The Southern hospitality cast heated up during the season 3 premiere — and not everyone was on board.
“He’s gonna screw you!” TJ Dinch warned Emmy Charette during the first few minutes of the premiere on Thursday, January 2, after several of their co-stars stated that her boyfriend, Will Kulp, was unfaithful. “I bet you fed that bitch,” TJ yelled at Will.
While the episode set up a lot of future drama between Emmy and Will, they weren’t the couple that was fighting to start the season. In fact, most of the episode took place three months before TJ attacked Will for his alleged infidelity.
It was TJ and a former best friend Joe Bradley who had the worst relationship of the premiere after Joe said he couldn’t “trust” TJ anymore after TJ’s claims that Joe contacted Luan de Lesseps while dating briefly Summer houseis Daniel Olivera.
“Joe’s connection to Luann is iconic,” Maddie Reese he told the cameras, while Joe maintained that it didn’t matter if he actually had sex with The Real Housewives of New York alum.
“Luann is such a badass. I mean who wouldn’t want to fuck her?” costar Grace Lilly chimed in as Emmy teased, “Joe’s into MILFs. He loves them.”
While most of Joe’s colleagues playfully scoffed at his rumored relationship with Luann, TJ was adamant that he “cheated” on Danielle when he hooked up with Luann in New York. (Us Weekly broke the news in January that Luann and Joe were “one on top of the other” in a New York hotel after filming an episode of Watch what’s happening live with Andy Cohen.)
This shake-up caused Joe and TJ to fight a lot, which according to the premiere affected the whole group.
Scroll down to see where every major relationship and friendship stands after season 3 Southern hospitality premiere:
Maddie Reese and Joe Bradley
“Yeah, I’m dating Joe Bradley,” Maddie revealed during the premiere, noting that former friends made things official earlier that year. “I feel like I’ve always liked Joe.”
Maddie admitted: “Making it romantic was just a huge risk. At the same time, I know that this man is in love with me.”
The last time fans saw Maddie was her breaking up with Trevor Stokes after he cheated on her during season 2 of the series. Meanwhile, Joe has always had feelings for Maddie, extremely telling us in December 2024 that they became official in April of that year.
“I feel safe, safe. That’s all I need right now,” Maddie said during Thursday’s episode of her relationship with Joe. Even after TJ told her that Joe had allegedly “cheated” on all his previous girlfriends, Maddie didn’t panic.
Joe, for his part, told the cameras: “Dreams really do come true” after “Maddie Reese finally agreed to love me again.”
Emmy Sharett and Will Kulp
During season 2, Will denied kissing another woman and Emmy stood beside him. The couple has since had to navigate Will going to law school and living further away from Emmy, which they claimed in the premiere made them stronger.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” Emmy said teasingly, “When are you going to put a baby inside me and propose? Just kidding.”
She told the cameras that after facing the “doubters” last summer, she and Will “couldn’t have done better”. Emmy explained that after a year of law school, she and Will are “one year closer to getting a ring” and getting married.
Elsewhere in the episode some of the Southern hospitality the actors claimed that Will had not been honest with Emmy about their romance. “I just feel bad for her. I know we’ve both heard that Will is running around gossiping behind her back,” TJ said Mia Alariowho confirmed that she had heard similar stories.
“Will was out in the Republic, completely obliterated. Talking about how much she hates Emmy and hates her relationship and she’s so annoying,” Mia told the cameras.
TJ added: “I heard he was like, ‘I just don’t think she’s my guy, and now that she’s sober, she’s not fun anymore.'” Joe also confirmed that he’s heard Will say unkind things as well.
Mia Alario and Troy
Mia no longer works at Republic Garden & Lounge, but is still friends with the cast. She even FaceTimed TJ from Trinidad and Tobago (where she was training for Miss World) to give an update on her romance with Troy, who she started seeing during Season 2.
“Troy and I are so deeply in love it’s actually disgusting,” she admitted. “Being away from him for three months was excruciating. But I definitely send a lot of pictures of my breasts. He likes that.
TJ Dinch and Michels Pena
TJ and rookie Michols aren’t an item, but they did reveal that they tried going out once before the cameras started rolling. “I got drunk one night and kissed him,” TJ told Bradley, noting that after Mikols drove him home, he left him in the car.
While TJ said he was nervous thinking about dating a 21-year-old, he continued to try to bond with Michols during the premiere. After TJ brought Michols coffee one day, things got even more awkward.
“I was starting to develop feelings,” Mikols said, noting that “out of nowhere” TJ brought him a drink and made him feel like he was “playing games.”
Joe Bradley and TJ Dinch
The one-time BFFs admitted they haven’t “spoken at all” in the past four months after TJ accused Joe of lying about his romance with Luann during their Season 2 reunion, which aired in February.
“Joe definitely bonded with Luann. He was dating Danielle when he got involved with Luann,” TJ claims, claiming it “gives Joe an opportunity to tell the truth because everyone already knew.”
Joe never confirmed his relationship with Luann, instead claiming that “TJ betrayed my trust” with his accusations and “sabotaged” his relationship with Danielle in the process. (Daniel and Joe left it in February after we got together in November 2023)
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TJ said he distanced himself from Joe after receiving a bunch of mean messages from Joe calling him a “rat”. In the final moments of the premiere, Joe tried to talk to TJ, but he refused to engage.
“I’m just not ready (to talk),” TJ admitted. Joe began to walk away, declaring, “I’m done.”
Bradley Carter and Maddie Reese
Bradley and Maddie feud in season 2 after both claimed the other ruined one of their past relationships by spreading negative rumours. However, they seemed to have buried that hatch by the time Season 3 started filming.
“Maddie and I are good. I’m not going to keep holding on to the past,” Bradley explained and Maddie agreed. “Brad and I are cool,” she told the cameras.
Maddie Reese and Emmy Charrett
Maddie and Emmy clashed during Season 2 after that Emmy was promoted to assistant general manager over DJ. Emmy was later demoted, which seemed to help ease the tension between the women.
Emmy also revealed during the premiere that she was eight months sober, bringing her closer to Maddie, who hasn’t had a drink in years. “It feels really good to be in a good place with Emmy,” Maddy shared.
Emmy added that after Maddie started dating Joe, their friendship improved. “Underneath all the bulls Maddy and I went through last year, there was a real friendship,” she said.
Boyfriends Maddie and Emmy – who fell out last year when Joe failed to defend Will against cheating allegations – also rekindled their friendship ahead of filming. The four played pickle during Thursday’s episode and joked about how far they’ve all come.
Southern hospitality airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9pm ET.
