Katie Maloney, 35, is enjoying a “new” romance with Satchel Clendenin, 25, and her BFF Stassi Schroeder, 34, is fully supportive. The Vanderpump Rules star, who split from husband Tom Schwartz in March, apparently “isn’t putting too much pressure” on the new connection and Stassi “couldn’t be happier” for her. “Stassi knows things are still very new between Katie and Satchel but she couldn’t be happier for her friend,” a source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife. “Not because she’s dating, but because she sees how happy Katie is with her life in general.”
“Stassi has been by Katie’s side through thick and thin, and was there for her all throughout her divorce from Schwartz,” the source continued. “Stassi just wants Katie to be happy and thinks she deserves the world. A few people have met Satchel and so far everybody thinks he’s great. He’s really laid back which Stassi thinks is a good match for Katie. She realizes there’s an age difference, but Satchel seems pretty mature for his age and Katie is enjoying his company so that’s all that matters. She sees that Katie isn’t putting too much pressure on things and is just having fun for the time being.”
As Katie embraces a new relationship with Satchel, she has officially and legally walked away from her old one. Her and Tom’s divorce was finalized on Oct. 12 and the documents, which were obtained by Us Weekly, showed that they are splitting the profits from the sale of their Los Angeles home, which they sold in August for $2 million. They’ll also be dividing up their other assets according to whose name is attached to the items.
Katie and Tom, who were married in 2019, confirmed their separation with statements released in March. They both revealed it was Katie’s decision to dissolve the marriage and Tom admitted he respected her decision. “[I] fully respect Katie’s decision and we’ve had healthy, productive conversations about it. It would be far sadder if she decided to stay with me whilst not happy,” he said in his statement.
Shortly after the split was announced, a different source told us that Stassi was “heartbroken” for them. “Stassi is heartbroken for Tom and Katie because they’ve shared so many memories together as friends,” a friend close to the fashion blogger EXCLUSIVELY shared with HollywoodLife in late March. “Out of everybody in their circle of friends, Stassi is probably the most affected by this because she’s the closest to them as a couple.”