‘Southern Charm’ Star JT Thomas Clarifies Why ‘Best Friend’ Venita Aspen Paid for His $5K Jacket

Jarrett “JT” Thomas set the record straight on his shopping trip with Venita Aspen.

The “Southern Charm” star clarified things after Aspen claimed she spent $5,000 on him at a Charleston men’s store before finding out he had a girlfriend. Viewers saw the besties go on the shopping trip, which took place ahead of the group’s jaunt to the Carolina Cup, on the season 10 premiere of the Bravo reality show.

“Imagine having a girlfriend and then having your best friend spend $5,000 on you at Dumas,” Aspen said on the “Southern Charm After Show” on March 13. “And you get it tailored, same day turnaround. They don’t do that for anybody else.”

When asked if she got a Venmo payment from Thomas, Aspen winked and said, “That was my best friend.”

In November 2024, Thomas announced his resignation from “Southern Charm” after two seasons.

JT Thomas Explained Why Venita Aspen Paid for His Jacket

On March 14, Thomas posted to his Instagram stories to explain why his friend paid for his pricey coat. The Bravo alum reshared an Instagram post that featured a story about Aspen’s claims, which included a comment he posted: “We are/ were best friends. I forgot my credit card in her car by accident, was hobbling with a cane a few days after a major ATV crash and paypal’d her back in full after she insisted I/we not hobble me back to the car to get the card and hobble back. this is fun.”

Thomas added additional details: “The jacket I wore to the E1 horse race -5K, filmed on camera. At the time it was funny, and we laughed it off and I Paypal’d in full.”

Thomas also included a payment confirmation to Aspen for more than $4,000. “It wasn’t $5000 …$4054.48 was the #,” he clarified of the receipt.

Aspen also confirmed that Thomas paid her back. In  a comment to an Instagram fan account she wrote, “I’m sorry for any confusion here, leva asked me about Venmo and he PayPal’d me 🤭 and I never said that he didn’t pay me back ♥️.”

Venita Aspen Said She Dated JT Thomas

Thomas’ relationship with Aspen has been an ongoing storyline on “Southern Charm” season 10.

During the February 6  episode “The Birds & the B’s”, Aspen cooked dinner for Thomas at her home, during which the two admitted they had chemistry. “Am I extremely attracted to you? Yes,” Thomas told Aspen. “But, I’m just being real, I’m seeing someone.”

Two weeks later, during the episode, “Lost at Sea”, Aspen was seen being flirty with Thomas during a cast trip to the Bahamas.

On March 1, Aspen posted to her Instagram story to allege that the two scenes were shown out of order. “Let me make something VERY CLEAR,” she wrote. “That dinner JT and I had after I made a Branzino was AFTER  the Bahamas y’all as an audience saw it BEFORE. So this week’s episode is now making me look like I’m a homewrecker when I’m not.”

Aspen previously told Access Hollywood’s “Housewives Nightcap” that she briefly dated Thomas before he went Instagram official with his girlfriend, Ali Pereless, last fall.