Tom Schwartz doesn’t want Bravo fans to read into his “innocent” kiss with Lala Kent at the end of this week’s episode of The Valley.
The Vanderpump Rules alum, who joined the spinoff as a full-time cast member this season, has been testing the waters as a single man, four years after his divorce from Katie Maloney. Last week, we saw him attend a singles night, where he fumbled his way through some awkward flirting, only to reveal in his confessional that he has another woman on his mind (but won’t reveal who because, in typical Schwartz fashion, he doesn’t want to jinx his odds of things working out).
In Wednesday’s (April 29) episode, Schwartz pulls a move that, if he weren’t currently in a relationship with someone else, would’ve sent Bravo fans spiraling Tequila Katie style. After ignoring pressure to plant one on him herself, Michelle Saniei—who is currently rumored to be dating Dr. Dre—suggests that Schwartz instead kiss Kent. The craziest part? Neither party hesitates to oblige!
But, according to Schwartz, their kiss was purely out of jest.
“I know I’m supposed to hype things up and tease them, but me and Lala truly have no romance,” Schwartz clarified to DECIDER when he stopped by our Midtown Manhattan studio last week. “We will never date. As they say, Lala will chew me up and spit me out. It just was the most innocuous, innocent, like, the way I would kiss my mom. Sorry to spoil it.”
He begged, “Don’t read into that. It was a fun, silly moment. Lala’s my girl, though.”
Schwartz might have insisted the kiss was as harmless as they come, but it wouldn’t be the first time the two have sparked romance rumors.
Rumors of an alleged love affair between the former Vanderpump Rules stars began circulating on the internet last year, and were only fueled when Schwartz addressed the gossip on his Detox Retox podcast. “If it’s on the internet, it’s true, right?” he said during a July 2025 episode, per BravoTV. “Is this a hard launch? This is a hard launch.” Schwartz later clarified in his comments section that they were “not dating,” but that didn’t stop Kent from having the last word. Back in September 2025, she leaned into the rumors when she posted a photo with Schwartz on her Instagram Story with the caption, “Soft launch. Like so soft it’s not even real, type soft.”
Schwartz has since been dating model Kiana Carroll, and they had just started seeing each other when this pool party took place. “We had just started hanging out, like, in real time,” he said. “We were hanging out, but it wasn’t super serious or anything. Deep down inside, I was falling for her. But, also, it’s kind of scary because I’m filming a show. The thought of maybe bringing someone who’s not on the show into this world is a little scary, especially if you are starting to catch serious feelings for them.”
Noting that Carroll does make a “few” appearances on this season of The Valley, Schwartz added, “She’s so effortlessly charismatic. She just has whatever that ‘it’ factor is.” In fact, he even thinks that, when the time comes to introduce them, Carroll and Maloney, his ex-wife, will be great friends. “I feel like they would actually be, like, besties,” he said. “I’m not saying that they’re similar, but I just have a feeling they would be really good friends.”
He joked, “Kiana likes to say she’s my karma for what I did to Katie.”
The Valley airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.