Venita Aspen appeared on Thursday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live, where she spoke of Jarrett “JT” Thomas‘ recent social media posts, reacted to Craig Conover‘s split from Paige DeSorbo, and shared her thoughts on Shep Rose‘s potential romance with Molly O’Connell.
As she also reacted to Sienna Evans‘ TikTok posts about her relationship with Shep, 44, and revealed interest in an actor, the 31-year-old Southern Charm cast member looked back on her short-lived romance with JT, 39, and the love triangle she found herself in with him and Ali Pereless.
“I’m extremely disappointed in him for doing that and trying to throw me under the bus like that, especially considering I was the only one that had his back and stood up for him against the name-calling allegations with [Patricia Altschul] and the allegations about him calling me something that he didn’t,” Venita shared on the March 20 episode of WWHL.
In addition to sharing a video of Venita and Ali together in an effort to prove Venita was aware of their romance earlier than she alluded, JT showcased proof that he had reimbursed her for the jacket she bought him on his Instagram Story and said Venita had lied.
“I never said he didn’t pay me back. I was just saying that I was his best friend, and I needed to put the card down, and I knew he was going to pay me back and he was good for it,” Venita clarified of the alleged $5,000 jacket. “I didn’t have a problem doing that. That’s what you do for your best friend.”
As for the racism allegations suggested by a barber and repeated by the cast, Venita defended JT, noting that she never believed he had spoken about her in an insensitive manner.
“That’s not JT at all. I might be mad at him, but that’s just not the person who he is,” she stated.
Venita was then asked a series of rapid-fire questions, during which she said her relationship with JT was “the most” she’d had in a “really long time” and described him as a lover using three words, including “sweet, compassionate, and caring.”
Venita also said that at this point, she no longer considers JT a gentleman.
As for when she learned he had gone public with Ali, Venita said she was alerted to the post by Rodrigo Reyes.
“That was hard. I saw it at the same time as everyone else saw it. I got a call from Rodrigo … And I went to Instagram and I saw it and I just, I didn’t know how to react. I was angry, sad, disappointed, confused,” she recalled.
Now, months after JT and Ali’s reveal, Venita said, “Word on the street is that they’re not [still together].” She then noted that when it comes to where she’s standing with JT, “We’re not standing at all.”
She then admitted the Southern Charm cast “could’ve gone a little harder” on JT at the reunion as host Andy Cohen, 56, described their antics against him as “a pretty long filleting.”
“It was,” Venita agreed. “We didn’t [leave anything out]. That’s just me being mean.”
Moving on to Craig, 36, and Paige’s breakup, Venita confirmed she only reached out to Paige, 32.
“I have a closer relationship with Paige than I do Craig, so I reached out to her over Craig,” she explained, sharing that when it came to Craig being 99% sure that they’d get engaged, “Love is blinding.”
As she looked back on Shep’s romance with Sienna, Venita confessed to thinking he was getting karma for his past behavior with women.
“I think all of us at some point were like, ‘Okay, damn, Shep is actually feeling what he’s put out for the last however many years,” she noted.
Then, regarding Sienna’s TikToks, Venita said she didn’t watch.
“I chose not to look at it. She didn’t say much at dinner, but then she wants to go online and talk and say her peace? She should’ve spoken at dinner,” she reasoned.
According to Venita, she believes Shep and Molly could make sense.
“I don’t think Shep’s gonna hurt her … Shep’s really sweet … I don’t think people get to see that sweet side of Shep. He is [smart],” she stated.
Also on the live broadcast, after confirming she wasn’t currently dating, Venita admitted she has her eye on someone from NBC’s Chicago PD.
“I just found him a couple weeks ago and I think he’s handsome. I slid in his DMs and I said, ‘It’s so funny. We work for the same network, but we never ran into each other,’ and I got a follow and a response,” she teased.
On the WWHL: After Show, Venita was asked when she’d last spoken to Olivia Flowers, 32, and whether or not the Southern Charm cast would be attending her upcoming wedding to fiance Alex Williams.
“I texted her with condolences because it was her brother’s death anniversary, and I texted her to check in on her. For the wedding, I have no idea, Hopefully, I’m on the list,” she replied.
