Venita Aspen, one of the stars of Southern Charm, is shedding light on the dynamics between herself and Salley Carson, her past interactions with JT Thomas, and how Sutton Stracke helped her stay on the show.

Credit: Instagram

The relationship between Venita and Salley is fraught with tension in the 11th season of the reality series. This strain is partly due to Salley’s increasing closeness with Craig Conover, which has stirred drama with Venita following his breakup with Paige DeSorbo.

During a recent appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Venita addressed rumors surrounding her and JT Thomas. When asked about a potential hookup with JT while he was on the show, she clarified, “I didn’t hook up with JT. No, everyone kept saying that like…” She also emphasized that she has never been romantically involved with anyone from the series.

Regarding her current relationship with JT, Venita revealed, “Oh no, I’m blocked on everything.” When the host inquired if JT’s girlfriend might have influenced this decision, Venita speculated, “I don’t even think they’re together anymore.”

When asked if she still speaks to JT, Venita responded, “Oh no, I’m blocked on everything.” The host then asked if Venita thinks his girlfriend told him to. She answered, “I don’t even think they’re together anymore.”

They also discussed Venita sharing Molly O’Connell‘s vaginal rejuvenation story with Salley. Regarding the context in which Molly told her, she said, “Oh my God, I think it was just like a casual conversation.” She referred to sharing the story with Salley as “Not my proudest moment.”

They mentioned that everyone now knows this private detail about Molly. Venita reflected, saying, “Yeah, which like makes me feel bad because I was the one that said it to Salley, and then Salley brought it to everyone else. And then like, you know, I just feel really bad about it. Cause I just thought it was like, oh, I’m kind of like harmless, I’m talking to my girlfriend.”

Next, she was asked where she stands with Salley today. Venita said, “Uh, we’re working on it. We’ve gotten better. The girls girls thing really kind of threw us for a curve again. But I did my due diligence to apologize. But, you know, just one day at a time.”

The host also asked why she felt so passionately about the conflict with Salley regarding her getting closer to Craig. She responded, “Cause like Salley and I are really close, and at that time we were like thickest thieves, you know what I mean? And it was just like, okay, I’ve seen her date a couple people and I was just like, I don’t want her to fall for someone that I know is not. It’s a bad egg.”

She added, “I mean, I like I was upset that she was wanting to go after a man that like was so happy to go publicly and be like, I could never be friends with someone like that. But like at the end of the day, unfortunately, I was just like, whatever, I’m not going to, I’m just going to ignore that. I still don’t want this girl to be hurt by somebody that doesn’t deserve her time.”

Elsewhere in the interview, she was asked if she believed Craig was more into Charley Manley than Salley. Venita responded, “A thousand percent. Yeah.”

They also discussed why Venita considered leaving the show after her first season. According to her, “I’ve been on it for five years. It’s wild. I didn’t think I was going to make it. After my first year full-time, that’s when I really saw how cruel people could be from an online standpoint. I was like, oh no, I can’t do this again. You know who got me to stay?”

She continued, “I ran into Sutton for the first time ever in the Charleston airport. I was flying back from New York to Charleston, and she was on our flight, and I was too nervous to speak. Then finally at baggage claim, I was like, ‘Hi Sutton, I’m a big fan.’ She was like, ‘Girl, I’ve been sending you DMs. Have you not been seeing them this whole time?’”

Venita then said, “I felt defeated, and she was like, ”No, you have to go back. You got to show them that they didn’t win.’ So I came back.”

In sharing why she wanted to leave Southern Charm, she explained, “Yeah, my brain couldn’t handle it. The idea of having this platform was cool, but my mental health was just not there at the time. I was like, there’s no way I can do this every year, five years later.”