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While the future of Southern Hospitality has been up in the air for a bit, Bravo finally confirmed the show will be returning for a fifth season.
The status of the show was uncertain due to many of the cast members who worked for Leva Bonaparte at her Republic Garden & Lounge club in Charleston, South Carolina, having moved on. Some even went to work for a competing hospitality group and had some alleged drama with Leva.
This past weekend, Bravo Fan Fest took place, and people assumed Leva, 47, who lives there, would be taking part in the event.
When asked about it on Threads, Leva responded, “I live here, yes. No I asked Bravo to kindly release of their roster! I’m moving on to a new chapter of my life! Appreciated my time there, but it’s no longer serving me … new projects on the horizon!”
During a taping of Watch What Happens Live Friday evening at Bravo Fan Fest, Andy Cohen was asked if Leva had quit Bravo or if she’d been fired.
“The truth of the matter is I don’t know any tea about that,” Andy, 58, said while fans booed his response that seemingly dodged providing a clear answer. “Except that they’re going to be in production on the next season very soon. So you’ll have to ask one of the… Southern Hospitality people. They’ll be around. Ask them. Maybe they know.”
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In the wake of all the drama, an insider spoke exclusively to Reality Blurb to offer some more insight into what went down.
“Leva did not quit,” they stated, alleging that she had been “fired” from the network.
“The cast also doesn’t know why Andy is pointing people to ask them,” they added. “They find that weird/strange.”
As for who is staying loyal to Leva, another source pointed out one person who definitely is: Lake Rucker.
“Lake no longer works for Republic,” they shared. “But she does help out in a store that sells home goods and some apparel inside Leva’s daiquiri spot, Zachary’s Daiquiris.”
“Lake has remained loyal to Leva,” they added. “While she feels the rest of the cast is free to do as they wish, and remains close with some of them, she is not going to turn her back on Leva.”
Whether or not Lake will be on the show remains to be seen, though, as the source noted it’s “not certain at this time.”