Tom Schwartz has opened up about his friendship with bestie Tom Sandoval and says that the pair are not as close as they used to be.
Schwartz and Sandoval were business partners, but their bar, Schwartz & Sandy’s, took a major hit after Sandoval’s affair with former castmate Raquel Leviss was exposed.
“When you’re hemorrhaging money, and you know that this place with your name on the side of the building is not doing as well. Your employees are suffering now,” he said on The Valley: After Show. “They can’t pay their bills. It’s just a lot. I think I was too soft before that bar. If anything, now I feel like I have so much more life experience. I have more grit, more gravitas,” Schwartz shared. “I just feel like I’m growing in so many ways.”
Sandoval faced backlash after his girlfriend of nine years, Ariana Madix, discovered that he had been having a months-long affair with Raquel, who was not only a close friend of Ariana’s but also part of their tight-knit cast. Viewers of the show boycotted Schwartz & Sandy’s in response, crippling the business.
Schwartz later added, “It put a lot of tension on our friendship. The financial aspect really put our friendship to the test, and unfortunately, almost destroyed our friendship at one point. He’s family to me, I’ll always love Tom Sandoval. But of course, I have some deep-rooted frustrations.”
The Valley airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo and the following day on Peacock.
