Katie Maloney had a bone to pick with ex-husband Tom Schwartz after hearing claims that Rachel “Raquel” Leviss made about him on her “Rachel Goes Rogue” podcast.
At the Vanderpump Rules season 11 premiere party at the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday, January 17, Maloney, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly how she reacted after learning that Schwartz, 41, knew about Leviss’ affair with Tom Sandoval for longer than he initially let on.
“I read a recap of Rachel’s podcast and she goes, ‘He knew from the beginning,’” Maloney said of the Tuesday, January 16, podcast episode. “And I texted [Schwartz] and I was like, ‘I told you to tell the truth. And now you’re getting called out and thrown under the bus.’”
Leviss’ months-long affair with Sandoval, 41, came to light in March 2023. Sandoval and Ariana Madix called it quits after nine years of dating in the wake of the cheating scandal.
The revelation sparked backlash from Bravo fans and stars alike, but Leviss and Sandoval weren’t the only recipients of the vitriol. Schwartz was also caught in the crossfire due to his prior knowledge of the affair.
“Schwartz knew since the very beginning. I got a phone call from Tom [Sandoval] after we hooked up for the first time. My mind was racing, I was feeling so much guilt and shame about it,” Leviss recalled on Tuesday. “And I finally got a call from Sandoval, he was at Schwartz’s apartment and that was a safe space for him. So, Schwartz knew before we even had a conversation to talk about it and what the game plan was going to be.”
Schwartz previously admitted during an April 2023 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen that he found out in August 2022 that Leviss and Sandoval had a “one-night stand.”
He continued: “Then it became, from my point of view, it became an emotional affair. Which is still inappropriate but I didn’t think it was linear. [Then] in January [2023], he came to me and told me that he was in love with Raquel.”
Maloney, for her part, told Us on Wednesday that what she views as Schwartz’s inconsistencies “make it so hard” for her to maintain a friendship with him. However, she admitted the pair are “on fine terms” after finalizing their divorce in October 2022.
“We’re not besties, we’re not buddies, but we have the dogs still, so it’s fine. I don’t have any ill will. I want the best for him,” she said.
Lala Kent also heard about the revelation that “Tom Schwartz knew the whole time,” she told Us at the premiere event, but she hasn’t listened to the podcast firsthand.
“I have not listened to it. I heard bits and pieces from the first [episode] through people. And then the second [too],” Kent, 33, said. “I think she’s entitled to have her voice heard. We have all been able to have our voices heard on some platform. She deserves that, even if I don’t listen to it or I think it’s a stupid move and she should have come back to Vanderpump, you know what? The bitch should collect the bag. The rest of us have, right?”
James Kennedy, meanwhile — who proposed to Leviss in May 2021 before the duo called off their engagement that December — is thinking of giving the podcast a try.
“Just in case she talks about Hippie,” the DJ, 31, told Us of the dog he and his ex adopted together during their relationship. “I have to listen up to that.”
Leviss previously claimed that Kennedy is “part of the reason” why Hippie “is a biter” during an August 2023 appearance on Bethenny Frankel’s “ReWives” podcast, alleging that her ex “liked [the] sensation” of the dog biting him and would therefore encourage the behavior.
Kennedy, who took custody of the dog in July 2023 and changed his name from Graham to Hippie later that month, shut down the claim.
“Definitely didn’t train him to be a biter,” he told Us. “He’s so well-behaved.”
His girlfriend, Ally Lewber, whom he began dating in January 2022, echoed the sentiment.
“He is a good boy, he does not bite,” Lewber, 28, said of Hippie. “He’s happy, he’s healthy. He has a yard. We play with him every day and we love him so much.”
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules premieres on Bravo Tuesday, January 30, at 8 p.m. ET. While Leviss decided not to participate in the new installment, Maloney, Schwartz, Sandoval, Ariana, 37, Kent, Kennedy and Lewber will all return.
