‘Southern Charm’ Star Has Eye on NBC Actor After Breakup

Venita Aspen is moving on from her ill-fated relationship with her co-star JT “Jarrett” Thomas. In March 2025, the “Southern Charm” star spoke on “Watch What Happens Live” to give an update on her dating life.

After host Andy Cohen asked her if she was dating anyone now that Thomas was “out of the relationship picture,” Aspen said she wasn’t. Cohen then told Aspen she was a “catch” and asked her if there was anybody on in the “Bravosphere”  that she had her eye on.

“No, but there is a man that is on NBC that I have my eye on,” Aspen, 31, shared. “He’s a ‘Chicago P.D.’ [star], I just found him a couple of weeks ago and I think he’s handsome. I slid in his DMs and I said, ‘It’s so funny we work for the same network, but we never ran into each other.’ I got a follow and a response.”

Aapen did not reveal the name of the person she was crushing on. As of this writing, she follows 2457 people on Instagram and one of them is “Chicago P.D.” star LaRoyce Hawkins, who plays Officer Kevin Atwater on the NBC procedural. Hawkins, 36, also follows Aspen back on the social media platform.

Venita’s Brief Romance With JT Thomas Did Not End Well

 Aspen’s smiley tease about her crush on an NBC star comes after she had a rough ride romantically on “Southern Charm” season 10.

Aspen previously told Access Hollywood’s “Housewives Nightcap,” that she briefly dated Thomas before he went Instagram official with a new girlfriend, Ali Pereless, just as the “Southern Charm” season 10 trailer dropped last fall. Aspen said she was blindsided when he found out the news.

While fans saw snippets of the two co-stars’ chemistry, Aspen claimed that some of the scenes were shown out of sequence when the episodes aired.

On March 1, Aspen posted to her Instagram story to claim that a scene that showed her pursuing Thomas during a cast trip to the Bahamas was shot before he told her he was dating Pereless.

Days before the “Southern Charm” finale aired, Thomas posted an Instagram video that showed Aspen out to lunch with his family and his then-girlfriend. On WWHL, Aspen told Cohen she was “disappointed’” that Thomas tried to throw her under the by by insinuating she knew about his girlfriend. She also told the Bravo host that she is no longer on speaking terms with Thomas, despite previously calling him her “best friend.”

Venita Previously Dated a Musician Named Manny

During season 9 of “Southern Charm,” Aspen dated a musician named Manny. But when season 10 aired she revealed why the relationship ended. “Manny moved to New York for Broadway,” she said in the episode “Beer and Loathing,” adding,  “He’s not coming back.”

Aspen also said she was dealing with the breakup “one day at a time.” “My mom’s disappointed,” she added. “This is the only boy she’s ever liked, and I’ve dated quite a few men.”

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Aspen explained why she had to let Manny “go.” “Sometimes when you love somebody you got to let them go and it’s like you don’t understand those words to be true until you’re in it,” she said. “And I was in it deep. I was with someone that had a dream outside of me and I felt like asking him to stay back and to split time and to do the life in Charleston was very unfair to him. And I just had to let what I loved go.”