Photo:Scott Gries/Bravo
Scott Gries/Bravo
Tom Schwartzhad to rocket to another planet to truly grapple with the issues weighing him down on Earth.
But the turbulence in theVPRfriendship group was just one of a stack of problems for theSchwartz & Sandy’s co-owner, who was little more than a year out from hisdivorcefrom costarKatie Maloneyand who had been mired in several family health scares, including his father’s extended stay in the hospital and a cancer diagnosis for his little brother Brandon.
“I just felt like I had a little rain cloud over my head,” Schwartz tells PEOPLE. “It was very doom and gloom. I think I was a little too melodramatic, self-indulgent.”
He adds, “I kind of feel like I lost control of my life. I fell apart a little bit. Every now and then, we fall apart. … I wish I would’ve bucked up a little more, as my mom says, ‘Buck up.'”
Brook Rushton/FOX
AndStars on Marsgave him the opportunity to do just that. “This could not have come at a better time,” he affirms. “It was transformative.”
“When I came back, I did have this fresh perspective,” he says. “I keep talking about the overview effect — for astronauts, they go up and then they look down at Earth, and it gives them this fresh perspective, this almost like spiritual enlightenment. And I feel like I got at least a version of that. I really did.”
In hindsight, he realizes he “retreated into my own little bubble for the past few years, and [Stars on Mars] just kind of snapped me out of it. It gave me a newfound appreciation for my life in Los Angeles.”
On top of that, he and his castmates — includingPorsha Williams Guobadia,Tallulah Willis,Ariel Winter,Lance ArmstrongandMarshawn Lynch— got to play with the kind of gadgets and toys most people can only dream of, from a high-tech robotic dog dubbed “MARSha” to flamethrowers in Monday night’s episode.
Schwartz calls this week’sStars on Marschallenge “one of the coolest missions ever.”
He teases, “We got to go in these caves and it was absolutely incredible. Spoiler alert: There are flamethrowers involved — and it was actually probably my favorite day of the entire mission.”
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
But ironically, theTomTom barco-owner says embracing the futuristic environment of life on Mars has actually grounded him back in real life — especially as he heads into another season ofVanderpump Rules, which typically starts filming in the summer.
“It’s like my mind just wanders in the future constantly,” he explains. “So I guess one of my main goals for myself is to be more present. And on Mars, I was very present. I was absolutely in the moment, and it was a welcome retreat.”
But, he emphasizes, “I wasn’t running away from my problems.”
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Stars on Marsairs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, andVanderpump Rulescan be streamed in full on Peacock.
source: people.com
