Patricia Altschul Surprises Fans As She Defends Former ‘Southern Charm’ Cast Member - lulu

Patricia Altschul had a change of heart about Jarrett “JT” Thomas. In a January 13, 2025, Instagram post, the 83-year-old “Southern Charm” grand dame addressed Craig Conover’s claim that Thomas called her a derogatory name when she rejected his gift of a walking cane.

Altschul posted a clip of a season 10 scene in which she received a handwritten apology note from Thomas. In the scene, she told her son Whitney Sudler-Smith that she assumed it was true that Thomas called her the name. In a confessional, Sudler-Smith said he didn’t feel that Thomas was the type of person to call a woman such a thing. He also pointed out that Conover has been known to exaggerate the truth. Cue a clip of Conover once boasting, “I’m a great liar.” Altschul then said she planned to just be “cordial” to Thomas and not have any close interactions with him.

Months after filming the scene, Altschul captioned the post to admit that after watching the season, she had changed her mind about Thomas. “When this was filmed, I still believed that JT had called me the b-word,” Altschul wrote. “Now, after seeing the latest episodes, I don’t think he did. #southerncharm #bravotv.”

In November 2024, just a few weeks before season 10 premiered, Thomas announced on Instagram that he had quit “Southern Charm” before taping his final confessionals.

Fans Reacted to Patricia Altschul’s Update

BravoJT Thomas.

On the December 5 episode of “Southern Charm,” the cast gathered at the Carolina Cup. Altschul became offended when Thomas gave her a cane, just as he had given to the rest of the cast members.

“I don’t need a cane,” she said when he handed the gift to her. In a  confessional, she admitted she was “offended” by the “stupid gift” from Thomas.

Conover later claimed that Thomas called Altschul a name behind her back. Co-star Madison LeCroy also confronted Thomas over the alleged incident. “You called Patricia a [expletive]? You’re the [expletive],” LeCroy told Thomas during a tense exchange.

“What? What are you talking about? I don’t believe that I ever called that woman that word,” Thomas replied.

Now it appears that Altschul doesn’t believe so either.

 On social media, fans had a big reaction to Altschul’s apparent change of tune about Thomas.

“This was unexpected 😭 #SouthernCharm,” came a comment from the @QueensofBravo fan account.

“I’m so glad she turned it around. I felt so bad for him,” another agreed.

“Thanks for acknowledging this. It is odd but he was trying to be inclusive with his cane gift. And he’s never done the name calling,” another fan wrote to Altschul.

“JT may be a little rough around the edges, but I think he got a raw deal this season,” another chimed in.

“Yes, I think that he was treated unfairly and it was sad to watch,” wrote another.

“Everyone came down on him so hard. …Admire you for saying this!” another fan wrote to Altschul. “He’s not a bad guy.”

Craig Conover Stands By His Story

During “Southern Charm” filming, Thomas accused Conover of making up the story about the name-calling. “Craig, you lied, and you offended Miss Patricia,” Thomas claimed in a dinner party scene. “I didn’t say that word about her.”

“Yeah you did,” Conover replied. “You said she was a [expletive] at the Cup when you handed her the cane.”

Conover also addressed the story during a December 2024 appearance on “Watch What Happens Live.” After Bravo host Andy Cohen pointed out that there didn’t appear to be “any receipts” for JT calling Patricia the name, Conover replied, “It’s funny because we filmed the entire conversation. … I don’t know why [it wasn’t shown] but… he didn’t say she was a [expletive], he said she was ‘kind of a [expletive]’ about the cane incident.”

“I didn’t have a dog in that fight. I was just repeating what had happened at the golf simulator,” Conover explained. “I feel like there was way crazier things said at the golf simulator than that,” he added.

Conover also pointed out that he was sober during the outing and was sure he didn’t mishear what Thomas said. “Here’s why I remember,” he added. “Because I was like, oh my gosh he had gone against Madison, gone against Austen [Kroll], and then when he said that, I was like ‘Dude what  are you doing here?’”