When Ashley Jacobs joined Southern Charm, appearing as longtime cast member Thomas Ravenel’s new girlfriend, she threw some of the other cast members for a loop, though she seemed to be a sweet person. As time went on, Jacobs pushed for further commitment from Ravenel and ended up in an epic fight with the mother of Ravenel’s children, Kathryn Dennis. Jacobs’ blow up and below-the-belt insults created a divide within the cast and nearly everyone sided with Dennis. Fellow “charmers” accused Jacobs of being a gold digger, an escort, and said she was using Ravenel for his money. Jacobs had been living off of Ravenel after she left California to move in with him in Charleston. She had been waiting to get approved for her nursing license in the new state and said she was unable to work until the process was complete.
According to her Instagram account, Jacobs is now a working nurse and she is reportedly still with Ravenel. Get to know more about their relationship, a lawsuit involving Jacobs, and more news about the reality personality in our 5 Fast Facts below.
1. She Has Been Accused of Creating Fake Twitter Accounts
Jacobs’ presence on Southern Charm has caused a fire storm on social media with Bravo network fans, as well as cast members of the show. If you’ve seen the #HiAshley hashtag, it refers to Jacobs, as she has been accused of using fake Twitter accounts for trolling online. Tweets suspected to be Jacobs have been responded to with the hashtag #HiAshley. Southern Charm stars Patricia Altschul and Kathryn Dennis have each used the hashtags as well.
On June 24, 2018, Dennis directly addressed Jacobs, using the hashtag, writing, “#hiashley I don’t encourage hate. I receive it from you. That is why you are in the position you’re in. You thought pouncing on me would make you the ‘new me,’ the new atypical protagonist, but darling … you’re just a straight up asshole.” As for Altschul, on June 23, 2018, she tweeted this message to explain the #HiAshley hashtag, claiming that, “She has multiple accounts to troll @KathrynDennis #LuzanneOtte and myself hence the #HiAshley moniker.”
As for how Jacobs has responded to the #HiAshley hashtag, Reality Blurb reported her response on social media, saying, “I don’t get the entire #HiAshley movement. I do NOT use troll accounts with which to hate other people. I use my personal account as a platform to defend against hate itself.”
2. An Ex-Girlfriend of Thomas Ravenel’s Accused Her of Spreading Lies
According to Page Six, Luzanne Otte, who is an ex-girlfriend of Ravenel, has attained a lawyer in order to fight against allegations that she stalked and harassed Ashley Jacobs. She also claimed that Jacobs and Ravenel have spread negative lies against her. Her legal representative, G. Taylor Wilson, stated that, “Luzanne Otte has been subjected to a seemingly endless smear campaign that lacks even a kernel of truth.”
Wilson went on to say, “For months, Ms. Otte has waited patiently for her accusers to let her continue to live a private life free of false public shaming. They haven’t. There comes a time when enough is enough, and that time is now. Ms. Otte has been forced to retain counsel to defend herself and has demanded that the false accusations against her cease. Any further false accusations will be met with litigation.” No lawsuit has been filed.
Because of alleged incidents with Otte, Ravenel is reportedly no longer on speaking terms with longtime friends Whitney Sudler-Smith and his mother Patricia Altschul. Reality Blurb confirmed that one of the reasons for the break up in Altschul and Smith’s friendship with Ravenel is over Luzanne Otte, who is reportedly close with Altschul.
3. Jacobs Credits Her Changing Appearance to Stress
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With being on Southern Charm and being perceived as an enemy to the cast, viewers have been leaving negative comments on Twitter and Instagram left and right. Over the weeks, Jacobs’ frame appears to have become frail and even cast members have said on Watch What Happens Live that she looked gaunt at the reunion taping. So, what caused the weight loss?
In a bikini photo post on Instagram, Jacobs said that all the stress from the show, her bumpy relationship and the negative feedback from viewers had taken its toll on her. She explained, “How about I be honest with all of you and address this weight concern once and for all. So here goes… In the last 8 months I have struggled with severe anxiety related to stress. I was completely overwhelmed with moving across the country, leaving my family and friends, being in a new relationship, not having my nursing license, oh and being on a reality TV show! I made these choices and I take complete accountability for them. What I lacked was proper coping mechanisms.”
She continued, “I dropped a lot of weight in a matter of months. I was putting too much pressure on myself, not taking care of my health and fitness, along with other external stressors. People deal with stress in a multitude of ways (some of them healthy, some of them not so much). It’s important to monitor your response to stress, anxiety, or any other negative emotion in order to keep your health in check. I’ve learned the hard way that you need to ask for help when things aren’t going well. You need to talk to qualified professionals, get medical support, and not feel ashamed or try to ‘tough it out.’ It isn’t easy, but there is hope for me and I believe that things will get better … I know how far I have strayed from who I used to be, and could be once again. I’m committed to choosing my health and well-being first.”
4. Kathryn Dennis and Ashley Jacobs Have Not Mended Their Relationship
Ashley Jacobs attacked Dennis as a mother and even stooped to call Dennis “an egg donor,” claiming Dennis and Ravenel were never a family. Ultimately, the two engaged in some of the biggest fights in the history of the show, mainly instigated by Jacobs. But, Jacobs has said she does not regret some of her below-the-belt shots at Dennis.
On a Southern Charm After Show, as reported by Reality Tea, Jacobs said that Dennis had pushed boundaries with her prior to the blow ups. Jacobs claimed that, “She even asked Thomas [Ravenel] in December ‘Can we take family photos? Christmas photos of the four of us Ravenels.’ I looked at him and was like, ‘You need to start setting some boundaries right now, friend. Otherwise, I’m not staying here. Bye.'”
Jacobs then went on to say that, “Just because you push something out of your vagina, it doesn’t mean you’re a mother. I’m sorry. Mothering is loving, caring, and protecting these children. Kathryn is all talk. I want to see her actually do what she’s saying she’s going to do. I hope for her sobriety and that she maintains that for the sake of the children- for the benefit of the children … I should have had more class to bite my tongue, but again I was just in that moment. I was provoked, so I was little disappointed.”
Though Jacobs does not regret the point she was trying to make, Ravenel spoke out on Twitter to say that he regretted not standing up for his ex, Dennis. Ravenel tweeted, “I felt horrible for Kathryn during the final scene of the finale. I should have explained to Ashley what Kathryn had suffered. She’s had major anxiety and depression issues along with two babies in rapid succession at a young age. The responsibility was mine and I must have it.”
5. Ashley Jacobs Attended the “Southern Charm” Reunion Without Ravenel
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Thomas Ravenel is under investigation for two separate sexual misconduct accusations. In turn, the decision was made that he would not attend the reunion taping for Southern Charm season 5. Jacobs, however, did choose to attend. Jacobs did not discuss Ravenel’s allegations at the taping, though she did reportedly defend herself against rumors that she is a “gold digger”.
Jacobs said that she has evolved since filming the show and has learned to really settle into her life in Charleston. She stated to The Daily Dish, “Once I started working, I got a job, traveling, driving, I started to see it with a different perspective, not just going out to dinners and driving with my boyfriend. I’m like, ‘I’ve got to get around town.’ I’m like, ‘Wow, this is my home.’ She further explained that, “I have to give myself a pat on the back because I never thought I would get to this place where even if things didn’t work out in my relationship in the future, I could still see myself out there.”
When it comes to Jacobs’ job as a registered nurse, she said that, “I work through an agency. So I go to people’s homes, and I care for their loved ones, the patients, their families are there as well. So I help relieve them of their duties. A lot of them are terminal or have [disabilities], so it’s been great too being in that field because I’m going to homes, I’m helping families. Even though I work for them, it’s been really great because I don’t have my family here, and a lot of these patients have become family.” In an Instagram post by Jacobs, she wrote, “The dream is free, the hustle is sold separately … if it was a walk in the park … everyone would do it … but each day is a sacrifice of self for someone else. #ILoveMyJob.”