Thomas Ravenel is accusing ex Kathryn Dennis of drinking and using drugs while pregnant with their 3-year-old son amid the Southern Charm stars’ messy custody battle.
According to new court documents obtained by The Blast and filed in the County of Charleston, South Carolina, and obtained by The Blast, Ravenel claims that daughter Kensington Calhoun, 4, and son St. Julien Rembert, 3 have “developmental and behavioral problems” due to their mother’s substance abuse.
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“The parties’ oldest child, K.C.R., has developmental and behavioral problems that have required intensive therapy. Father is informed and believes these problems are the result of [Dennis’] lack of bonding with K.C.R. during infancy. … The parties’ youngest child, S.J.R., has developmental and behavioral problems that have required intensive therapy. Father is informed and believes that these problems are the result of Mother’s drug and alcohol consumption while S.J.R. was in utero,” the documents read.
Dennis previously lost custody of the couple’s kids and entered rehab after testing positive for marijuana and failed a drug test in 2016, but has since earned back 50/50 custody. Ravenel, meanwhile, is currently scheduled to stand trial for the alleged sexual assault of a woman who watched his children as the former couple’s nanny.
To PEOPLE, Dennis’ lawyer declined to comment on the new filing “for ethical reasons,” but added, “However, I am preparing an appropriate reply that will be filed with the Court denying defamatory allegations made by Mr. Ravenel.”
In light of Ravenel’s pending case, as well as another claim of sexual assault that made headlines in 2018, the former politician will no longer appear on the Bravo show, and in October Dennis filed for primary custody of their two children.
Ravenel fired back with a filing of his own in November, which stated, “Father is informed and believes that Mother’s suit for a change in custody was not brought out of concern for the best interests of the minor children.”
He claimed that Dennis “filed this action for the sole and/or primary purpose of securing her role on the reality TV show Southern Charm and progressing her storyline as the ‘rehabilitated Mother who regains possession of her minor children,’” adding that while in his care, their children “have received regular, individualized therapy tailored to their developmental needs” and they “have developmentally and behaviorally progressed under his care.”
With Dennis caring for the children more under the terms of their recent agreement, Ravenel alleged he “has observed marked regression in the minor children’s therapeutic progress.”
“The minor children have developmentally regressed since [Dennis] has assumed 50/50 time with the children, as evidence by … [Dennis’] failure to help potty train the parties’ youngest child and continuing to feed the youngest by bottle instead of a cup,” he claimed in the documents.
Despite Dennis continuing to take mandated drug tests, Ravenel alleges “[Dennis] abuses prescription drugs, is engaged in the use of illegal drugs, and consumes alcohol in combination thereof regularly,” even purchasing “synthetic urine” to pass said tests.
He even claims that producers for Southern Charm have sold drugs to Dennis: [Dennis] buys, sells, and trades prescription medications to and from friends, cast members, and show producers to support her prescription drug habit,” according to the documents.
He claims that the mother of his children “becomes overwhelmed after having sole care of the minor children for more than a few days, causing [Dennis] to further engage in illegal drug use and/or prescription drug abuse as a coping mechanism for anxiety and stress,” alleging that Dennis has been diagnosed with “Bi-Polar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, kleptomania, self-mutilation, and Cluster B Personality Traits, including histrionic and borderline personality disorders.”
In addition to sole custody of the children, Ravenel is asking the court to order Dennis pay an “appropriate amount” of child support; his children be prohibited from appearing on Southern Charm or any other TV show; Dennis be kept “from using the minor children to secure or facilitate endorsements and income through any kind of public exposure,” on TV or online; and that she be barred from using drugs or alcohol while watching the couple’s children.
Photo credit: Instagram/Kathryn Dennis
