Tom Schwartz: I focus on “Vibrantness” after being “stranded” in a divorce

Join Fox Stars on Mars has allowed Tom Schwartz to start feeling like himself again after his divorce from Katie Maloney.

“I needed a good dose of levity and adventure,” said the Vanderpump Rules star, 40, exclusively told Us weekly on Friday, June 23, while promoting the Fox series. “I think I’ve bottled up a bit over the last few years and I feel like I’ve fallen apart, but coming here gave me a fresh perspective on everything. It gave me the overview effect.”

Schwartz continued, “It’s like astronauts going up [into space] and they look back down to Earth and all of a sudden they have some sort of cognitive shift. They look at the world differently. I just had to reset my mind and I accomplished that up there. I really did. I was stuck in my own little sad story, wallowing a bit over the past year. And, [Stars on Mars] got me out and I feel like I’m me again.

Schwartz — who found he “thrives” with adventure and levity — was with Maloney, 36, for more than a decade before they decided to go their separate ways. The now-exes, who married in 2016, confirmed in March 2022 that they had split.

“I never thought I would have to make such an announcement. But I think it’s important that I’m open about my life with you,” the Something About Her restaurateur wrote via Instagram at the time. live together, Tom and I end our marriage. This ending is met with no resentment or animosity, there are no sides to take. We have a deep admiration for each other that will always remain and cherish our friendship.”

Schwartz, for his part, echoed Maloney’s sentiments in his own social media post at the time. “Well this sucks,” he wrote. ‘I am not the victim. I’m not going to write too sad a song. Please fully respect Katie’s decision and we’ve had healthy, productive conversations about it. It would be much sadder if she decided to stay with me when she is not happy.

Schwartz and the Utah native finally finalized their divorce in October 2022 and planned to split custody of their two pets.

The couple also agreed that they would not date anyone in their relationship Vanderpump Rules friends group. Schwartz broke that arbitrary rule when he kissed with Rachel Leviss in August 2022 at Scheana Shay And Brock Daviss’ marriage. (Leviss, 28, began a months-long affair with Schwartz’s BFF, Tom Sandoval, that same weekend despite his nine-year relationship with now-ex Ariana Madix.) Schwartz’s liplock with the beauty queen quickly led to a rift with Maloney.

“As we share custody of dogs and mutual best friends, it is necessary to set boundaries,” she wrote via Instagram in February. “I didn’t tell him what to do. I said it would create a toxic environment and he agreed. We had seen it played a million times before in our friend group.

Schwartz and Maloney have remained at odds amid Scandoval and throughout the season 10 reunion, which aired on Bravo in May. The co-founder of TomTom, for his part, is ready to bring his new find Stars on Mars confidence in his daily life ahead.

“I feel like Tom, what version of Tom is this? Maybe let’s say 5.0,” Schwartz joked Friday. “I feel like I’m sophisticated, maybe a little more stoic. I feel just a little bit more ready to take on whatever life throws at me, you know? I haven’t necessarily been proud of how I’ve responded to adversity over the past year. … It was therapeutic in a way up there.

New episodes of Stars on Mars airs on Fox Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.

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With reporting by Christina Garibaldi