Heavy/NBCUniversal Tom Schwartz.
Tom Schwartz’s rumored girlfriend Jo Wenberg opened up to fans on Instagram. The “Vanderpump Rules” star, who split from his wife Katie Maloney in 2022, has been hanging out with Wenberg over this past year.
In July 2023, the @QueensofBravo fan account shared footage of Wenberg filming at SUR with Schwartz, Tom Sandoval, James Kennedy, and Ally Lewber for the 11th season of “Vanderpump Rules.”
Two months before the season 11 premiere, Wenberg changed her Instagram account from private to public to directly address fans for the first time.
Here’s what you need to know:
Jo Wenberg Wants Fans to See The Real Her
Wenberg has been mentioned on “Vanderpump Rules” in the past. In the season 10 episode titled “Troll Mates,” Schwartz told Scheana Shay that his “friend Jo” was staying with him. After Shay asked if he hooked up with her, Schwartz said no, but added, “Jo’s my girl.”
Since that time, other cast mates have talked about Wenberg’s relationship with Schwartz.
On her Instagram story on November 6, 2023, Wenberg announced, “I’m going public with my Instagram tonight. I hope you guys will all be kind to me. I haven’t gotten the nicest stuff on any type of platform. But I wanted just to make sure that you guys could see just me with no makeup or filter. This is who I am.”
Wenberg confirmed she will appear in the upcoming season of “Vanderpump Rules,” which premieres on January 30, 2024. “I did film this season of ‘Vanderpump Rules’, and it was a very big, eye-opening experience,” she told her followers. “I am usually behind the camera, and being in front of the camera was very hard for me. But I will say the producers were really awesome.”
“I’m really afraid of actually pulling the plug and going public,” she added. “The reason I am doing this is because I don’t think it will harm me. At this point, you guys will see the season and I had no idea what I was doing.”
While not all of the cast members welcomed her with open arms, Wenberg said Lala Kent was “so nice” to her. “She gave me grace,” Wenberg added. “I didn’t even really know her, and I thought that was such a sweet thing. We don’t even follow each other on Instagram and we don’t have each other’s phone numbers. But I wanted to give a shout-out about her because she was so sweet.”
Wenberg also confirmed that she was close to former cast member Raquel Leviss. Leviss was at the center of a cheating scandal with co-star Tom Sandoval last season. Leviss did not return to “Vanderpump Rules” for season 11.
“There’s always moments in your life where you find certain people and you start to care about them,” Wenberg said. “And one of those people is Raquel. And I am also allowed to care about Sandoval as well. I’m very, very proud of both of them individually, and that is all I will say.”
Katie Maloney Slammed Jo Wenberg
Schwartz previously talked about his friendship with Wenberg, telling Us Weekly in February 2023 that the hairstylist is “someone who I appreciate on a deep level.”
During the “Vanderpump Rules” reunion filmed one month later, he said his friendship with Wenberg evolved into “a situationship or a friends with benefits thing with clearly defined boundaries.”
“We were both coming out of long-term relationships, and for a minute there, we were each other’s happy places,” he added.
But Sandoval’s ex-wife Katie Maloney does not approve of the friendship. According to Cosmopolitan, Maloney blasted Wenberg, who is a former bestie of Kristen Doute, in a comment to a post on the fan account @realvanderpump.
“Jo is spooky,” Maloney wrote of Wenberg in early 2023. “I mean none of us could stand to be around her. Her energy is on par with a crackhead.”
“She is a psycho and I will also light her on fire,” Maloney added.
In her Instagram video, Wenberg fumbled her words at one point and said, “That doesn’t make any sense [what I just tried to say]. This is probably why people think I am a crackhead. I just really suck at talking.”
“I’m not a crackhead, can we just make it clear?” she added. “I’ve never done it in my life.”
As for Wenberg’s relationship status with Schwartz, at BravoCon 2023 in Las Vegas, the Schwartz & Sandy’s so-owner stated he is “single, but not ready to mingle,” according to BravoTV.com
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