‘Southern Hospitality’: Leva Bonaparte Reveals Which of Her ‘Southern Charm’ Co-Stars Supported Her New Bravo Show (Exclusive)

Leva Bonaparte has her hands full juggling the drama of her friend group on Southern Charm and the antics of her employees on Southern Hospitality. The Republic Garden & Lounge owner luckily had some of her Southern Charm co-stars to lean on while filming her new show, Bonaparte shared with PopCulture.com ahead of Southern Hospitality‘s Nov. 28 premiere on Bravo.

Despite Southern Charm and Southern Hospitality having different filming schedules, Bonaparte told PopCulture it was “tricky” balancing her friends’ drama and with that of the Republic employees’ hookups, breakups and screw-ups. “It definitely spoke to my lack of sort of bandwidth with Southern Charm,” she explained. “I just, I have a lot on my plate, and so the minute somebody’s not respecting boundaries … I’m just like, ‘I can’t. I can’t. For mental health, I can’t.’” 

And while there were “definitely people’s little whispers” about the restauranteur’s spinoff show, Bonaparte had the support of plenty of her Southern Charm co-stars. “I’m obviously very close with Naomie [Olindo], and I’m close with Olivia [Flowers] and Taylor [Ann Green] – especially Olivia and Taylor,” she shared. “They were all super supportive. ‘Should we stop in? Are you filming?’ They’re really great.”

Green is actually “really good friends” with a lot of Bonaparte’s Republic staff. “You’ll see, I think, a bit of that, but you’ll probably see more of that next season,” she hinted. Green’s ex, Shep Rose, was also totally behind Bonaparte’s new show. “Shep was like, ‘I think it’s a great idea,’” Bonaparte revealed. “Shep actually sent me a text … and was really nice about it, and never gave me pushback. And, of course, Whitney [Sudler-Smith].”

Southern Charm fans will see plenty of cameos in Southern Hospitality, and even some resolution from the past season. “Even at my birthday, you’ll see somebody that I did not do well with at the finale come, and that’s when she sort of delivers her apology,” Bonaparte teased. “So that kind of was a nice thing.” There’s plenty of new drama to be had with the Republic employees as well. 

“They all live here, but several of them are native, native Southern kids. So I think that you’ll see a little bit of that, and then there’s the whole hustle game,” Bonaparte said of Southern Hospitality‘s vibe. “They all have to be about their money. They’re not going to stay if they don’t sell.” Southern Hospitality premieres Monday, November 28, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo and the next day on Peacock and the Bravo app.