Ashley Jacobs is returning to Southern Charm this week, and she hasn't quite left behind her controversial relationship with Thomas Ravenel — and literally anyone else on the cast. It's only natural to wonder who Ashley Jacobs is dating in 2019, as she hasn't publicly come forward with a new beau, and she and Thomas are reportedly long done. But her previous relationship still casts a long shadow on her tenure on Southern Charm, and her presence in general is still super controversial for more ways than one.
Right now, Ashley's social media isn't really flaunting a special someone of any kind, besides her friends and family. People reports that she and Thomas broke up in August 2018 after more than a year of dating, so she might just be taking her time getting back into a relationship, especially given the sexual assault allegations against Thomas.
In fact, the last time a romantic prospect of any kind cropped up in her feed was back in November, when she shared a post about her breakup with Thomas. The caption reads, in part:
"You were my boyfriend during a time in my life when I needed you and you needed me. I don’t know how much I believe in the idea of fate, but if it exists, I know it brought you and me together for a reason… even if we weren’t made to last forever. We might not be creating new memories anymore, but I still treasure the ones we have, and I’d do it all again knowing how things turned out in the end."
Their relationship apparently ended around the time Thomas was charged with assault and battery in September of last year, according to People and it was announced he would not return for the newest season of Southern Charm. The charges followed multiple different women's allegations of his mistreatment, the article states.
Her Instagram post sounds like she looked back on their relationship fondly at one point in time, but in a preview of her appearance published by People earlier this month, she is singing a different tune. She calls the relationship "the worst year of her life," and will likely elaborate more when the episode airs.
But regardless of her dating life, past or present, when Ashley returns to Southern Charm, hopefully she has a better relationship with her castmates. You might remember that she clashed with the group during the cast's trip to Hilton Head Island in Season 5, and she told Bravo's Daily Dish she has regrets about how she handled it.
As seen in the Entertainment Tonight video above, the rest of the cast was pretty surprised Ashley chose to come back around, and no one seems that happy about it. "It was definitely a shock because we just assumed, 'how could you show your face? Why would you want to?'" Naomie Olindo said. Cameran Eubanks also said she tried to have a sit-down with Ashley to talk out their issues, but that Ashley was "a little bit Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde" during their conversation.
Only time will tell how these frenemies (or maybe just enemies) mesh now that they're all back on the same screen, and Thomas is no longer around to be in Ashley's corner. But maybe when she does find a new possible partner, she'll get along with his group of friends a bit better.
