While Southern Charm has been through ups and downs, some things will always remain the same on the Bravo reality series. The town of Charleston looks great on camera, the cast is going to fight during dinners and vacations, and Whitney Sudler-Smith’s mother, Patricia Altschul, is going to be endlessly entertaining.

Patricia’s gorgeous Southern Charm house is often the star of the show, but so is the cast member herself. Patricia loves caftans, a well-made cocktail, and throwing fancy parties (that go off the rails because, hey, this is a reality show after all).

Although Whitney and Patricia seem to get along when hanging out at her elegant home, is that actually the truth? What is Whitney Sudler-Smith and Patricia Altschul’s real relationship like?

Updated December 2024: Whitney and his mother, Patricia, continue to appear on the current season of Southern Charm.

Are Whitney Sudler-Smith And Patricia Altschul Actually Close?

It was a surprise to fans when Whitney Sudler-Smith and Naomie Olindo began casually dating in Season 8 of Southern Charm. While Whitney is stylish, loves rock and roll music, and is open about how silly he sometimes thinks his co-stars are, he isn’t known for sharing a lot about his love life.

Whitney’s relationship with ex Larissa Marolt wasn’t mentioned much on the reality show, and Whitney often seems cool, calm, and collected. It was also a shock since Whitney and Naomie had been co-stars for so many years and sparks never flew between the two of them.

But Whitney spoke about liking Naomie, and his mother Patricia has been chatty about that short-term relationship as well. She said that she is a fan of Naomie and joked about Whitney needing to settle down and get married while she’s still alive.

The fact that Patricia often comments on her son’s dating life suggests that there is a genuine closeness there.

This wasn’t the first time that Patricia has shared her thoughts about who Whitney is dating. Several seasons earlier, Whitney and Kathryn Dennis were briefly romantically involved, and Patricia was interviewed by Entertainment Tonight, as reported on by BravoTV, and spoke about that situation.

Patricia told Entertainment Tonight, “What can I say? I live in one wing of the house, and at that time, Whitney was living at the other wing. And I think that this whole contrivance that there was a relationship is misconstrued. I mean… I don’t like to use the term one night stand. I prefer ‘sleepover.’ I think this was just a good, old-fashioned Southern sleepover. I mean, I never saw her in the house except once.”

Patricia seems to know what’s going on in Whitney’s personal life, and if they were really only close when the cameras were rolling on Southern Charm, it seems that she would be kept in the dark. Whitney never seems irritated by his mother’s comments, either, which seems to prove that they have a warm and affectionate bond.

Whitney Sudler-Smith And Patricia Altschul’s Best Moments On Southern Charm

The fact that the mother and son continue to appear on Southern Charm also suggests that they really do get along. If they didn’t, it seems that either one of them would decide to bow out of the series, especially since it has been on the air since 2013.

Episode 12 of Season 8, “Guys And Dolls,” featured a “gentlemen’s dinner” that Patricia throws for the male co-stars with a French theme complete with escargot, duck, and a flambe dessert. Whitney and Patricia’s funny banter and close bond is clear throughout the episode.

When a woman named Becky served them champagne, Patricia said “I prefer champagne in a coupe, don’t you?” and Whitney got up to get his mother the right glass. He said, “Mom can be exacting” and added that because she’s 81 years old, she can be picky. Things got even funnier when Patricia complained that Whitney gave her a paper napkin.

Even though Patricia definitely wants things to be done the way that she wants them, she’s a good sport about it, and she seems to genuinely enjoy being Southern Charm. While Whitney has a house in Los Angeles, according to Bravo TV, he seems to spend a good deal of time at his mother’s house, whether they’re filming the reality series or not.

Patricia often speaks positively about her son, and it does seem like they have a close mother/son relationship. When she appeared at BravoCon in 2022 and a fan asked about Whitney not attending, Patricia said, “He’s very private… “[Whitney] likes to come on [the show] and make snarky comments and then leave. He likes to kind of stir the pot and then stand back,” according to Bravo TV.

Whitney Sudler-Smith Wanted Patricia Altschul To Star On Southern Charm

Whitney Sudler-Smith created Southern Charm, but of course, that doesn’t automatically mean that his mother would want to be a cast member. It would have been easy for Patricia Altschul to turn it down and say that she wanted to live a more private life.

Patricia spoke about joining the Southern Charm cast with Bravo’s The Daily Dish and said that it was going to be a small part at first. She said, “He did tell me at the beginning, ‘Just be on it for five minutes and that’s all you have to do.’ And now he says, ‘Mother, please don’t talk too much. Watch what you say. Edit what you say.’ And, of course, I just say whatever pops into my head. But I think that gives him ulcers.”

Patricia told Entertainment Tonight that she wouldn’t have thought that she would star on a reality series. She said, “I mean, at my age, I’d thought I’d be sitting on my chaise, eating bonbons and reading trashy novels. Or looking for a new husband — something kind of fun. Now they’ve got me working … Whitney has me on this show!”

She added in the same interview, “He wanted to give me just a little walk-on part. I bet Whitney wished he’d kept me off the show!”

While Patricia has a strong sense of humor and often jokes about Whitney not wanting her to have such a large role on the series, he definitely seems to enjoy having her be part of it. Even if they both get upset with the drama sometimes, being Southern Charm co-stars allows the two to spend even more time together.

On December 31, 2023, Patricia posted a photo to her Instagram that confirmed she and Whitney were spending the holiday together.