We all knew that Tom Schwartz was privy to Scandoval before it went public, but apparently, there are several other Vanderpump Rules cast members and friends who were in on the secret. Schwartz shared his knowledge of it with the public as soon as the scandal broke. In fact, as he stood by Sandoval’s side, Ariana dropped Schwartz as a friend.

Funnily enough, Scandoval broke not long after Schwartz was seen kissing Raquel at Scheana Shay and Brock Davie’s Cancun wedding in August 2022. But Scandoval allegedly began on August 2, just after Ariana’s dog Charlotte died, which has led many viewers to speculate that Schwartz was kissing Raquel to cover it up. However, he has since denied this on Watch What Happens Live.

“[Sandoval] came to me in January [2023] and he told me that he's in love with Raquel,” Schwartz told WWHL host Andy Cohen. “I was flabbergasted but not surprised … There’s a lot of people out there who kind of know it was an open secret. After [January], Tom kind of got flagrant. He was brazen … It was like a release for him.”

Schwartz added, “Just for the record, I am being fed a narrative that he’s broken up with Ariana or attempted to multiple times, many many times. And he’s not happy. They’re not healthy, they’re not intimate … All of that’s inconsequential now in light of the way he handled it … He told me he has a game plan, he’s gonna do the right thing, and then he just kind of continued to procrastinate.”