The 25-year-old reality star opens up to ET about spending her whole adult life on TV, and how season five is a fresh start for her.
Kathryn Dennis’ entire adult life has played out in front of reality TV cameras.
“It doesn't feel like it's been that long, but I guess it has,” the 25-year-old admits to ET. “Twenty-one and up, yeah. It feels like everything's been pretty much chronicled since the beginning of, yeah, real adulthood. Ish.”
The Southern Charm star wasn’t even a full-time cast member or, really, even a cast member when she caught a then-50-year-old Thomas Ravenel’s attention at a season one pool party. The pair left that party together, kickstarting a tumultuous relationship that Kathryn once described to ET as lust, disguised as love. Now, looking back, Kathryn says if she could take it all back and do it over, she would consider it.
“[I would redo] some of the decisions from season one,” she admits. “Maybe just being more aware of the person I was with, and that my impression was not what reality was. I wish I would have known a little bit more then than I know now.”
“[But then] I wouldn’t have my children,” she notes, adding that she can’t imagine her life without her kids with Thomas, 4-year-old Kensie and 2-year-old St. Julien.
Kathryn is interested in living without regrets, though, and says season five of Southern Charm is all about “moving on.”
“I’ve really been serious about finding what it is I want to do with my life, what is my passion, what is it that is next for me and I’m still on that journey,” she shares. “I don’t know exactly what it is. I have a few things I’m kind of dabbling in, trying to figure out what it is, what my purpose is or whatever.”
The mom of two is dreaming big, saying her long-term goal is to have a children’s clothing line in a major retail store. In the short-term, she’s working to launch a fashion and lifestyle website where she can share lessons in style and life.
Kathryn’s personal life is also a work in progress. She admits she’s dating for the first time since her split from Thomas.
“I just want a normal, nice [guy],” she says. “That’s it. That’s all I really care about. Yeah, and tall. And smart. I like someone who can hold a conversation about something other than talking about themselves.”
The reality star still dreams of getting married one day, and hopes to expand her family with two to four more kids -- but that’s all a ways away. Right now, Kathryn is more focused on her female friendships. She says that, for the first time, she feels like she has real, true bonds with the girls in the Southern Charm group.
“It feels really, really great to have friends that I can really count on and enjoy being with,” she says. “I was very isolated with Thomas, so now having girls that support me, who I can call and talk to, laugh about people and things with, you know, it’s really nice. I forgot how great it was actually.”
Kathryn counts Danni Baird as her closest confidante in the group, closely followed by Naomie Olindo and Chelsea Meissner. Judging by the season-long trailer, the ladies hang out a lot this season -- and get in some girls vs. boys drama. On Thursday night’s episode, the women confront Thomas’ buddy, J.D. Madison, for allegedly cheating on his now-estranged wife, their friend, Elizabeth.
“That was like huge, front page of the newspaper in Charleston,” Kathryn notes. “I was like, what?! I mean, bless his heart. This is terrible for their family, but thank god one of the guys is getting outed for being a total liar. These guys get away with everything normally.”
J.D. and Elizabeth are currently separated, and he says there are no plans to divorce. J.D. has also denied any wrongdoing.
It’s not all girl power and rah-rah sisterhood for Kathryn, though. She says her friendship with Jennifer Snowden is done for good -- and admits that she and Patricia Altschul still don’t quite “zigging each other’s zag,” though she teases that might change by season’s end.
"It’s, like, a flip-the-script season,” she says.
Southern Charm airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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