Naomie Olindo returned to Southern Charm after taking a season off, and as she revealed on a recent podcast, nearly everyone was excited to have her back.
In addition to sharing her thoughts on which cast member’s changed the most and why Craig Conover and Paige DeSorbo are such a great match, Naomie said that because the majority of her co-stars were so supportive of her return, she didn’t have too many reservations about coming back to the show.
“I spoke to everybody really, aside from like one person… I said, you know, ‘How would you feel about me coming back? I’m kind of in a weird place. I’m a little bit lost. And I know filming is like coming up. I don’t, I think this might be good for me. Would you be supportive?’ And every, everybody was like, ‘Hell yeah, come on,'” Naomie recalled on the August 2 episode of Behind the Velvet Rope With David Yontef. “So it was really nice and I felt really safe, you know, coming back.”
As for that one person, Naomie confirmed the cast member who didn’t have open arms was “a young lady named Kathryn.”
“I’m very lucky that almost everybody had open arms and was just really sweet,” she noted.
As for the cast member who’s changed the most, Naomie gave that honor to Madison LeCroy — but she made it clear that she didn’t mean that “in a bad way.”
“This is actually in a really good way… Madison… She’s grown a lot and she’s, she just seems to be really happy and has done a lot with [the show],” Naomie explained.
After rejoining Southern Charm, Naomie was forced to interact with ex-boyfriend Craig’s new girlfriend, Paige, after confirming the two of them hooked up while they were dating. But according to Naomie, she actually wasn’t nervous ahead of their first encounter.
“I was excited to meet her,” Naomie shared.
While there was a lot of talk about both Craig and Naomie and Craig and Paige, Naomie said that the drama surrounding her and Paige was “blown out of proportion.” In fact, there’s “absolutely no bad blood between” them.
“I really like Paige. I think she and Craig are a really good match. I think they seem very happy. And I, I love that for him,” Naomie insisted.
And although she and Paige did endure some “unfortunate” circumstances amid filming, most of which were due to the input of others, Naomie truly believes Craig and Paige are perfect for one another.
“I’ve heard Craig say that she just really accepts him for who he is and it seems to be mutual… What is better than that?” she wondered.
As for her upcoming drama with Kathryn Dennis and Venita Aspen, Naomie said there is “a lot of stuff coming” on the remainder of season eight.
“I think this is the most that has happened throughout one season ever. At least like in the history of me being familiar with the show, I think it’s going to be a really good season,” she teased.
And when asked if she ever feels she should reach out to Kathryn, who has been put through the ringer in recent years due to her ongoing custody issues with Thomas Ravenel, Naomie confirmed that ship has sailed.
“It’s not really like something I think about,” she said of potentially reaching out. “She’s just like, not really a part of my life… [And] you just don’t have to be friends with everyone. And I think that’s something I’m learning as I get older. It’s like, I don’t have to be around somebody if it’s not somebody that I want to be around.”
Southern Charm season eight airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.