Southern Charm's Ashley Jacobs Opens Up About Her Relationship with Thomas Ravenel
Find out how the Southern Charm couple is doing following the Season 5 reunion.
No couple came under fire more this season of Southern Charm than Thomas Ravenel and his new girlfriend Ashley Jacobs. Though it was unclear whether Thomas and Ashley's relationship would survive the season, it was revealed in the season finale that the two had remained a couple. In fact, they were still together when the Southern Charm Season 5 reunion filmed earlier this summer.
When The Daily Dish caught up with Ashley prior to the airing of Part 2 of this season's reunion, she shared that her relationship with Thomas is still "going great." "We’re stronger, you know, what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger. I think that we are really the most raw that we have ever been with each other and cutting off all those layers and just getting to the heart of it, there’s been a lot of tears, anger, frustration, stress, sadness," she shared. "He’s really been someone I can lean on, I can depend on, and he’s been a really good friend through it all."
Ashley said that she and Thomas have "really gotten to know each other a lot better" than when they were first dating at the beginning of this season of Southern Charm. "He did say to me last night, 'You’re calmer. You seem more relaxed.' And he goes, 'I see a change in you.' He did say that last night, and the truth is I see a change in him," she said. "And the Thomas I know today is a much better person and through everything that’s gone on with us and gone on with him, it’s been very humbling for the two of us."
These days, the Southern Charm couple has been living a quieter life at Thomas' Brookland Plantation, according to Ashley. "We’re not in the public eye; we’re out in the middle of nowhere, and it’s a blast! We get along so well. We go on the boat, we go for walks. We’re not going out and partying, you know, taking selfies, being flashy, we’re not. We’re literally staying in and doing the same thing three days in a row. Like, he won’t shave, and I haven’t shaved my legs in a week. We’re really real. He’s seen the really real side of me, too. And he likes me still. So I might not have washed my hair in this many days," Ashley shared. "And we watch all the [Southern Charm] episodes together, just us two. And we sit around and talk about it afterwards, and we’ll get frustrated and pause and we’re like, 'I can’t believe that,' and it’s just nice to have him to talk to. He knows what I’m going through."
When Andy Cohen asked Ashley if she would accept a proposal from Thomas at the reunion, she said, "I'm not there yet." But now Ashley said that marriage is "definitely on the table" with Thomas. "I mean, I say that with anyone I date at this point in my life. If I was in my 20s it might be different," she said. "I still kid around about it. I’m like, 'Thomas, this would be something we’d have to do on our honeymoon if we ever did this.' That’s just how we make our jokes."
If Ashley and Thomas do end up walking down the aisle, she said that she would even like Kathryn to be there for her big day. "I would invite Kathryn. I do take that back, if she wants to be there, because I know what it’s like to not be included to a party or an event," Ashley explained. "I would just because it’s the right thing to do."
However, Ashley said that she and Thomas have also had conversations about a future where they're not together. "He’s said this before in the past that, 'These are your most precious years right now,' and he goes, 'I don’t want to take those away from you.' He knows marriage is so important to me, and I believe in that. So I tell him I think there’s something beautiful about belonging to somebody like that and wearing a ring, and that symbolizes that a person belongs to somebody. He loves that, and he’s all for it. He's very romantic," she said. "But he did say to me the other day, he goes, 'If it didn't work out, I’d probably be the one that would say that I know I don’t want to keep these years from you and that I realize that I can’t be what you need, and I know that it’s going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.' It just stings because if we don’t go down that path then I know he’s letting me go not because he wants to be this player or this playboy or that he doesn’t want to commit; it's just that he turns 56 in a few weeks. He's done a lot, and I haven't, so I think that that’s very unselfish of him."
But Ashley added, "We do spend every day together, and we spend a lot of time together, and we’re always together. We really don't fight; we get along pretty well. We always want to be with each other."
Ashley opens up more about her relationship with Thomas, below.