Just when Bravo fans thought that another Southern Charm romance was brewing between Jarrett “JT” Thomas and Venita Aspen, JT dropped the bombshell that he had a girlfriend.
JT and Venita are two cast members on Season 10 of Southern Charm, Bravo’s reality TV series following the personal and professional lives of socialites in Charleston, South Carolina. From the Season 10 premiere, it seemed like there was a romance in the works between JT and Venita, who referred to each other as their “best friend” and light-flirted throughout the season. Those hopes were dashed, however, toward the middle of Season 10 when Venita invited JT over to her house for what looked to be a date. As Venita made her move, JT revealed that he had a girlfriend. “Let me just acknowledge something,” JT told Venita during the episode. “There’s something, right? Like, you know that there’s chemistry here? I do.” Venita responded, “I had a feeling that it was there. But I didn’t think that you would actually, like, say it!”
“Do I know we have chemistry? And am I attracted to you? Yes, and yes,” JT continued. “My mouth is like, stuck in a permanent smile right now,” replied the fashion influencer giddily,” Venita replied.
That’s when JT informed Venita that, despite their chemistry, he couldn’t date her because he had a girlfriend. “But it’s just, and I’m just being real,” JT said, “I’m seeing someone.” JT explained in his confessional interview that, while he wasn’t a cheater as his relationship was “just getting out of the gate,” continuing to flirt with Venita was a “slippery slope” he didn’t want to go down. Venita, for her part, told producers that she was aware JT was dating someone but he had never used the word “girlfriend” to her.
“Don’t act like you don’t want this just as bad as I do,” Venita told JT during the scene, which JT didn’t deny. “Let’s play this out,” he said. “Say that there’s an alternative universe [and] that it was me and you. But you knew that I had the propensity to see new opportunities and be flippant. You wouldn’t want to be with somebody like that. And you would always wonder in the back of your mind, is he gonna do the same thing to me?”
Venita told JT that his response was “valid.” In her confessional, she admitted that, if she and JT had been dating and she found out he was speaking to someone else the way he did with her, that would be a reason for her to end their relationship.
Who’s JT’s girlfriend from Southern Charm?
JT’s girlfriend is Ali Pereless, the Director of New Business Development for the Charleston-based public relations firm, South City PR. According to her biography on the company’s website, Ali is originally from New Jersey but moved to Charleston in 2018 after earning her Bachelor’s degree in Stratgic Communication from High Point University in High Point, North Carolina.
In March 2025, Venita defended herself against homewrecker claims after Southern Charm aired a scene of her going to JT’s hotel room on a cast trip to try to hook up with him. In an Instagram Story at the time, Venita claimed that the scene was filmed before her and JT’s “date,” where he informed her he had a girlfriend. “Let me make something VERY CLEAR. That dinner JT and I had after I made Branzino was AFTER the Bahamas yall as an audience saw it BEFORE. So this weeks episode is now making me look like I’m a home wrecker when I’m not,” Venita wrote. “I know what I signed up for but I also will not allow the world to think I’m that woman when I’m not. Make sure you add this screenshot to all of the Reddit threads.”
Instagram account @realmomsofbravo reposted Venita’s Instagram Story, to which Ali responded and denied Venita’s claim that she didn’t know JT had a girlfriend. “venita met me as jarrett’s girlfriend at dinner with bunny last april pre filming but i appreciate her trying to save face! happy to send receipts :)” she wrote.
Days before the Southern Charm Season 10 finale, JT shared a video of her introducing Ali to Venita, his mom, and sister on April 5, 2024. “The good old days.. enjoyed filming with my mom and sister and introducing them to my then new gf Ali. Glad Venita was able to join us for a fun meal” he captioned the Instagram post.
In an Instagram Story on March 19, JT claimed that Southern Charm “shattered” both his relationship with Ali and Venita. “The TV show has basically shattered both relationships. In time, I hope the friendship can be restored fully with both.. and in the meantime I just want peace,” he wrote, hinting that he and Ali were no longer together.
Southern Charm streams on Peacock.
