Southern Charm’s Venita Aspen Says She’s ‘Not the Happiest About’ How Relationship with Manny Ended (Exclusive)

Venita Aspen didn’t feel so celebratory while at a party at Craig Conover’s house during the Jan. 9 episode of Southern Charm.

When Ryan Albert questioned the whereabouts of her boyfriend Manny Houston, she revealed that he moved to New York City and they broke up.

“Manny moved to New York for Broadway,” Venita, 31, told Ryan and castmates Molly O’Connell and Rodrigo Reyes in Craig’s backyard. “Oh baby, he’s not coming back.”

That news came as a surprise to Ryan. “I knew that he got the Broadway gig, I didn’t know that he’s not coming back though,” he said. “How do you feel about that?”

The fashion influencer simply replied, “I’m here.”

Ventia added that she plans to take things “one day at a time.”

“My mom’s disappointed,” Venita told the group. “And this is the only boy she’s ever liked. And I’ve dated quite a few men!”

In a flashback to a few weeks earlier, Venita could be seen telling Manny, “You are moving to New York for the next four months, minimum.”

“It’s probably going to be longer than that,” Manny responded.

Venita tells PEOPLE that she’s “not the happiest about” how things unfolded with Manny, who she started after the conclusion of season 8.

“But life moves in funny ways and life moves the way that you don’t want it to sometimes,” she says.

With some distance from filming, though, she’s started to gain some clarity.

“Now it makes sense,” the reality star says. “And I think I’ll do that a lot of times this season, actually. I’ll look back and be like, ‘I understand why that happened that way,’ or, ‘Okay, this tracks.’”

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Venita still has a special man in her life, though: her dog Charles, who filmed with her for season 10.

“Charles is like, ‘Yes, I love being on TV,’” she says. “I know the audience loves him because I always get the cutest little DMs. They’re like, ‘Oh, my little puppy loves when Charles comes on TV!’ And I’ll get the photos of them watching the show.”

She also struck up a close friendship with castmate Jarrett “JT” Thomas.

“JT and I, when we first did Watch What Happens Live, I think that’s when I could actually see that the friendship that we had was blossoming,” Venita says. “We got close over the summer, and it’s been quite the journey getting to know the real JT. It’s been nice and refreshing.”

JT, has since resigned from Southern Charm, and Venita admits he “gets in his own way a lot of the time.” 

“I feel like last year he ended on a note where he walked in and he was just like, ‘I am going to show all these boys how to be a real man,’” Venita says. “This season, I’m excited to see the guys and girls give JT a chance.”

Now in her fourth season of Southern Charm, Venita feels like “I’ve become a veteran,” and, “I don’t care about what people say.”

“I never thought I’d be able to say that,” she continues. “I used to latch on to all the little negative comments and rude things that people had to say about me. And then I’d take it internally and go down this downward spiral of depression. But I’ve now learned that that is a strong reflection of them.

Time has also taught Venita that like her breakup, everything viewers see on the Bravo show. Still, “it’s nice to be able to have that mindset now and be more open with the audience when it comes to sharing things,” she says. “I’m just like, ‘Hey, listen, this is real life.’”

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Southern Charm airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.