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Just before Season 10 of Vanderpump Rules started filming, Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney revealed they were getting a divorce. It was a surprise to fans, but Katie said her decision to end her marriage came after she saw co-star Raquel Leviss call off her engagement to James Kennedy during the Season 9 reunion. “When they announced at the reunion that they had broken it up — it was a bit empowering because when you’re trying to figure out what to do and you see other people be strong and their convictions like that, you’re like, ‘All right, I can do it, I can do it,’” she exclusively told Us Weekly in April.
What Katie didn’t know at the time, however, is that Tom and Raquel would grow much closer after the cast started filming Season 10. Four months after Tom and Katie’s split, HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY learned that Tom and Raquel hooked up the night before Scheana Shay‘s wedding. Katie was even seen “screaming” at Tom and Raquel after catching them “making out”. So when we interviewed the cast at BravoCon on Oct. 15, we asked for their thoughts on the topic.
Tom told us he’s not currently dating anyone, but he “did get to know Raquel on a much deeper level this year.” As he nervously laughed about his supposed hookup with her, he further said, “I have such a great love and respect for her … we’re tight. We text. We hang out … it’s been fun getting to know her.” And the only thing Katie would say was to “[expect] chaos” this season. “It was tough. But I feel like I just tried to protect myself as much as possible,” she added.
Scheana and Raquel remained coy on the topic — the former admitted that her welcome party “was lit”, while the latter said, “I can’t tell you much. You’ll have to tune in.” But James — unsurprisingly — was more forthright about what fans can expect from the new season and Raquel’s hookup with Tom.
He said, “[Our friend group] flipped [and] turned upside down. I mean, Jesus, you know? It couldn’t get more yin yang opposites. I will say this — I don’t keep it in the family … [But] I hope everyone is happy.” And during a WWHL taping at BravoCon, James also confirmed Raquel “made out” with both Peter Madrigal and Tom Schwartz, which you can see in the first video above.
Bravo has yet to reveal when Vanderpump Rules Season 10 will premiere, but sources tell HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that new episodes will debut in February 2023.