Tom Schwartz and Lala Kent may have transitioned from Vanderpump Rules to The Valley, but they haven’t transitioned their friendship into a romantic relationship, despite recent rumors claiming otherwise.
The Bravo stars took a moment to shut down the rumors about them on this week’s episode of Schwartz’s Detox Retox podcast, where Lala was welcomed as a guest.
At one point during the episode, Schwartz joked that he had “breaking news” to share, before handing his phone over to Lala so that she could read part of a story that had been posted online. Lala proceeded to read an article claiming that she and Schwartz were not only “quietly dating,” but also living together.
“What the f**k is going on?” Lala asked Schwartz, who replied, “Hard launch. It’s official, Lala.”
As she continued reading, Lala noted that the website that posted the story had used a photo of her from when she was pregnant.
“ … so it looks like I’m also carrying your baby … I’m sweating,” she said.
Schwartz went on to tell Lala that he heard the dating rumors about them earlier that day after receiving texts from multiple friends wanting him to confirm or deny the story.
It appears that the rumors may stem from a comment left on an Instagram post featuring an interview with Lala in which the commenter claimed to have witnessed Lala and Schwartz on dates at the restaurant the person works at.
“They are actually together,” the person wrote. “I see them all the time at the bistro I work at and he’s always picking up the bill. They just need to come out and be HONEST!”
In a TikTok video posted this week, Lala addressed the person’s comment, pointing out that the commenter’s use of the term ‘bistro’ was odd.
“My question is— number one, bistro? Highlight, underline, question mark. Bistro? Like a restaurant, yes. Even a coffee shop I would get, but ‘bistro’ how random. I literally had to Google, ‘what is a bistro?’ because this is so specific. Are there a lot of bistros in LA that I don’t know about? I think it’s safe to say, you guys, that just one comment and y’all taking it and running, thinking you solved smeting? ..I’m a little let down!”
As she and Schwartz began delving into the topic of their actual dating lives, Lala told Schwartz that while she believes a relationship will “come one day when it’s supposed to,” she’s also happy being single.
“A lot of people ask me, like, ‘Are you dating?’ and when I say no, they go, ‘Oh, you’ll be able to put yourself out there someday,” Lala said. “I’m like, what? I don’t need your pity.
“ … When I tell people, like, ‘I could be fine by myself,’ they’re like, ‘Oh no, it’s OK, you’re gonna find someone,’” she continued. “I’m like, I’m not asking, this is just me being open to whatever the universe places me in. We’re gonna know that that’s where we’re supposed to be.”
As longtime fans of ‘Vanderpump Rules’ know, Schwartz was previously married to Katie Maloney. After getting engaged and married on the Bravo series, Schwartz and Katie announced their split in March 2022. Soon after their breakup, Schwartz claimed that Katie was the one who had initiated the split.
Meanwhile, Lala got engaged to controversial movie producer Randall Emmett in 2018. The two went on to call it quits soon after welcoming daughter Ocean in 2021 amid rumors that Randall had been unfaithful. Despite their messy custody dispute over Ocean, Lala revealed in March that she and Randall are now in a “good place.”
