Tom Schwartz admits he was a reality TV hater before joining 'Vanderpump Rules'

• Tom Schwartz admitted he despised reality TV and vowed never to appear on it.
• He relocated to Los Angeles in 2009 with ambitions of becoming a procedural actor.
• Schwartz joined Vanderpump Rules in season 12, which premiered on 2 December 2025.

Tom Schwartz has admitted he was once a vocal critic of reality television and never imagined he would end up on a show like Vanderpump Rules — despite having virtually no acting credits to his name at the time.

The 43-year-old television personality, actor, and restaurateur confessed on a recent episode of More Life with Carl Radke, where he reflected candidly on his earlier disdain for the genre.

'I would never do that. I'm an artist'

Schwartz told host Carl Radke that his ambitions when he first arrived in the industry pointed firmly away from reality television. "I wanted to be on a procedural. I never wanted to be a star or a movie star. I didn't want to do movies," he said. "I wanted to be a procedural... but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would end up on reality TV," he admitted.

His attitude extended to some of the biggest reality shows of the era. Schwartz said he was openly dismissive of The Hills, the MTV juggernaut created by Vanderpump Rules Executive Producer Bill Langworthy. "Bill Langworthy, our executive producer, famously created The Hills, which is one of the biggest shows ever on MTV, and I remember being a hater. I did not like that show," he said.

The stigma that held him back

The Winter House star explained that his resistance was rooted in the stigma he believed reality television carried at the time — a stigma he felt would permanently damage his credibility as a performer. "I was just like, I would never do that. I'm an artist, I'm an actor. Meanwhile, I had no acting credits whatsoever," he quipped.

He expanded on that mindset, noting how much the landscape has since shifted. "Now you could be a superstar. But like in my mind back in the day, if I was going to be on reality TV, it would forever compromise my artistic integrity. That's how I thought. Again, like I had done, maybe one non-union commercial for like Modelo at that point," he said.

From Los Angeles dreams to Vanderpump Rules

Schwartz relocated to Los Angeles in 2009 with aspirations of building an acting career. He eventually joined Vanderpump Rules in season 12, which premiered on Bravo on 2 December 2025.