Leva Bonaparte was just as shocked as Bravo fans when her Republic Garden & Lounge employees (and Southern Hospitality stars) Maddi Reese and Joe Bradley finally took their relationship to the next step. Bonaparte — who stars on two Bravo reality shows and, alongside her husband, runs a Charleston hospitality empire — recently stopped by DECIDER’s studio to talk about the newest love birds in town, and what fans can expect to see on Southern Hospitality Season 3.
While Reese has repeatedly friend-zoned Bradley over the years, Bonaparte said things became romantic between them around the time of Republic’s delayed holiday party at the start of this year. “We have a management thread, and one of the managers was like, ‘We heard somebody saying that Maddi’s location has been at Joe’s for three days,'” she said, noting that Reese’s body language gave it away when she and Bradley showed up to the party “slightly staggered but together.”
But they might not just be boyfriend and girlfriend. At the start of the Season 3 trailer, they appear to tie the knot at a Las Vegas chapel, surrounded by their friends and fellow co-workers. Bonaparte, for her part, only had one question for Reese and Bradley when they came back and told her the news: “Did you tell your mom?” The Southern Charm star said that while their Vegas elopement was “shocking,” she still hopes she can officiate “some sort of re-wedding” that includes their parents.
But, according to the restauranteur, Reese and Bradley “have some troubles they need to work out” first. “[That] comes with being young and being so in love, but also not working on yourself,” she said, noting that there’s still “something very real” between them — even if their relationship has been “hindering” their work lives.
Bonaparte also weighed in on Emmy Sharrett and Will Kulp‘s relationship amid another round of cheating rumors, and how she feels to be in her Lisa Vanderpump era. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: I am so excited for Southern Hospitality Season 3. I have to know – at what point did you look at your Republic staff and think, “These people would make great reality TV”?
LEVA BONAPARTE: I always tell the stories. I used to sit at home when Lamar and I started to not work the floor so much on a Friday night. And he had this camera, security cameras, where we would watch it on his phone. We’d be watching TV and then we’d kind of turn to his phone and be like, “Did she just throw a water bottle at her? Did he just take his shirt off?” The cameras would be everywhere and we’d sort of be peeping. We’d sit there all night. Sometimes, I’d go to bed and I’d be like, “Can I just take your phone?” Then I realized, well, this is more entertaining. We also realized there’s a lot that goes on when we’re not there. But yeah, that’s sort of when I realized I’m actually not paying attention to the movie we’re watching or the show we’re watching. I’m watching my security cameras, and there’s something here.
It was a reality show before it was a reality show.
One hundred percent. It was me and Lamar’s reality show, personal Friday night reality show. When our son was born and we were home at night, we were like, “What is this?”
That’s so funny. You’re on two Bravo reality shows, you and your loving husband’s nightlife empire is thriving, and you’re a wonderful mother. How does it feel to be fully in your Lisa Vanderpump era?
It feels stressful to say the least. I always want to be super positive, but I do want to say to moms and young girls that to be sold this idea of, like, perfection, [it] doesn’t exist. I definitely am so proud of everything we’ve done. But there are days where I sit and cry in my car and I’m like, “Oh, I missed a soccer game.” Or I didn’t clock something at work. I do want to say, the mom, the wife, all those roles, I am really staunch about squashing the perfection side of it for women because I am doing it all, but I’m certainly not doing it at my best all at once. I don’t like to sell this story to my younger sisters or girls and just say we can have it all. But there’s a messy stage. There’s a really chaotic stage. And you just show up and you do your best. I always say my life’s message will have balance and beauty and I’ll be proud of it. But my day to day is chaos. And so I definitely think Lisa Vanderpump is probably more graceful and in a different stage. With a six year old and animals and my chaotic friends, it’s a shit show, but we’re trying to make it look graceful.
But you know what, it looks graceful. You look graceful, but relatable. That’s normal for everybody.
Thank you. Yes, we’re not perfect but we’re young. We’re really proud of what we have done and really proud of being able to have a happy, strong marriage and a balanced son and balanced friendships and stuff like that. Not to say that day to day, one of those things does take a little hit.
In the trailer, we see that Joe Bradley has finally moved out of the friendzone with Maddi. What can you say about how their relationship came to be? Were you surprised that they took that step from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend?
So when I heard about it, definitely jaw on the floor, but I did want them to get together. When I hired Joe and I did his interview and he kept talking about his mom, I was like, “Who is this gem?” Lamar was like, “He worked you. He knows you have a son. All he did was talk about his mom. Of course, he worked you.” But I was like, “Maddi, he’s single. He’s so cute.” And she was kind of thinking about it. This was the first time she had broken up with Trevor. And then she was like, “I took him to a party, Leva, and he just ripped his shirt off. I was like, ‘ick.’ And everybody in the room was like, ‘Maddi, get your boyfriend. Tell him to put his shirt on.'” And so, I was like, “Well I guess that’s not going to work.”
We were having a holiday party. Our holiday parties are always delayed by a month or two. It was some sort of party that we were having, and it was delayed because we could never celebrate when other people celebrate because we’re busy creating a celebration. A few days before, one of them was not showing up to work or something was going on at work. We have a management thread, and one of the managers was like, “We heard somebody saying that Maddi’s location has been at Joe’s for three days.” Now, why do we know this? Do you think something’s going on? They showed up to the party slightly staggered but together. And I was like, “What’s going on here?” I kind of did that to Maddi and she just giggled. So yeah, I was shocked. And of course, me and my husband were like, “Is that really happening?”
Well, better her than Luann.
Yes, yes, yes. I think a better fit.
I think the entire fanbase was shocked when the trailer opened with Maddi and Joe getting married in Vegas. What was your reaction to that? And how real was that wedding?
I always try to say that on Southern Hospitality, nothing is fake. Now, is there more context when you tune in? Absolutely. But nothing’s fake. So yeah, when I heard about it, I was like, “Did you tell your mom? I know your mom. I know both your moms.” Both of them came back and told me some of what had happened. Immediately, I was like, “Don’t tell me. Go tell your mom.” I know both of them. One of them, I text with all the time. Of course, with Joe, I was like, “Does Misha know?” Maddi told me her parents were coming in, and I was like, “Did you tell your freaking mom?” It was shocking, but that’s every day with these kids. They keep me young, They keep me and Lamar giggling. And also probably drinking too early.
Do you think that Joe and Maddi are endgame?
Originally, when I saw them together, I was a little worried about Maddi breaking Joe’s heart. Then I was worried about Joe breaking Maddi’s heart when I started to see Maddi really talk about [it] and how emotional she would get. I think they’re really bonded, but also have some troubles they need to work out, you know what I mean? Like, personal stuff they need to work out, which comes with being young and being so in love, but also not working on yourself. So I think that that’s coming. Those two besties, there’s something very real there. And if it goes the long haul, I hope I’m officiating some sort of re-wedding, big wedding, whatever you want to call it. I hope they recommit in a way that their parents are there.
A big Southern Hospitality wedding.
Yeah, I really hope they do a 10-year anniversary. I don’t know. Whatever you want to call it. But I would be happy for them if they made it.
That would be fun. I like the idea of you officiating. You brought them together.
Exactly! I like it, too.
As their boss, would you say their relationship has helped or hindered them when they’re at work?
It’s hindering. Super hindering. You’ll catch some of that this year, and you’ll catch probably even more of it next year. We’re in hinder zone right now.
Speaking of relationships, Emmy and Will just can’t seem to escape those cheating rumors. Do you think Will would cheat on Emmy? How would you say they are doing today?
They’re doing sort of wonderfully. Will and Emmy have really isolated themselves from everyone. I think everyone is capable of cheating. I don’t think there’s a person on Earth that isn’t capable of cheating. Now, do I think he made the choice to hurt his girlfriend? I don’t know. I like to say that Will is intelligent, and I don’t think intelligent people cheat, quite frankly. Sorry to the cheaters. I don’t think intelligent people cheat. And so do I think he had a moment of a cerebral fart and maybe did? I don’t know. I would hope that he didn’t. But again, I don’t know any of these kids that intimately. And when you’re young, stress and emotions can cloud any type of logic, or the IQ might go out the door when you’re having a couple of drinks. So I really don’t know. I hope that he didn’t.
I hope he didn’t, too. I love them together.
Yeah, I really hope he didn’t. Do I think Will really loves Emmy? I do. Do I think they have a lot to work out? Absolutely.
In Season 2, we saw you promote Emmy to Assistant General Manager, but by the reunion she had been demoted back to VIP server. What is her current position? And would you consider promoting her again?
Emmy has sort of always been this sneaky star. She came in, she was like, “I’m Will’s girlfriend.” I was like, “You don’t need to work here. You’re just going to ruin his focus.” Will was a manager of one of the other locations, He was really on point at work. Then she was just really on top of her job. And I was sort of shocked. It was always that her persona was Will’s girlfriend. Then it became, what does Emmy want to do? So watching that for me, I was like, “Wow, I’m so proud of you.” And obviously, we have Leah, who’s the CEO, and my husband’s my business partner. I was the one that was really rooting for Emmy because I was seeing this passion and diligence and organization.
When she was promoted, she sort of … so here’s the thing about Emmy. She likes control. Even if you look at the way she talks, she likes control. She does this with her hands all the time. She likes everything to be organized. And if you put her outside of a box of comfort, she loses it. I wanted her to go down to one of our newer locations to train people. And she was like, “What?” Now, this is a block down the street. She knows all the staff. It’s not like I asked her to go to Thailand or something. I was just like, “Can you go down the block for two months and train some people?” And she was like, “No, I want to stay here. This is how I know things work.” And I was like, “I know you know how things work and it’s going to work the same down the street. So I just need you to train people.” And she was like, “No, no.” And I was like, “Well, you can’t have a job if you can’t do what I need you to do.” And I would hope that that was like a moment for her to go, “Okay, I can’t keep excelling if I can’t let go of some of the things that make me feel safe.”
But yeah, I root for her. I think she’s really intelligent and I think she can do something great. And she’s now a VIP server, as she was before. But I want her to want more. I’ve even texted her. I was like, “What do you want to do? So this one didn’t work out. Buck up. What’s the next thing you want?” Because I genuinely don’t think it’s the smartest, fastest, more organized people that are successful. I think it’s people that continue to get back up. You take a punch, you get back up, you take a punch, you get up. Because the only thing that’s for sure in life is you’re going to get punched. You’re going to get knocked out 55 times. What I tell my child, the only sure thing is stuff is going to suck. And you’re going to be bad at it and you’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to be embarrassed. The only difference between you and the next person is how can you buck up and get back up learn. I never ask my kid, “What did you learn today?” I ask him, “What did you do that you didn’t want to do today? What mistake did you make today?” You have to celebrate that stuff. So for her, I’m hoping that she can do more.
There are some fresh faces this season! What can you tell us about the show’s newest cast members (Molly Moore, Michols Peña, Lake Rucker and Austin Stephan)?
So there’s Molly, Austin, Michols and Lake. All very different. All sort of bring a really different energy to the group, but all also friends and have a history with the group. Austin has a tremendous history with Emmy. It all ends up boiling down to dating. Not that he dated Emmy but he dated one of Emmy’s best friends. So there’s so much history and he’s worked for us for a while. He definitely looks like a human machine. And if you meet him, you’re like, “Oh, my God, this guy’s like some douchebag.” But he’s so soft. He’s so gentle. A very different kind of personality than you think. These are fitness boys. And I think Austin’s giving them a run for their money. They all are like, “I’m watching my macros.” I’m like, “What is wrong with you people?” My gosh. That’s one fit fiddle.
Michols is 21, so refreshing, adorable, also complicated guy. I think he’s very sensitive. He wears his heart on his sleeve and this is a tough industry to do that in. Even with friendships, he’s so sensitive. You guys will get to see him sort of face some challenges. It’s not easy to manage your friends. That’s probably one of the hardest things in life to do is to have to manage someone you were genuinely friends with, you go to pilates with, and they’re your person. You have to be like, “I have to do this,” or “This is not working out,” or whatever. Very, very difficult, especially for a 21 year old. If we want to just hang out in the shallow puddles, he’s so hot, as they all are.
And Lake, again, beautiful little hottie straight out of college. Friendly with her. My husband’s friendly with her dad. She comes from a really affluent family. She’s artsy and fluid. This is such a new thing for girls of her generation. She’s just a light. She’s so fresh, so fun, young, like, a bright light at my front door. I love Lake. She’s adorable.
And Molly’s just a boss. She’s no nonsense. I definitely think Molly’s a fuck around to find out kind of girl. She’s definitely one of those. You’ll see her and Emmy sort of … she’ll call it out. She’s no nonsense. Very smart girl. Also has a very affluent family. Started bartending with us because she wants to get into hospitality, and she does events by day. Also a gorgeous girl. They’re beautiful people, but they’re very layered, very complicated and super young. So enjoy, guys. Enjoy, viewers!
I want to ask a couple of questions about Southern Charm since it’s coming back this week. What was your reaction when you found out Salley would be hopping from Southern Hospitality to Southern Charm? Would you say she was a better fit for one or the other?
It’s not just Salley, it’s Molly too. She used to work the front door, too. I was like, “Oh!” Genuinely, we’re all kind of friends. I’m the oldest girl by far. I’m not the oldest of the guys because there’s Shep [Rose], who I think is a little younger than me. And then there’s obviously Whitney [Sudler-Smith], but guys live differently than I do. So essentially, Whitney and Joe are really close. All of them hang out. So it was sort of natural. I mean, she does know all those people. They all hang out. Lamar and I are generally home. We’re out sometimes. A lot of the time, we’re like, “No, I’m good,” or leave early. Kind of boring married couple. To see them in the spaces, it made sense, because Molly knows both sides. Molly was a little flirty with Joe, and she used to have a little something with Craig [Conover]. She knows those guys. All of that made sense. But it was also kind of weird because I didn’t know Salley until she started working for me. Salley was sort of new to Charleston. So to see her, I was like, “Oh!” Molly, I’ve known for a decade, longer even. But Salley’s new to town, and I only met her when I was like, “Who’s this girl working up front?” And then come to find out, I know some people she was engaged to. There’s always history.
It seems like everyone is a little intertwined down there.
It’s a little incestuous. It’s a little weird. It’s like one degree of separation in Charleston. It’s like, “Oh yeah.” Two people away.
You also dropped the bomb that Austen Kroll had allegedly been running around town, despite being in a new relationship. Do you still believe that? What do you think of Austen’s new girlfriend?
I love Audrey, by the way. I think that you’ll have to tune in, but it was really a matter of timeline, I think. Listen, at the end of the day, you’re dating people and you are dating multiple people in the beginning. When Rodrigo [Reyes] was like, “They’ve been boyfriend and girlfriend,” I was like, “Let’s not put that out there.” I think they had recently started to be, which is what adults do. I rolled that out and might have to roll it back in. It was also because I wasn’t happy with how Austen was acting, and that was my preconceived sort of, whatever you want to call it. But you’ll have to tune in and see how that all pans out. Remember, me and Austin are coming off of me not being particularly happy with him. But we’re coming off of Taylor [Ann Green], Austen, all that stuff. And so we’re all in a very different space now. But I think you guys will get to see how that all transpires. And it’s not without fault on all of our ends. But that’s what friendship is. You get there. You get the trust back and you get there.
Is there anything else you can tease about both Southern Hospitality and Southern Charm?
With Charm, I think that this season, I hope that you’ll be able to see, I feel like the girls had some really cool moments. The friendships are really solidifying. I think we’re talking about things that we never really wanted to talk about, those awkward things that you kind of are like, “I feel this way about you, but I can’t get past this thing.” Things you kind of are like, “I don’t know why this person acts this way.” So I think there’s definitely that. We have a lot of fun. I’m having a lot of fun this season. I was just like, “Can we celebrate life? Can we not fight?” After coming off of two, three years of so much strife in our friend group, I was like, “Can we just all get along? There’s literally nothing for us to fight about.” But of course, there always ends up being something to fight about, so I kept going back to that baseline of, “Let’s have fun. Let’s dance. Let’s jump in a pool. Let’s fall in a bush.” I was really trying to be like, “Who cares?” Somebody cared. There ends up being a lot of stuff that needs to be worked out on Charm with all the different friend groups.
This year is one of the best because we tend to have one big fight that we all chime into. We take sides. Whereas this one, we didn’t know which side to take, and there were a lot of smaller issues and strife. You’ll also see a lot of people … I was really proud of Shep this year. He’s really grown up. I was telling my husband this the other day, like, “You know. I really respect Shep.” He really grew into a real gentleman this year. He really owns his emotions. He was doing very un-Shep-like things, like a grown man. Not that he wasn’t a grown man, but he had a lot of growth this year. I loved seeing Madison [LeCroy]. Madison was really vulnerable this year. There was just a lot of real stuff that I hope is captured and you guys get to see it. Because that’s the real us. We’re really having fun. We’re growing together, trying to support each other. We really do love each other, all of us, but we can get mad at each other at times.
Every friend group gets a little mad at times.
Yeah, we’ll have bad weeks and we can get pissed off at each other. There’s a lot of different pieces of friendship stuff where you guys will be like, “Oh, oh.”
And with Hospitality, it’s just a mess! It’s a mess. I don’t want to know. There are days where I’m just like, “No! that did not happen.” With that group, there’s a lot of stuff in the friendships that it takes time for a show to be able to tackle certain things in friend groups that are complicated. And I always say that group is very complicated because of backgrounds. That generation, the rules they live by, it’s so open that it creates a lot of really natural strife that’s complicated. This year, you guys will get to see a lot of really complicated but real friend problems and relationship problems. I’m really glad that we’re, from my understanding, able to sort of catch those things. And I always tell them to just be real. They’re like, “We know. You guys need to be real!” I’m like, “Okay, I’m just saying to let it all out. It’ll feel good.” So, I think guys will get to see a lot of that mess, a lot of fun. They’re so hot. At the end of the day, you’ll get to see a lot of the complications that bleed into work. Real, genuine stuff where I’m just like, “I’m fucking going home. Why can’t you guys just do this simple job?” But it gets complicated. There’s a lot of emotions and hormones, all the things.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Southern Hospitality premieres Thursday, Jan. 2 on Bravo.