EXCLUSIVE: Thomas Ravenel Explains Why He Called ‘Southern Charm’ Star Leva Bonaparte ‘Boring’
EXCLUSIVE: Thomas Ravenel Explains Why He Called ‘Southern Charm’ Star Leva Bonaparte ‘Boring’
Thomas Ravenel took aim at Leva Bonaparte over the weekend — calling the restaurateur “boring,” while taking a shot at Southern Charm’s low ratings, and AllAboutTheTea.com has the exclusive backstory.
According to the Southern Charm alum, he was triggered after watching a video interview of Leva Bonaparte making disparaging remarks about him.
Thomas Ravenel took to Twitter and unleashed, writing — “Just watched the latest update on Southern Charm and can’t believe the most boring person on there is still Leva.” He also responded to a fan who noted that the Bravo series had “been boring since [Thomas] left.”
He replied — “Why would you say that? Maybe [because] the viewership went from 1.5 million to 250k??”
Page Six later shared Thomas’ remarks on Instagram, which prompted Real Housewives of Miami star, Guerdy Abraira, 45, to defend Leva. The Peacock personality cheered on the Charleston restauranteur, writing—“…yet very successful – I’ll take that … love you [Leva Bonarparte].”
Leva noted Guerdy’s encouraging words and responded to Thomas’ diss in the post’s comment section.
“lol when 60 something year old men keep going after women it’s odd … isn’t it?” she asked. “No point in listing what made him great TV, that would be a little much, love that he still tunes in. Wish you and the kids well Thomas. God Speed.”
AllAboutTheTea.com reached out to Thomas Ravenel for comment and here’s what he had to say.
“On Saturday, I watched a short video clip of Leva being interviewed and she said some rude and dismissive things about me, which shocked me because I thought we were cordial.” He added, “I even invited her to film a dinner party scene in Season one and she’s always greeted me kindly and with respect — so to hear her belittle me was very off-putting.”
“It caught me off guard because I believed our relationship was friendly. I commented on Twitter out of frustration, but I genuinely believed she was better than that. Nonetheless, I harbor no ill intentions towards Leva.” Thomas concluded.
Thomas was an original cast member and appeared on the Bravo reality show for five seasons. He also made brief appearances during Season 7. His ex and mother of two of his children, Kathryn Dennis, exited the series after Season 8.
Back in May 2023, AllAboutTheTea.com exclusively reported that Thomas was awarded permanent sole custody of the ex-couple’s two children, Kensington Calhoun Ravenel, 9, and Saint Julien Rembert Ravenel, 7.
Leva Bonaparte went on to score Bravo spinoff, Southern Hospitality, which debuted in December 2022. The show followed Leva as she wrangled her larger-than-life staff at her Charleston club, Republic. She and husband Lamar, 46, own four restaurants on Charleston’s famous King Street, but Republic provided the backdrop for Leva’s new project.
Leva, who will appear on the upcoming ninth season of Southern Charm, admitted at the time that she and her husband were “hesitant” to appear on camera together, not because of how producers would portray their story but because she believed that “we’re kind of boring.”
She confessed to Us Weekly — “It’s very mom and dad in here.”
Southern Charm Season 9 premieres on Thursday, September 14 at 9 pm ET on Bravo.
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