‘Southern Charm’ Star Kathryn Dennis Gives Her Perspective On The Finale [Interview]
The road to the Southern Charm Season 5 finale has been a long and bumpy one for Kathryn Dennis, who has proven herself to everyone on the cast of the hit Bravo show. Kathryn has even made peace with Thomas Ravenel for the sake of their children, but at Patricia Altschul’s Winter Ball, she thought her first face-to-face with Altschul would be the toughest thing she would have to face. Boy, was she wrong about that, as she got blindsided once again by Ravenel’s date, Ashley Jacobs.
Dennis took some time to walk the Inquisitr through the finer points of the event at the Hibernian Hall in Charleston that ended in an unpleasant confrontation with ex Thomas Ravenel’s Season 5 girlfriend, Ashley Jacobs.
Watching Kathryn preparing to head to the Winter Ball, fans of Southern Charm could easily see that the leggy redhead wanted everything to go well to set the tone with Mrs. Altschul, even reading her etiquette book.
“I felt a ton of anxiety. There were multiple facets surrounding the winter ball that contributed to it: Seeing Patricia face to face for the first time in years. I knew Thomas’ girlfriend would be in attendance and she hadn’t spoken to me since HHI (Hilton Head Island). Not to mention this was a white tie and the last thing I wanted to happen would be drama that would cause Patricia to feel differently about opening up to me. I can control myself, I cannot control others,” she admitted.
Inquisitr: Having two people at the event that could throw your evening off the track could be tricky, but were you more concerned about things going wrong with Patricia or Ashley?
“Patricia. Historically, Ashley has been unpredictable and so I expect her to remain that way. She’s a simpleton.”
Inquisitr: Being there with Shep seemed to make things better. Did his presence put you more at ease?
“Absolutely. Shep has an ability to put me at ease in stressful situations. He makes me laugh as well as everyone around me so I knew any situations or dynamics that would have a degree of awkwardness would be much less tense being with him.”
One of the things that people have noted on the preview was that Kathryn was filmed with a glass in her hand, but she says if you look closely, you can see that her drink is clear, and everyone else’s is yellow.
“It was only water, all night.”
Inquisitr: Knowing you, it was easy to see that you were stressed before you sat down with Patricia.
“I was in a complete anxiety attack so I didn’t have anything in particular that I was thinking. I’ve learned to confront what’s scary with faith that I will find the right words.”
Dennis explains that what was filmed next was not supposed to be on camera. She admits that she smokes occasionally in stressful situations, and she went into the vestibule to smoke soon after her chat with Patricia. Kathryn says that she thought that Ashley was going to apologize, though she wasn’t sure it would be sincere.
“I thought I was smoking off-camera, and then I thought I might be getting an apology. She hadn’t spoken to me since Hilton Head. I wanted her to hear me say that her behavior was unacceptable.”
Inquisitr: Why were you willing to indulge her? Did you see the “switch flip”?
“I wanted an apology and wanted her to understand why she was wrong to take the path she took. She went from calm to crazy in seconds. She obviously wasn’t sorry.”
Many fans have talked about old and new Kathryn, and it’s hard to imagine that you kept it together without at least the impulse to smack her.
“I realized that I wasn’t talking to a sane person. I wanted her to hear me. In Hilton Head she blindsided me. This time I was more prepared, but it was still beyond anything I could have expected.”
Inquisitr: The first episode showed the final scene of the season when Ashley Jacobs calls you an egg donor and insults your parenting. What did you think of her phrasing?
“Interesting. It was sort of unique, but I don’t think it’s original thought. Someone must have told her that because she’s far more simple than that.”
Inquisitr: What was the best thing to come out of that evening, despite the stress?
“Getting a fresh start with Patricia was the best thing. We have really started building a friendship away from the camera, and that means everything.”
Kathryn says that aside from filming the reunion, she hasn’t had any interaction with Ravenel’s girlfriend, and that’s fine with her.