Okay, so we all know Tom Sandoval is bad right? Like, it’s almost boring how easy it is to spot the millions of red flags he waved with abandon since Scandoval happened. Once the truth of the months-long affair hit the airwaves, it became pretty easy to accept the black-and-white truth that Sandoval is just not a nice guy (at least for those of us who Tom doesn’t buy expensive gifts, because apparently that changes things). But there’s been a quieter monster creeping in the shadows all along that fans are finally acknowledging exists. That monster would of course be bleach-blond Bubba #1, AKA Tom Schwartz, who has gotten away with his nefarious movements against multiple members of the VPR crew by feigning innocence behind that goofy crooked smile. That’s why when Jo arrived on the scene, for some odd reason volunteering to be Schwartz’s sacrificial lamb, I knew there would be trouble. Don’t get me wrong, in a lot of ways they seemed perfect for each other. Watching them communicate through silly voices and robot dance moves would’ve almost been cute if it wasn’t so annoying. But Schwartz is gonna Schwartz at the end of the day, which in this case meant playing Jo for all she’s worthwhile somehow painting Katie as the one who owed Jo an apology. Now that season 11 has come to a bitter end, I couldn’t help but wonder: are Jo and Schwartz still friends?
What did Schwartz say to Jo at the reunion?
Before Jo got blocked, Andy and the group had a lot of questions at the reunion for Jo and Schwartz (mostly Schwartz) regarding their situationship. Jo clarified that she crashed with Tom for all of four days while she was between apartments which doesn’t amount to roommates like everyone had been saying. To be fair, the biggest criticism of Jo was that she was sleeping with Katie’s ex-husband while trying to stay cool with her at the same time (not her literal mailing address) but still, good to know. After much prodding, Schwartz conceded that what he first described as a “sporadic”, casual hookup was actually “magical”, “lightning in a bottle”, and happened multiple times a week before he eventually decided to pull back. He also claimed his sudden switch-up had nothing to do with his new girlfriend Sophia. Basically everyone in the room (except for Sandoval) agreed that Tom’s wishy-washy approach to dating Jo (he told her he loved her but he didn’t want to be with her) left a lot of room for Jo to be confused. But Jo still seemed to think, at least at the time, the only person in the room who wanted to make her feel bad was Katie.
Are Jo and Schwartz Still Friends Today?
Things have gone sour between the pick-me pair. Jo has continued to make a lot of long-winded commentary on the internet about how she still loves him dearly, even though it didn’t work out. Though it’s hard to describe her frequent peace and love rants as anything other than a little strange (sorry Jo they are!), they’ve also objectively been explicit about her and Schwartz’s sex life at times. On a recent IG post about the Pump Rules fans needing to “choose kindness” (lol, girl, wrong show) Jo mentioned she couldn’t tag Schwartz for some reason. This got me thinking…did Schwartz block Jo? And the answer apparently is yes. Jo later went on a live on May 9 to explain why Schwartz blocked her, which is essentially because Schwartz asked her to stop talking about him nonstop since he has a girlfriend now. Jo’s response, in short, was “no.” Perhaps the reunion will shed more light on what exactly led the friends astray, but hopefully, Jo now realizes her real bully all along was none other than her pal Schwartzy.
What happened with Schwartz and Jo on Vanderpump Rules?
Things first got tricky for Jo on season 11. Schwartz clearly gave her the green light to officially enter the VPR universe, presumably under the impression he would introduce her to the rest of the group under his wing to see where their love connection would go. Except it was more like Tom would invite Jo to events and then watch from a corner as she floundered under the pressure. By the time Jo fried the greys off Schwartz’s scalp in her salon, he was already suddenly done with her. He made this clear as day when he invited Jo to a singles event she said she was made to believe they were attending to support Sandoval (not so Schwartz could break up with her by making out with a rando in front of her face). Even Kyle Chan, the Toms’ apologizer extraordinaire, was mystified as to why Joe was there. Following that almost cruel debacle, the producers made Tom sit Jo down and tell her she wasn’t the one. A few weeks later while taking a breather during one of Sandoval’s Most Extras performances (Bravo is the real villain for making us watch that BTW) Tom made sure Jo really got the message that there would be no funny business in San Francisco. And yet Tom still managed to make her look like a clown by serving her on a platter for Katie to dunk on. I’m not sure any ex-wife would be dying to make nice with a former mutual who jumped into bed with their husband, but if Tom knew Katie even a little bit he would’ve never suggested Jo try to get validation from the woman who has no responsibility to protect her feelings.
How did Jo and Tom Schwartz meet?
Jo and Schwartz met years ago after she had become close friends with none other than Kristen Doute after moving to LA from the Midwest. Schwartz and Jo became friendly through Kristen, but Jo eventually became too much of a handful for even Doute to handle (yikes). At the reunion, Tom says he and Jo weren’t particularly close until covid when they became “drinking buddies who fuck” to use Andy Cohen’s words. But Jo first fell on our radar when her crashing with Schwartz in the early stages of his divorce became a point of contention for Katie. Tom has described their friendship as one of a kind, all but calling Jo his soulmate in the same lofty language Sandoval tossed around about Rachel.
