Olivia Flowers Bids Farewell To “Southern Charm”: “I Was Blindsided”
Olivia Flowers has officially confirmed her departure from Southern Charm. After months of rumors, the reality star revealed during an episode of Scheananigans with Scheana Shay on July 12 that she won’t be returning for the Bravo series’ tenth season. “I’m not on this new season. So I have a lot more free time,” Olivia told the Vanderpump Rules star.
Olivia, 32, explained that her exit “wasn’t my choice,” citing her relationship with boyfriend Alex Williams, who lives in Dallas, as a reason given for her dismissal.
“I was super bummed. I got the call a few weeks before filming. The production company said, ‘You don’t really seem to be in Charleston that much. We’re noticing on your Instagram you’re in Texas, you’ve got this new boyfriend, and it just seems like you’re choosing a different path,'” Olivia said.
However, Olivia saw things differently. “I don’t think it’s choosing a different path. I’m just living my life,” she said.
“My parents had just moved to Texas, and the boyfriend thing happened very randomly. I’m really glad… like, he was the best part that came out of that year. But had I know it was working against me or making people think I was choosing a different path? I wish there had been more communication there,” she added.
Olivia joined Southern Charm in season 8, where she dated Austen Kroll for over six months before their messy breakup. The drama escalated when Austen confessed in season 9 that he had kissed Olivia’s friend Taylor Ann Green, ending Olivia’s friendships with both Austen and Taylor.
“A lot of different things happened that shifted the dynamic of the group and changed a lot of friendships,” Olivia told PEOPLE.
The tension didn’t stop there. While filming season 9 in February 2023, Olivia’s brother Conner tragically died of a fentanyl overdose. “It certainly made it just that much more challenging to finish it out,” she explained.
Despite the heartbreak, Olivia found support from her castmates, which helped her continue filming. “They are why I kept showing up to finish it out. At the end of the day, it’s a job, it’s a commitment, and some days it was incredibly difficult. I had someone like Rod [Razavi] who was able to help me through it,” she shared.
Given all this strife, Olivia hoped to return for season 10 to show a different side of herself. “I wanted to have another season to be more me. “Last season was very heavy, and I was honestly just trying to keep my head above water. I was looking forward to having another [season] and getting to be a little bit more myself, show my personality and exploring the new friendships and all that,” she revealed.
Reflecting on her departure, Olivia expressed her disappointment, saying, “So yeah, I was super bummed about it.”
“I feel like I really gave everything I could given the circumstance, you know? Charleston wasn’t the happiest place for me at that time. My friend group had completely changed after filming, my house brought back some difficult memories. I wanted to take that beat for filming. Had I known it was working against me or coming across a certain way? … I was just like, ‘What?’ I went from feeling pretty confident and excited for the next [season] to then being… blindsided,” she continued.
