Photo: Nicole Weingart/Bravo
Tom Schwartzwas in need of a reset when he arrived on the Red Planet.
On Monday’s episode of the Fox competition seriesStar on Mars, the 40-year-oldVanderpump Rulesstar opened up about the fallout of#Scandoval.
“I came up here to get a fresh mindset because this thing with my friend back home on Earth, it’s incredibly messed up,” he said referring to his business partner and best friendTom Sandoval’smonths-long secret affairwith costarRaquel Leviss. “The Sandoval stuff, it’s a terrifying monster that’s taken on a life of its own now, and it’s having a negative impact on my focus, on my morale.”
He asserted, “I did not have an affair, I’m not him. And it’s just so strange that I’ve been absolutely mired in this.”
Tom Schwartz, Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval.JC Olivera/Getty (2)
Despite heading to another planet, the reality star admitted to his fellow competitorAdam Ripponthat the scandal was still on his mind.
“You’ll see me staring off into a corner. That means I’m back on Earth, dealing with Earth problems,” he explained. “I don’t want to go back. … I feel like I’m rewiring my brain a little bit. No, no, no, I’m not ready to go home. But I have moments of weakness.”
With #Scandoval still playing out back at home, Schwartz was grateful for the new perspective, sharing, “No matter how bad you think you have it back on Earth, you’re living like a king compared to what life is like here on Mars.”
Tom Schwartz on Stars on Mars.Brook Rushton/FOX
Brook Rushton/FOX
Unfortunately, his time on the planet came to an end after competing in this week’s challenge in which they were told a hostile life form had invaded their camp on Mars. Two teams traveled through caves to find the “Mother Fungus” and exterminate it using a flamethrower.
“I feel a little lighter on my feet now. It really did kind of reset my mind coming up here because it’s just been such a dark hole back in L.A.” he shared. “All of a sudden, I hear birds chirping up there, and the sun’s shining. Bring it on, Earth. I’m ready.”
He added, “I feel reinvigorated. I feel like a fuse is lit again. I’m fired up.”
Tom Schwartz with a flame thrower on ‘Stars on Mars’.Brook Rushton/FOX
Schwartz recently told PEOPLE that his time onStars on Marswas“transformative.”
“When I came back, I did have this fresh perspective," he said. “I keep talking about the overview effect — for astronauts, they go up and then they look down at Earth, and it gives them this fresh perspective, this almost like spiritual enlightenment. And I feel like I got at least a version of that. I really did.”
In hindsight, he realized he “retreated into my own little bubble for the past few years, and [Stars on Mars] just kind of snapped me out of it. It gave me a newfound appreciation for my life in Los Angeles.”
“I didn’t cover for him, but I had his back,” he explained. “He came to me, confided in me that he was in love with someone else.”
“My friend had an affair that just happened to swipe the nation and it’s incredibly messed up but the thing is I’ve become mired in it,” he added. “That’s been a huge source of just angst in my life. I’ve been in this extended funk.”
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Stars on Marsairs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, andVanderpump Rulescan be streamed in full on Peacock.
source: people.com
