkateebee questioned his intention, saying, "Lol I don't think this was a joke, I think he's so self-obsessed and clueless that he is equally overwhelmed by this ridiculous thing he cares about and a true crisis for Ariana." u/makin_dilemmanade agreed: "He is a master at deflecting. It's one of his many insufferable attributes."
Both Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz were decimated by Ariana Madix
Fan reactions took both Toms to task, but within the episode itself, everyone went after them — Madix in particular. In the episode's opening moments, cameras focus on Madix and Sandoval talking about the affair; while Sandoval tries to justify his actions by saying their relationship was bad and he didn't know what else to do, Madix remains calm even as she correctly says that he did not have to get intimately involved with her friend. Madix, on a roll, tells him that she loved him when he had nothing and that Leviss sees his "little bar and little band" and is just jumping on some sort of perverse bandwagon before delivering a fiercely furious monologue, culminating in this closer: "I regret ever loving you. Any last words before we never speak again?"
As for Schwartz, he tries to plead his case to Madix — who was a groomswoman in his wedding to Maloney — by saying he's being unfairly accused of being a "co-conspirator" and trying to get some sympathy by pointing out that Sandoval's actions affected their businesses. Madix is gentler with him than she is with Sandoval, but still quietly furious. "Look, I don't think that you are that person," Ariana says to Schwartz. "But I will not have mutual friends with him. So, I'm not your friend anymore."
The three-part reunion, which kicks off on May 24, will certainly feature more take-downs of both Toms — so if you loved what we've gotten thus far, you'll want to tune in.