In the latest Southern Charm episode, Kathryn Dennis and Chleb Ravenell shared their emotional breakup, but fans believe their relationship was never authentic. Kathryn has been a controversial cast member since Southern Charm season 1. The tall red-headed beauty caught the eyes of many cast members, but she set her sights on Thomas Ravenel, who is 29 years her senior. Kathryn and Thomas have had a tumultuous on-again-off-again relationship for years and now share two children, Kensington and Saint Ravenel. Despite trying to make their relationship work, things became contentious between the two, and they became embroiled in a custody battle.
Kathryn became involved in another scandal when she tweeted a monkey emoji to a Black radio host in 2020. Many fans slammed Kathryn for her offensive tweet, but the Southern Charm star claimed it had nothing to do with race. She publicly apologized for her “tone deaf” use of the monkey emoji and promised to reflect on her actions. Soon afterward, Kathryn started dating Chleb, who is African-American. Many fans, along with her Southern Charm castmates, wondered if Kathryn was dating Chleb for damage control. After over a year of dating, the two called it quits.
Southern Charm fans briefly got to see Kathryn and Chleb's interaction for the first few episodes of season 8 but are questioning the validity of their relationship. Reddit user u/KatieB_3 shared, “I personally do not believe that Kathryn and Chleb were ever in a real relationship…I honestly think this was a relationship where it was mutually beneficial. Kathryn got to semi repair her image and Chleb got the fame he always wanted.” Southern Charm star Leva Bonaparte was also dubious about Kathryn's strategic move and Reddit user Salad_sanga agreed, “I 100% thought, okay she is doubling down on not being racist by dating him when we saw snippets at the end of season 7….”
Many agreed with the Reddit poster’s sentiment and shared their confusion when Chleb left their house for five days, with Kathryn having no clue as to where he was. Southern Charm fans wondered if it was editing, but there seemed to be no communication between Kathryn and Chleb during that time period. However, others believe their relationship was real when viewers saw Kathryn’s close relationship with Chleb’s mom, Debbie. Reddit user loveandlight42069 wrote, “I feel like the relationship was real but they already had broken up before they started filming. And they had to like recreate their relationship and the breakup. Idk the whole thing was weird and sad.”
Although Southern Charm fans are split on whether or not Kathryn’s relationship with Chleb was real, many agree that they have quickly fallen in love with the newest cast member. Fans are praising Chleb for his sweet demeanor and temper; compared him to his castmates, Austen Kroll and Shep Rose. Many believe Kathryn hasn’t shown growth since season 1, and Chleb seemed to be a good influence on her. Unfortunately, their relationship didn’t last, but Southern Charm fans are glad to see Chleb on the show.
Southern Charm airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on Bravo.
Sources: u/KatieB_3/Reddit, Salad_sanga/Reddit, loveandlight42069/Reddit