Why Tom Schwartz Still Supports Lisa Vanderpump Amid Backlash

It’s no secret that Tom Schwartz has always been one of Lisa Vanderpump’s favorites in the Vanderpump Rules cast. And the feeling is very much mutual. Schwartz’s crush on Lisa was a recurring bit on Pump Rules for years. Longtime viewers remember back when he first interviewed for a bartending job. He spent the whole interview heavily flirting with LVP.

Schwartz still has nothing but love for Lisa today. But he’s increasingly in the minority amongst his Pump Rules alums. Schwartz’s ex-wife, Katie Maloney, called out LVP for being unsupportive during their divorce. Scheana Shay threw shade that Lisa only calls her when she needs something.

The most serious accusations came from James Kennedy’s ex-girlfriends. After his arrest for domestic violence, Ally Lewber and Kristen Doute both accused Lisa of covering for James. Rachel Leviss made similar allegations about Lisa in the past. So, when Schwartz gushed about Lisa on a recent podcast appearance, he was unprepared for the backlash.

Tom Schwartz gets pushback for calling Lisa Vanderpump his “dream Bravo wife”

Tom was the guest on the Tuesday May 13 episode of The Viall Files. At one point, the hosts asked Schwartz to name his dream Bravo wife. The joke guess was Katie Flood, with whom Schwartz had a somewhat awkward showmance on Winter House. But instead, Schwartz claimed Lisa Vanderpump was the “obvious” answer.

“I love Lisa,” he gushed. Nick Viall instantly pushed back. “I honestly like her less and less,” Nick said of Lisa. Schwartz appeared shocked that his answer didn’t go over well. “Really? I have such a great relationship with her,” he added. But Nick said she seems problematic. “Lisa?!” Schwartz responded in disbelief.

“Her covering for James Kennedy for so long,” Nick continued. “She seems to … throw women under the bus unnecessarily.” But Schwartz continued to defend Lisa. “No, wait, this is scathing,” he said to Nick. The Pump Rules alum added, “This is not fair. What am I missing? Are there things that have happened that I don’t know about?”

Tom Schwartz claims he doesn’t know the extent of Lisa Vanderpump covering for James Kennedy

At that point, Nick explained Ally’s allegations about Lisa in detail. When she appeared on The Viall Files in April, Ally revealed that Lisa tried to convince her to stay with James after his arrest. Ally also claimed that Lisa victim blamed her by saying, “‘Well, you were drinking too.'” Ally said the phone call made her feel “really weird” and “weak” and made her question if she made the wrong decision. After this, Lisa publicly said she couldn’t support James anymore. But some Pump Rules fans dismissed this as damage control. Or too little too late.

After Nick shared Ally’s side of the story, Schwartz said this was all news to him. “Oh god, I hadn’t heard about this,” Schwartz claimed. He added, “It doesn’t sound good though.” That’s putting it mildly, Schwartz!

I was a little skeptical that Schwartz hadn’t heard about this before. Especially considering Schwartz is still close with Scheana Shay and Kristen Doute. He even went to Kristen’s baby shower recently. Both women spoke out about Lisa Vanderpump’s support of James. Scheana was the one to claim LVP tried to manipulate Ally into staying with James. But it’s possible this hasn’t come up in conversation around Schwartz.

Tom Schwartz and Lisa Vanderpump are still business partners

During the podcast episode, Schwartz confirmed that he is still a 5% owner of TomTom. This comes after speculation that Lisa was trying to push him and Sandoval out. “Listen, I’m a partner with her,” Schwartz said of Lisa. “We’ve always had a great relationship and she’s been nothing but a champion for me since I met her.” He added, “She’s held me accountable too when I’m a f*ck up.”

In fact, Lisa’s support of Schwartz as a business partner is one example of her double standards towards men and women on Pump Rules. Many Pump Rules fans were shocked when she chose to open a bar with Schwartz. Tom Sandoval was a longtime employee. But Schwartz only worked one shift as a bartender for Lisa. And he barely worked that one, leaving quickly due to an apparent panic attack. To be fair, Lisa did call him a “big wussy p*ssy” for that.

Meanwhile, Schwartz & Sandy’s, which was their attempt to strike out on their own without Lisa, closed within two years of business. Schwartz has said he wants to open another bar someday. Maybe he’s trying to stay on Lisa’s good side so he can partner with her again.

Vanderpump Rules is available to stream on Peacock and Hayu in the UK and Ireland.