Tom Schwartz Fled Pump Rules Reunion for Stars on Mars, How It Prepped Him for Season 11

The "Vanderpump Rules" star agreed to join the cast of Fox's competition series "Stars on Mars" because, as he told Rolling Stone, he was "looking for an escape" after the stress and chaos of Scandoval.

I know you have to be wary of escapism but there were a lot of things going on in my life, things were slightly chaotic, and after they gave me a soft pitch I was like, 'Yeah, let's do it,'" said Schwartz.

The aforementioned Scandoval, of course, impacted Schwartz as Tom Sandoval was his best friend of ten years and business partner in two restaurants. Sandoval was caught earlier this year cheating on long-term girlfriend Ariana Madix with her best friend, and fellow co-star, Raquel Leviss. Schwartz apparently knew more than he let on -- certainly before the rest of the cast, including Ariana.

The whole thing blew up bigger than any reality show scandal probably had any right to, dominating mainstream media headlines and making household names out of the major players, and several other members of Lisa Vanderpump's "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" spinoff family.

Certainly, all that massive attention was more than any of them had anticipated or expected, making a getaway to the middle of nowhere Australia, a "welcome retreat" for Schwartz.

"I've been looking to get out of my little bubble that I've been in," he explained. "We all have problems and this past year-and-a-half to two years, I happen to have had a lot of them all at once. You know, when it rains it pours. So it was a nice little sabbatical."

For Schwartz, it was even more than the Scandoval, as Season 10 of the long-running reality show also covered his divorce from co-star Katie Maloney, business struggles at one of his ventures with Sandoval, Schwartz & Sandy's, and health problems for his father and brother.

For Schwartz, that distance and how very different a competition-based reality show is to what he's used to helped him gain a fresh perspective on his life and career back home.

"I was able to step outside of my little bubble and be like, 'You know what? I'm so grateful," he shared. "I'm so lucky for all the opportunities I've been given and everything I've got to experience thus far in life."

He also appreciated that he was able to be his own man after months of such a strong association with Sandoval and his associated cheating scandal. The separation from all of that for three weeks was "bliss."

While the cast was allowed their phones during filming, Schwartz actually said he'd have opted to not use his at all, except that it would be irresponsible as a business owner and "my mom would have killed me."

The whole experience would turn out to be life-altering for Schwartz after so many months of heaviness. "I felt like I was a little lighter on my feet when I got back here," he said. "My worries of the day all of a sudden didn't seem so worrisome."

He said that he felt "recalibrated," as if he'd reset his mind, body and soul. "I just felt like myself again," he explained.

Since his return, and in the lead-up to filming on Season 11 of "Vanderpump Rules" -- slated to begin in a few weeks -- Schwartz has been focusing his time and energy on Schwartz & Sandy's. As for his personal relationship with Sandoval, Schwartz echoed what he told Brittany Cartwright on her "When Reality Hits" podcast.

"It goes without saying: I didn't even have to say this verbatim to Tom [Sandoval], but I've just been taking a little break, am focusing on myself and, you know, I'm looking forward to this next chapter in my life," he said.

"I gotta be honest, I'm not super proud of the way I responded to adversity for the past year and a half," he continued. "I think I floundered a little bit. After my experience going to Australia, getting away for a while on a little sabbatical, I feel better equipped to handle whatever life throws at me now."

He encourages anyone, should they have the means, to try and find away to "take a little break from whatever you're going through" to get some literal and emotional and spiritual distance. That way, like him, you can come back "more confident and optimistic" about what's next.

What's next for Schwartz is a huge unknown. In the wake of the explosive Scandoval itself, as well a revelations that he'd continued to lie about the timeline of his affair during the reunion, the status of each cast member is unknown. They've weathered cheating scandals and drama before, but can they weather this?