Zack Wickham Has a Surprising Connection to Tom Schwartz’s 23-Year-Old Girlfriend
Before she began dating Tom Schwartz, Sophia Skoro already had a close tie to this Bravolebrity.
The worlds of Vanderpump Rules and The Valley are colliding yet again!
In a chat with The Daily Dish, Zack Wickham revealed the surprising connection he has to Tom Schwartz’s girlfriend, Sophia Skoro.
How is Zack Wickham connected to Sophia Skoro?
It turns out Sophia is one of Zack’s “best friends” and the pals’ friendship goes way back — in fact, even before the 23-year-old and Tom went public with their romance earlier this year.
“I knew her before they even met, which is crazy,” Zack shared.
Zack added that he couldn’t be happier that his two friends have now found love together.
“I love them together,” he told The Daily Dish.
As the couple told The Viall Files in an April 16 episode, they first crossed paths in the summer of 2023 at Tom Tom, but didn’t start dating until a few months later.
It didn’t take long for the romance to turn serious. They each publicly professed their love in April during the podcast appearance.
"We definitely love each other," Sophia shared, as Tom replied, “Love you.”
How does Zack Wickham feel about Tom and Sophia’s age difference?
But the new relationship hasn’t been without controversy. Since the romance went public, Tom has repeatedly fielded questions about the couple’s age gap. At 41, he is nearly two decades older than Sophia — a detail he hasn’t put much focus on.
"Honestly, if I was a lecherous old man trolling bars, like, seeking out young women, I think that would feel gross. But we just kind of bumped into each other. We hit it off,” he explained on The Viall Files.
Zack also dismissed the criticism, saying that Sophia and Tom share a similar “energy.”
“Tom needs to just admit though, like stop trying to say you want to grow up. Like just be you,” he told The Daily Dish about Tom’s claims he needed to cut back on going out now that he’s older. “Find somebody that matches your energy or who you are.”
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According to Zack, Tom and his ex-wife, Katie Maloney, just “couldn’t get on the same page because they were just growing in separate directions.”
“That happens,” he said. “But with Sophia and him, they’re very much on, like, the same page of what they like and they’re hanging out together because Sophia likes to go out.”
He added that it just “works” between the two.
Who else does Zack Wickham know from Vanderpump Rules?
Tom isn’t the only Vanderpump Rules cast member to have close ties to Zack. The Kentucky native said he’s been in the Vanderpump “world” for eight years.
“So, since I moved to L.A., I’ve been in the world because Brittany [Cartwright] was my best friend when I moved here,” he shared. “So ergo, Vanderpump Rules — the people became my best friends.”
One of the first friends he made after moving to tinsel town was Scheana Shay.
“When I first moved here, I was the closest with Scheana when she was going through her divorce with [Mike] Shay,” he remembered. “I laid with her on her couch for, like, almost two weeks and we went out, like, almost every night together because I didn’t want her to be alone.”
Zack also met bestie and onetime roommate Jasmine Goode through Sheana. He told The Daily Dish he talks with Jasmine and Vanderpump Rules alum Kristen Doute “every single day.”
Brittany’s split from husband Jax Taylor has also given him and Brittany time to strengthen their bond, as he jokingly called himself the “man in her life” at the moment.
“I’m the real man in her life and I’m the one that’s always gonna be there,” he said. “I’m the one that moves her from Airbnb to Airbnb and I’m the one that fixed the toilet seat the other day.”
The longtime friends are so close they could have been “conceived in the same womb.”
“We get each other on a different level and that’s never changed,” he said.
To find out how The Valley’s first season will end, tune in Tuesday night on Bravo or stream the finale the next day on Peacock.
Original reporting by Stephanie Gomulka
