Tom Schwartz understands why Vanderpump Rules went through an overhaul — but he doesn’t like the toxic ending for the original cast.
“I’m at peace with it. I kind of knew [the announcement] was coming. But I don’t necessarily love the way [season 11] ended,” Schwartz, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly at the grand opening of Pinky’s by Vanderpump at the Flamingo Las Vegas on Thursday, December 5. “It was a little heavy, a little toxic, a little fractured.”
Schwartz argued that there should have been “one more season” with him, Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix, Lala Kent, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay and James Kennedy before Bravo introduced a new group to take over.
“But I mean, the network made the right decision, I guess,” he continued. “And we got 11 seasons. That’s insane. I’m so grateful for that. So I have nothing to gripe or complain about. It was probably 11 of the best years of my life. I got to travel the world. And yeah, man, it was exhilarating.”
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Schwartz has been feeling “nostalgic” and “sentimental” since news broke that he wasn’t coming back for season 12, adding, “I still talk to everyone — mostly everybody. Everyone’s thriving, everyone’s doing their thing.”
After season 12 was previously put on pause due to tension between the current cast, Bravo confirmed in November that production begins next year with Lisa Vanderpump and a new group of servers from her SUR restaurant in Los Angeles.
Schwartz, Kent, 34, and Shay, 39, however, are expected to make appearances on season 2 of the Vanderpump Rules spinoff The Valley.
“I pop in. You’ll probably see some cameos,” Schwartz teased to Us on Thursday. “I hang out with all those people.”
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The Vanderpump Rules news came days after Schwartz and Sandoval, 42, announced that they were closing their bar Schwartz & Sandy’s. The duo have cited the fallout from Sandoval’s cheating scandal with Rachel Leviss — and subsequent split from Madix — for causing a decline in business.
“It’s been challenging. I’m honestly walking away proud. I gave it my all — we gave it our all — we really did. We put our hearts and souls into that venture and we had some real good times and I learned a lot,” Schwartz explained on Thursday. “And we’re trying to finish strong. We decked it out, we decked the halls. It’s all holidayed out. And we’re still available for holiday bookings.”
He continued: “Honestly, I want to say thank you to everyone. The outpouring of love in the past two weeks since we made the announcement has been insane. Like, it’s packed right now, so it’s kind of bittersweet. But, yeah, I guess good things come to an end.”
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While Schwartz’s business venture with Sandoval is wrapping up, he is still involved in TomTom with Vanderpump, 64, and her husband, Ken Todd. Schwartz showed support for Vanderpump on Thursday when he attended the opening of Pinky’s, her newest establishment in Las Vegas.
“By choice, I don’t know anything about it. I love the element of surprise. I wanna walk in and I know it’s gonna be f—ing gorgeous. Extravagant, bespoke, epic visuals, all that good stuff,” he shared with Us. “But I haven’t seen any sneak previews. I haven’t even seen the digital rendering. I don’t know anything. And that’s the way I like it.”
Schwartz specifically wanted to wait to experience what Vanderpump has created this time around, saying, “When I go to a new city, I do my research and everything. But I love to be surprised and I always am when Nick [Alain], Lisa, Pandora [Vanderpump Sabo], the whole gang [are involved]. It’s the dream team.”
With reporting by Eliza Thompson
