A new season of Bravo’s Southern Charm is right around the corner and is queerer than ever!
Season 10 of the hit reality series premieres December 5th and will introduce fans to a new charmer, Ryan Albert.
He joins Rodrigo Reyes in the series in keeping LGBTQ representation at the heart of a Bravo fan favorite. The two caught up with GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos to talk about the upcoming season and all the drama to come.
Reyes talks about his excitement for the new season and shares how he’s learned since last year, “When I was actually in the midst of the throes of everything last year, it was kind of like my own learning process because I really couldn’t lean too much on anyone else on how I need to navigate my first season. It really was just a matter of trial and error and realizing how you need to behave in certain ways and how to speak and when to stir the pot, and when to cuss a bitch out and when not to.”
Reyes, who is now engaged to his partner of 9 years Tyler Dugas, talks about the magical moment they decided it was time to tie the knot. He shares that, “We were going to Greece, one of our favorite places in the entire world and this time around, we were going with a big group of our closest friends. And then for me, it was like, this is the moment.” He continues, “We’re with our best friends from here in Charleston, best friends in Phoenix… they didn’t know that it was happening, but I just knew that everyone was coming together, that this was the moment.”
He shares that Tyler was “completely thrown off guard.” Adding, “In fact, he was crying, and he didn’t even say ‘yes.’ He was like, ‘Sure.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, ok, thanks, bitch.’ I mean, but I mean, but it was cute… It was a great time. And I’m just so happy that we could do it with our closest friends.”
Reyes shares that he didn’t know new cast member Ryan Albert very well prior to filming the season, but shares that he shared a kiss with someone on the cast. “It’s not me and it ain’t one of the girls,” is all he revealed.
He shares that this season will be as dramatic as the last, saying, “I look at the guys and they can take some steps forward and then they basically get in their own way. It’s kind of like they’re all walking towards the door of friendship, but they’re all trying to squeeze through it at the same time, so then they get stuck. And then before you know it, they’re bickering again.” Reyes asks, “Can we just have some civility and friendship and good times instead of the constant little nitpicking? I’ve said this before, I feel like sometimes, they know how to fight more than a housewife!”
Reyes says that fans can expect to see a lot more of him and Tyler in this upcoming season. On top of showing their lives as an LGBTQ couple, Reyes shares that, “I’m happy that they could see that side, just us at home, us with our dogs, we’re big advocates for senior dogs and senior dog adoption and I’m happy and hopeful that some of that will be shown this season because I think that’s an issue that’s dear to both of us.”
“I’m super excited to join in on the fun with the cast,” Albert shares. “My husband Eddie, has been longtime friends with Patricia and Whitney, even long before the show even started, which is over a decade ago, which is so crazy.”
Joining a show like this can be a little overwhelming with all of the drama and alliances already in place, Albert shares that the person he’s become closest with is Austin. “This was very unexpected for me… I did not see that one coming,” he says.
He talks about how much it has meant to him as a gay man to be so openly embraced and accepted by this largely straight group of friends. “One of my most intimate and vulnerable moments of the season is actually opening up with Craig, Austin and Shep, at Patricia’s house, and, I shared a very vulnerable part of my life that I’ve not shared with very many people and I can tell you today it’s because they made me feel so comfortable to do so. And that was one of my favorite parts of the season was getting to know Austin, Shep, and Craig and them making me feel like one of the guys.”
He teases that, “I can say one of my cast mates is a good kisser… I can’t say who.” Fans will have to tune in to find out.
He explains why providing real life LGBTQ representation is so important to him, “One of the reasons I joined the show was to give exposure to some of the viewers and fans. I’m from a very small town in Indiana in the Midwest, that has no stop lights, and the only gay men I really knew were the Walmart greeter and my mom’s chiropractor, and we honestly didn’t talk about them in my home growing up. So, when the network approached me and my friends were asking me to join in on the cast, that was my biggest priority, to have a moment where I let the cameras come into our home, and they experience a personal moment, with myself and my husband Eddie, in our home, just on a normal weeknight, and I’m really excited for that to be on the show.”
He adds that, “This will actually be the first time my parents will even be watching myself and Eddie interact, which I wish was not the case, but I am grateful for the opportunity of the show, to show a personal side of my life that not even my parents have seen by choice. And hopefully there will be some viewers out there that it gives them some hope of what a gay marriage can look like even in the South, and give them something to aspire to.”
He offers some advice to anyone who might be struggling the same way he did when he was younger, “I know this isn’t everyone’s story and not everyone is given this opportunity and doesn’t have that group of friends where they feel like they’re accepted and celebrated and they’re in these circles. And this hasn’t always been the case for myself. So, for me this opportunity and this experience has meant even more because this wasn’t always my story. For anyone watching that this isn’t your season yet, I will say it’s worth the wait. And to not compromise yourself, be true to who you are and continue to, be kind and come from a place of love, and it will always come full circle. It may not be when you want it to be, and in my case, it took, almost 30 years. But it was worth the wait for every second of it.”
Don’t miss the new season on Bravo on December 5th at 9pm ET/PT and streaming on Peacock. You can catch up on all seasons of Southern Charm on Peacock now.