Tom Schwartz Opens Up on His Family’s Difficult Year: “I Fell Apart a Little Bit”
The Vanderpump Rules cast member reflected on the hardships his family has faced.
Tom Schwartz has shared his candid thoughts about Vanderpump Rules Season 10’s most-talked-about subject — Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ affair — on several occasions, but he’s been more reluctant to discuss some of the things he’s been dealing with in the background amid all the drama.
This is especially the case when it comes to his divorce from Katie Maloney, as well as the health scares his family has had in the past year. Now, he’s opening up on the latter.
Tom Schwartz’s Family’s Struggles
Schwartz’s brother was diagnosed with cancer
More specifically, as Schwartz revealed back in 2022, Brandon was diagnosed with testicular cancer. In September of that year, Schwartz took to Instagram to share an update on his brother’s journey, writing, “My brother Brando got his hair back post chemo. Send this man some love.”
Schwartz’s father nearly passed away
In dealing with “near-fatal blood clots,” Schwartz’s dad “almost [died] multiple times,” he said in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. What’s more, his father was apparently “given a 5% chance of living at one point.” Thankfully, Schwartz’s dad is in a much better position today. As Schwartz shared on Kristen Doute’s podcast, “He’s lucid. He’s funny. He’s got most of his mobility back. I’m so grateful to have him. I love my family.”
Where Things Stand with Tom Schwartz Today
While reflecting on everything he’s endured, Schwartz told Rolling Stone, “I hope I don’t seem overly self-indulgent or neurotic because I’m not that guy. It’s just the past few years really got me. It was a combination of so many things happening with my family, you know, my dad almost dying multiple times, my brother getting cancer, my divorce.”
“I just felt like I had a little rain cloud over my head,” Schwartz added in another new interview, telling People, “It was very doom and gloom. I think I was a little too melodramatic, self-indulgent… I kind of feel like I lost control of my life. I fell apart a little bit. Every now and then, we fall apart. ... I wish I would’ve bucked up a little more, as my mom says, ‘Buck up.’”
That said, today, he’s just “full of love and gratitude.”
“I’ve just been taking a little break, am focusing on myself and, you know, I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my life,” Schwartz said. “I gotta be honest, I’m not super proud of the way I responded to adversity for the past year and a half. I think I floundered a little bit.”
But now? “I feel better equipped to handle whatever life throws at me,” he concluded.
