From the moment Vanderpump Rules fans caught wind of Tom Schwartz’s friendship with Jo Wenberg, she faced quite a storm in the media. Now, Ariana Madix has jumped to her defense.
Jo has not had it easy in her time on Pump Rules, even before she ever appeared on screen. When fans linked her to Schwartz, Scandoval was still at its height. With Schwartz experiencing villain status, Jo was guilty by association.
Now, however, the conversation has evolved, with some viewers now seeing Jo as a victim. Jo couldn’t help but feel she was being bullied by her new castmates. While Ariana didn’t speak to that, she raised some points about Schwartz’s treatment of his so-called friend.
Ariana argues that Schwartz treated Jo like Katie
During the April 9 VPR After Show, the cast discussed Tom’s treatment of Jo. Ariana told Katie Maloney, “It reminds me of like, before you guys got like, engaged and married. When he was kind of, I mean, I don’t know, just giving you the ring on a string.” For her part, Katie said that breadcrumbing was far more toxic than that.
Ariana could agree but still pointed out that Tom was giving the bare minimum when Katie clearly wanted and needed more from him. “There’s a promise of something eventually.” Ariana then pointed out that Jo was the only other girl besides Katie to fly out to Florida with Schwartz to see his family. “Why wouldn’t you think that that’s your boyfriend?” Ariana asked.
Katie agreed that she’d made relationships in her head out of much less than a trip to meet a man’s family. Still, there was a slight level of disagreement between Katie and Ariana. Katie said, “Tom made it seem like he didn’t invite her.” Rather, Jo invited herself. Ariana hit back with, “Well, how did she get the address? They clearly did a lot of planning.” Katie remained unsure.
Vanderpump Rules Season 11 continues Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK SCHWARTZ WAS BREADCRUMBING JO? DO YOU THINK HIS TREATMENT OF JO PARALLELS HIS TIME WITH KATIE?
