Leva Bonaparte was just as shocked as Us by Southern Hospitality stars Maddi Reese and Joe Bradley’s shotgun wedding — but it’s the real deal.
“If I didn’t know any better, had they not told me, I would’ve thought it was a hoax,” Leva, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, December 5, while promoting season 10 of Southern Charm, hours ahead of the premiere. “But in real time, of course, they came home and they [told me] separately.”
She recalled, “I was like, ‘Did you tell your mother?’ I was like, ‘I don’t want to know. I don’t want this hot potato. I know your moms. Did you tell your mom?’ And of course, Maddi was like, ‘Not yet.’ Joe was like, ‘I told her immediately.’”
Leva also claimed that the nuptials weren’t for a pre-planned story line. “Nothing’s contrived or fake on that show. It was definitely a real ceremony,” she said.
During the season 3 trailer for Southern Hospitality, which dropped last month, Maddi and Joe got hitched at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. “Is this real?” their costar Bradley Carter asked from a pew as Joe slipped the ring on Maddi.
An Elvis impersonator declared the couple “partners for life” in front of their stunned castmates, who are also their coworkers at Republic Garden and Lounge in Charleston, which Leva owns.
Elsewhere in the trailer, viewers learned that Joe and Maddi became a couple following her split from Trevor Stokes and Joe’s brief romance with Summer House’s Danielle Olivera that ended in January. Fans will get to see Maddi and Joe’s romance unfold on the show, which premieres on Thursday, January 2.
‘Southern Hospitality’ Season 3 Trailer: Maddi and Joe Have Vegas Wedding
Leva, meanwhile, confessed that she “had a lot of feelings” about Joe and Maddi tying the knot after being their boss for years. “I tried to set them up in the first place,” she recalled. “I thought Joe was such a catch when I first hired him. And Maddi was like, ‘He always wants to be shirtless. I dunno.’”
Leva noted that Joe has “always loved” Maddi and “been safe for her,” which is why she thinks they have a chance to make it.
Prior to the Vegas wedding, Leva told Maddi to “marry the nice guy” not Trevor, who had allegedly cheated on her multiple times.
At the time, Leva explained that the nice guy doesn’t have to mean boring. “With that guy who is your friend, there can be so much passion. … You just have to allow it,” she said. “You have to reframe what you find attractive and that chemistry.”
Everything to Know About ‘Southern Hospitality’ Season 3: Who’s in and Out?
Leva noted that her husband, Lamar Bonaparte Sr., “wasn’t a games guy” and didn’t mess with her head, which made him a catch. “He was just very straightforward. And I was like, the long game [is] sexy,” she teased. “When you have a kid and you’re doing things, you’re trying to, you don’t want that other guy.”
Not long after that conversation with Maddi, which took place at BravoCon in fall 2023, Leva said she heard “whispers” about Maddi and Joe dating.
When it comes to their future, Leva is optimistic but told Us that since they’re young she doesn’t know what will happen.
“Do I think they really care about each other? A hundred percent. Do I think they both have some personal stuff to work out? Yeah,” she said. “But I do think that because there’s a major trust [there], which I think is beautiful, and I hope neither one of them breaks that, they could be the long haul. They could be forever.”
Southern Hospitality’s Emmy Says She Didn’t ‘Betray’ Maddi With Promotion
Leva joked that Maddi isn’t the type of girl who has a timeline for love. “I feel like the girls [in my generation] were like, ‘OK, so when am I getting the ring? When am I getting a ring?’ And Maddi’s like, ‘Today’s great. I’m not thinking about tomorrow,’” she said with a laugh.
She called Maddi’s approach “backwards” to what she grew up wanting. “They’re very ‘love is love.’ They’re very like, ‘This is good for me now.’ They’re very no pressure,” Leva added. “It’s fascinating because I’m all about the pressure and the boundaries and the box. I feel safe there. And they’re just willy nilly all over the place. I’m like, ‘You’re giving me anxiety.’”
While Leva is supportive of Joe and Maddi’s relationship, she confessed she “can’t” call them husband and wife. “It’s not physically possible for me,” she teased.
Southern Hospitality Season 3 premieres on Bravo Thursday, January 2, at 9 p.m. ET. In the meantime, Southern Charm season 10 airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
