The new norm. Amid Katie Maloney’s ongoing divorce from Tom Schwartz, she spoke about the nature of their breakup and is learning to move on.
“No matter how sad and emotional [the breakup] was, I really felt relieved because I felt a little stuck. It seemed to me that I was just making movements,” Maloney, 35, said on Friday, April 1, in the release of her podcast “You’re Going to Love Me.” “To feel that I finally said what was on my mind and in my heart, to finally express it, and to feel that I could finally move on and heal from these things, was liberating for me.”
She continued, “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done because I will always love Tom. I will always love him so much. He was my family and my best friend, and we shared everything. I wanted to be with him forever, but I felt like I was the only one in this. If you are in this position, write a list of pros and cons.”
Maloney and the 39-year-old Bravo personality, who married in 2016, announced their separation on March 15 after five years of marriage and more than 12 years of living together.
“I never would have thought that I would have to make such a statement. But I feel it’s important to talk openly about my life with you,” the Utah native wrote in his Instagram statement at the time. “After 12 years of adventures in our life together, Tom and I are ending our marriage. This finale does not meet with resentment or hostility, there is no choice of sides. We deeply admire each other, and we will always cherish our friendship.”
The TomTom co-founder, who started dating Maloney before the show’s premiere in 2013, was equally emotional about the couple’s difficult breakup.
“Well, it sucks,” Schwartz wrote on Instagram. “I’m not a victim. I won’t write a song that’s too sad. I fully respect Katie’s decision, and we had healthy and productive conversations about it. It would be much sadder if she decided to stay with me until she was happy.”
While Maloney filed for divorce later that month, the estranged couple remained on good terms.
“I know many times when people are going through divorces or breakups, it’s really ugly. I am very lucky that [ours] are not,” said the founder of Pucker & Pout guest Raquel Leviss, who ended her engagement to James Kennedy earlier this year, during Friday’s episode. “I believe it will stay that way.”
The couple, who bought a house in California together, retained their residence permit after the divorce.
“Obviously… this life situation won’t last forever. We are trying to finish the renovation of our house, and then we plan to register our house, sell it and find our own housing,” Maloney explained. “But it was really nice. Obviously, we don’t sleep in the same room—we’re kind of roommates. We hang out and our friendship is intact. We have a great friendship, so during this transition we can still love and put up with each other, and it was really nice.”
The reality TV star has previously been candid that she knew this was the right moment to end the marriage, but is already looking forward to the next chapter.
“I’m very optimistic and very hopeful to see what the future holds for Katie,” Maloney said Friday. “You never know.”
