Tom Schwartz Nukes His Old Life—And Maybe Heals a Broken Friendship

Sometimes the best way forward is to burn it all down and start fresh.

That’s essentially what Tom Schwartz is doing. The Vanderpump Rules alum is selling his restaurants—both Tom Tom and Schwartz and Sandy’s—and walking away from a business that became less a venture and more a financial anchor dragging him under. On a recent episode of the Viall Files podcast, the 43-year-old was surprisingly candid about why: the restaurant business nearly destroyed one of his most important relationships, his decades-long friendship with Tom Sandoval.

Here’s the context that matters. Sandoval’s very public affair with Raquel Leviss and his subsequent breakup with Ariana Madix didn’t just make tabloid headlines—it created a PR tsunami that engulfed the restaurants bearing both their names. Schwartz watched from the sidelines as the backlash hit, and he’s been open about feeling abandoned to deal with the wreckage while Sandoval moved on to other projects. That kind of thing doesn’t just damage a business; it cracks friendships at their foundation.

But here’s where the story takes an interesting turn. Schwartz recently spent an hour on FaceTime with Sandoval, and by his account, something shifted. He described his friend as“doing so well right now,”sounding“optimistic,”and genuinely good. When podcast host Nick Viall asked directly if distance had been created between them, Schwartz didn’t dodge—he said yes, admitted they’d taken a break from each other, and acknowledged that Schwartz&Sandy’s“almost destroyed”their friendship. But then came the kicker:“Listen, it’s water under the bridge now. I have no lingering resentment.”

That’s a remarkably mature thing to say publicly, especially when you’re the one left holding the financial bag. It speaks to someone who’s done real work—therapy, maybe, or just time and reflection—to process genuine hurt without letting it calcify into bitterness.

Meanwhile, Schwartz isn’t just closing chapters; he’s opening new ones. He’s head-over-heels for Kiana Carroll, a 27-year-old model and entrepreneur he describes as his“karma”for past relationship mistakes. By his telling, she’s devastatingly gorgeous, ferociously funny, independent, and genuinely successful—and the fact that he led with her personality rather than her looks suggests he actually means it. After a brutal year marked by divorce, his brother’s serious health crisis, and the restaurant disaster, finding genuine love might be the reset he actually needed.

As for Sandoval, Schwartz is genuinely supporting his pivot. His friend is competing on America’s Got Talent with his band Tom Sandoval&The Most Extras, appearing on other reality shows, and immersing himself in new creative work. Schwartz sees the hustle and respects it, which says something about both of them—that they can acknowledge hurt without weaponizing it, and move forward without pretending the damage never happened.

This isn’t a Hollywood redemption arc where everyone hugs it out and returns to the status quo. It’s messier and more human than that. It’s two guys who built something together, watched it implode, took time apart, and are now finding their way back to friendship on different terms. That takes more guts than a quick reconciliation ever could.