- Kathryn Dennis was an original cast member on Southern Charm.
- She dated Thomas Ravenel and they have two kids together.
- Kathryn is not returning to the show for season 9.
Kathryn Dennis showed the highs and lows of her life on Southern Charm. Kathryn had romantic relationships with several men, including a few of her co-stars, when she was on the show for the first eight seasons. In January 2023, Kathryn confirmed that she was leaving the show ahead of season 9, which premieres September 14 on Bravo.
“It’s safe to say my life changed in ways I could never imagine,” Kathryn said in her announcement. “It hasn’t always been easy, but I’m so lucky to have had reality cameras there, capturing so many moments that I’ll never forget (and a few, even, that I’d like to).”
Kathryn brought so much drama to Southern Charm. Her stormy relationship with her co-star Thomas Ravenel, with whom she shares two children, was chronicled on the show. Kathryn will be missed on Southern Charm — but she won’t be forgotten. And neither will all her past relationships. Here’s everything you need to know about Kathryn’s dating history.
Whitney Sudler-Smith
Kathryn secretly hooked up with Southern Charm creator, producer and star Whitney Sudler-Smith during season 1, before she started dating Thomas. Years later, Kathryn and Whitney hooked up again, before the start of season 6 in 2019. Kathryn talked the first time she hooked up with Whitney on the show during season 6.
“The first time Whitney and I hooked up he said ‘Don’t tell anyone,’ and I was really intimidated by him at the time so I was like, ‘Okay, I really, really won’t,’ ”she told her co-stars during an episode. “But at the end of the day, he’s the one that ended up telling everyone. I even lied to Thomas and at that point I was idiotically in love with him.” Whitney would not admit to the Southern Charm cast that he hooked up with Kathryn.
Thomas Ravenel
Kathryn and Thomas, 61, had a turbulent relationship that began on the first season of the show. They met when Kathryn was a 21-year-old college student. Despite their 30-year age gap, Kathryn and Thomas dated for the first few seasons of the show, and Kathryn ended up getting pregnant. Their daughter Kensie was born in March 2014. Thomas and Kathryn broke up but reunited and conceived son, Saint, who was born in 2015.
After their brief reconciliation, Kathryn and Thomas split for good in 2016 and faced off in a years-long custody battle that is still going on. Thomas left Southern Charm after season 5 after he was accused of sexual assault by two women, including his kids’ former nanny. He pled guilty to third-degree assault and battery and paid $500 fine and donated $80,000 to a sexual assault survivors’ charity, according to US Weekly. Kathryn and Thomas have reunited several times since their split for their children, but they’ve made it clear they aren’t getting back together.
Shep Rose
Kathryn and her co-star Shep Rose hooked up a few times during her run on the show. Kathryn addressed their brief fling on an episode of Watch What Happens Live in 2019. “I will say life would be a lot different if I would have pursued him. But I don’t really think I have a one that got away,” she said.
Shep talked about his relationship with Kathryn in his 2021 memoir, Average Expectations. “I had a wonderful time with Kathryn during our brief affair,” Shep wrote in his book, per US Weekly. “I also remember tearing each other’s clothes off … Oh wait, I said I won’t reveal too much,” he added. “She was lovely and I do believe I had a calming influence on her and maybe still do.”
Joseph Abruzzo
@SenatorAbruzzo and Chief of Staff & Chief Deputy Clerk Shannon Ramsey-Chessman congratulated Director of Strategic Management and Professional Development Nicole Gasparri on her new role as Secretary/Treasurer for the @floridaGFOA. She will do great things w/ #FGFOA! pic.twitter.com/DC4RQBcyJs
— Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller (@ClerkPBC) June 27, 2023
Kathryn dated Florida politician Joseph Abruzzo during season 6, but the relationship was short-lived. She revealed why they broke up on The Daily Dish podcast in June 2019.
“We just met whenever my friends had met him; I didn’t know him well enough to pick up on patterns to then make a decision whether or not to move forward,” the reality star said. “Whenever I noticed Danni [Baird] being upset with me because she didn’t agree with the way he talked to me or things he did, that’s when I started to think, hm, if my friends are turning on me, I do not need this man in my life. Girls are more important than any kind of dude,” Kathryn added.
Hunter Price
Kathryn was in a relationship with country singer and America’s Got Talent contestant Hunter Price for less than a year. Their split made the news in August 2019 the day after season 6 finished airing. “Kathryn is not engaged to anyone but herself. She and Hunter actually split about two weeks ago,” a source told PEOPLE. “Their relationship ran its course. Kathryn is doing well, and staying focused on the kids.”
Chleb Ravenell
Kathryn’s last-known relationship was with her co-star Chleb Ravenell, who joined the show as a main cast member in season 8. Their recurring miscommunication led to their breakup during the July 8, 2022 episode. Chleb spoke to HollywoodLife after the split and revealed that he and Kathryn don’t talk anymore.
“I’ll be honest with you, we don’t really talk right now,” Chleb said. “I wouldn’t say we ended on really bad terms, but we just went our separate ways. Right now, I just hope she learned from our relationship, and she can bring the good from our relationship into her next relationship. I hope I can do the same. I mean, that’s really the only thing I can really say right now.” He also said part of the reason for their breakup was that they “grew up differently and had different backgrounds.”