Thomas Ravenel wants documents pertaining to his custody battle with Kathryn Dennis unsealed.
As Kathryn, 35, argues that making the case public would cause harm to their two kids, daughter Kensington, 12, and son Saint Julien, 10, she and Thomas, 64, are headed to the South Carolina Supreme Court next Tuesday, where a judge will decide whether or not the Southern Charm alums’ documents will be unsealed.
According to a Fits News report on September 10, Thomas believes the documents should be made public since Kathryn has already discussed their case and accused him and the court system of misconduct.
After initially agreeing to seal the documents when their custody battle began in May 2016, a judge ruled that Thomas and Kathryn’s documents should remain public. Two years later, and as their battle continued, Kathryn requested that new developments be kept from the public. Shortly thereafter, a judge granted the request but ultimately reversed the ruling because of Kathryn’s ongoing statements about the case.
More recently, after Thomas filed to modify custody in October 2020, he and Kathryn agreed to have their documents sealed, but under the agreement that they could be unsealed in the future. So, after Kathryn began making public statements that did not align with their agreed-upon privacy, Thomas requested they be unsealed.
In his request, Thomas accused Kathryn of spreading “significant public mistruths” about their case and defaming not only him, but the court, its judges, and the lawyers involved, signaling to public interviews and posts on her social media pages.
In one public statement, Kathryn claimed she was “silenced by gag orders” that stopped her from talking about her and Thomas’ legal drama, and said he was using money, influence, and his family name to sway the court.
Though Thomas’ request was initially denied in November 2022, he refiled it later that year, arguing that his testimony was never heard. Once he was heard, Thomas said he hoped to have his custody documents unsealed so the public could find out what really happened between them.
“I just want the truth to be out there for my own reputational purposes,” he explained, adding that he wanted his kids to know they were being taken care of.
Meanwhile, Kathryn admitted to speaking publicly about their custody battle and to sharing an image of the Charleston County courthouse with the caption “midnight justice” amid their trial.
As Southern Charm fans may know, Thomas was granted sole custody of Kensington and Saint Julien in February 2023 as Kathryn was restricted to supervised visitation. In the years since, Kathryn has been linked to an October 2023 hit-and-run and a May 2024 DUI arrest.
Kathryn and Thomas’ case will be heard amid a two-day court term beginning at 11:30 a.m. on September 15 and will be free and open to the public.