After distancing himself a bit from Tom Sandoval, Vanderpump Rules star Tom Schwartz has a new friend. Even though he had to travel all the way to (fake) Mars to do it, he seems to have found a kindred spirit in Tallulah Willis.
Even though he’d been unsure about accepting a place on the cast of Fox’s Stars on Mars space simulation series, it was a welcome escape. Following the months-long stress and drama of Scandoval, Tom needed a change of scenery. Why not go to (pretend) Mars? People has the exclusive details.
Living in close quarters with strangers
Regular viewers of Pump Rules are well aware of how paralyzed by indecision Tom can become in any new situation. He’s an overthinker for sure. And faced with traveling to the show’s filming location in Australia and living with people he’d never met, Tom probably needed to pop a Xanax or two.
“I’ll be honest,” the VPR star admitted, “when I first got there, I was a little claustrophobic. I felt like the reality of what we had committed to set in and … all of a sudden the air felt a little stagnant.”
“But that all kind of dissipated once I got to know everyone on the cast,” he added, “because the energy and the camaraderie in there, it was palpable. It was uplifting as hell.”
Though the cast included celebrities such as Lance Armstrong, Marshawn Lynch, Ariel Winter, and Ronda Rousey, it was Tallulah with whom Tom found a special connection. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s youngest daughter and the Schwartz and Sandy’s co-owner bonded over their fathers’ health issues.
Tallulah’s empathy was healing for Tom
In February 2023, the Willis family announced that beloved star Bruce had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Meanwhile, Tom’s dad has a condition that has caused him to develop nearly fatal blood clots multiple times in the past year. Tom described Tallulah as being “super empathetic” while talking about his dad’s health problems.
“She almost has this oracle vibe to her,” the former SUR bartender remarked about his new friend. “She has oracle undertones, you know what I mean? [Tallulah] was really comforting to be around and she’s hilarious, by the way, too — and super talented. She made me laugh a lot.”
It’s been a stressful couple of years for Tom. In addition to the Scandoval stress and his dad’s health problems, one of Tom’s brothers was diagnosed with testicular cancer around the same time as Tom was going through a divorce from his wife and co-star Katie Maloney. That much stress would overwhelm anyone.
“I feel stronger because of it now,” Schwartzy admitted. “One thing’s for sure, I’ve definitely been out of my comfort zone, and I guess that’s when you grow the most, right? So I’ve grown a lot.”
Hopefully, his new friendship with Tallulah will help him grow up some more. She seems much more grounded and mature than most of Tom’s VPR co-stars.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK TOM AND TALLULAH WILL CONTINUE THEIR FRIENDSHIP NOW THAT STARS ON MARS HAS COMPLETED FILMING? DO YOU THINK SHE WOULD BE A GOOD INFLUENCE ON HIM?
