Tom Sandoval's girlfriend backtracks on cheating claims as best friend Tom Schwartz distances himself from couple

Tom Sandoval's model girlfriend Victoria Lee Robinson has walked back shocking claims she made implying that the Vanderpump Rules star had cheated on her with her best friend. 

Robinson, 32, issued a public apology on Monday morning after indicating hours earlier that Sandoval had been unfaithful with one of her pals.

'I would like to sincerely apologize for my previous post,' she told her 400,000 followers.

'I had a true misjudgement in a situation. Tom did not do anything. From my own personal trauma and experiences hearing false accusations about him all the time clouded my judgement and got the best of me,' she continued. 

'Please respect him and know he's actually been the most supportive partner. The internet can be harsh sometimes and I'm learning how to block out the noise.'

Prior to Robinson's latest statement, multiple sources spoke to DailyMail.com about the couple's tumultuous romance. 

'They fight constantly and have a very toxic relationship, but I don't think he cheated on her,' said one.

They also said that Robinson was 'crushed' following news that Vanderpump Rules was being rebooted, as she was hoping that she could appear on the hit Bravo series alongside Sandoval.

'She loves the spotlight,' the insider said of the model, who previously dated actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

A friend close to the couple also revealed to DailyMail.com that Sandoval's longtime best friend and business partner Tom Schwartz has distanced himself from the pair due to their toxicity.

'Schwartz still has a lot of love for Sandoval but he's taken a huge step back because of all the drama with Victoria,' the source said.

'It's caused a wedge in their friendship and he doesn't want any part of it,' they continued.

'Schwartz is focused on his new girlfriend [Sophia Skoro] and filming The Valley so he's pretty busy these days anyway.'

DailyMail.com has contacted the Toms' management for comment. 

Following news that Vanderpump Rules is being completely rebooted from scratch, Schwartz, along with Scheana Shay and Lala Kent, were moved over to the show's hit spin-off The Valley.

Last month, both Toms announced that their Los Angeles bar Schwartz & Sandy's is shutting down for good after two years.  

The reality stars poured over a million dollars into the making of it, and last year the business faced backlash following Sandoval's affair with Rachel Leviss. 

'With a heavy heart, we've made the difficult decision to close Schwartz & Sandy's at the end of December,' Sandoval's statement began.

'This hasn't been an easy choice for my partners and me, but other priorities and commitments have taken hold. While this business venture has been an incredible stepping stone in my life, one I will always cherish, I look forward to exciting new endeavors.' 

Located in the Franklin Village neighborhood of LA, Schwartz and Sandy's opened in November 2022 and marked the duo's second restaurant together.

The pair also have a minority stake in Lisa Vanderpump's West Hollywood hotspot TomTom, which they opened in 2018. 

But in March of 2023 the restaurants were caught in the crossfire after it was revealed Sandoval had been cheating on long-time girlfriend Ariana Madix with co-star Rachel Leviss, a controversy that was nicknamed by fans as 'Scandoval.' 

In the immediate aftermath of the affair revelation, fans took their anger out on the two restaurants.

Schwartz & Sandy's was vandalized by angry fans and the Yelp pages for both restaurants were hit with negative reviews.

At last year's reunion, Schwartz revealed that as a result of the affair, revenue at the restaurant 'was down a little bit' and a boycott had gained some energy.

In an interview with People, Schwartz admitted they struggled post-pandemic and after the cheating scandal. 

'Unfortunately, the current climate for this business is pretty rough,' he said.

'Recovering from all the negativity post-scandal wasn’t easy, and the slimmer margins post-COVID made it even harder to bounce back. There’s not a lot of room for error in the restaurant/bar business.'

The duo poured over a million dollars into the making of the restaurant, and Sandoval's mother and stepfather even invested $250,000 into the endeavor.

'At this point, we have invested a million dollars into this project,' Sandoval said on a 2023 episode of Vanderpump Rules. 'It's like the national debt, it's just numbers flying.'

Sadly, the restaurant also took a personal toll on Schwartz - his ex-wife Katie Maloney admitted the eatery placed a 'massive strain' on their relationship and in 2022 she filed for divorce. 

Sandoval became a viral household name after it was discovered that he had cheated on his longtime girlfriend of nine years, Ariana Madix, 39, with former costar Rachel 'Raquel' Leviss, 30.

Madix had discovered the betrayal after she found an X-rated screen recording of Rachel on FaceTime with Sandoval on his phone. 

The fallout was captured in real-time on season 11 of Vanderpump Rules, and became a nationwide scandal, with comedian Roy Wood Jr. even making a joke about it while hosting the 2023 White House Correspondent's dinner.

Sandoval began dating Robinson in early 2024, per People, and has fiercely defended him in the public eye.

On Monday morning at around 6am PST, after Robinson had posted that message to her Instagram, Sandoval, looking tired, went live on Instagram to share a bizarre recap of what's been happening recently, as many asked about the status of him and his girlfriend.

He began to explain that the two of them were attending a concert, Twisted Xmas With Bush, in Chicago this past weekend.

'I had a f***ing hell of a week,' he began in the clip captured by DailyMail.com as he launched into the trip he took with Robinson. 

In the comments section, someone asked him about the Instagram story she had posted, to which he said he would tell the audience what had happened.

However, it took him a while to tell the story, as he proclaimed that it was 'a lot,' and took a swig of beer.

The video then began to freeze, but he later came back to start telling the tale for a second time.

'We went there and, me and Victoria had an awesome, awesome time, and, it's so hard to say this, but we went to the Bush concert that got transferred over to The Vic, and I busted my a** to make sure that she was noticed, and she's holding up a sign saying, like, "Your music saved my life, all this stuff,"' he rambled, before taking a long pause.

He then took a drag from his cigarette, while proclaiming that he doesn't even smoke anymore.

'I filmed her, she's holding this up, like the whole time, like it got transferred to the Vic...' he continued.

'I got us backstage, f***ing it was a whole f***ing issue getting us backstage,' Sandoval said, as his live video then began to freeze and lose connection.

It seemed like Sandoval never finished his story, so it's unclear exactly what happened between the two this weekend. 

In the past, the two have stood by each other despite the public scrutiny that Sandoval has received from Bravo and non-reality television watchers alike.

Last year, the Vanderpump Rules star gushed about his 'addiction' to the ex-flame of DiCaprio while appearing on the inaugural episode of his former co-star Billie Lee's podcast Billie & The Kid.

'My addiction of the week is definitely my friend Victoria that I have been hanging out with,' the St. Louis native dished.

'She's definitely super awesome and she's one of the sweetest people. Obviously I have known her for a really long time, but we went on our first date last night.' 

Sandoval said Robinson 'works a lot' and 'is very successful' in her modeling career, 'but she is also very humble and really cool. She is just a very sweet, thoughtful person.'