Venita Aspen Talks Going From Reality TV Fan To Southern Charm Star - Exclusive

Bravo's reality series "Southern Charm" started airing in 2014 and is now in Season 8. Through the show, viewers get a glimpse at the glamorous — and at times, dramatic — lives of Charleston, South Carolina's socialites. Along with the draw of romantic entanglements and volatile friendships, fans keep coming back to see the same cast that they've gotten to know well over the years. Stars like Shep Rose, Kathryn Dennis, Craig Conover, and Naomie Olindo have been with the series since the beginning. But Season 8 also brought on Venita Aspen as a new member of the series.

Aspen is a social media influencer and model. Before joining "Southern Charm" for Season 8, she appeared in Season 7 as a guest. Now, viewers will get the chance to know her better and see what she brings to the show's dynamic. During an exclusive interview with The List, Aspen shared what an exciting experience it's been to join the cast, especially because she's been a longtime reality TV fan.

Before ever going on the series, Venita Aspen was a huge reality TV fan, particularly of Bravo shows. "I'm a big Bravo fan myself, so it's definitely full circle. I used to come home and watch Bravo religiously. I would leave events early [to watch the shows]," Aspen said. Because she was such a huge fan, she was excited for the chance to be on "Southern Charm," even though balancing her work as an influencer and going on the show full time made her the busiest she's ever been. "I no longer have time in my day. It's all gone. If I'm not working as an influencer, I'm working for Bravo, and time does not exist anymore, but I love it," she said.

Despite how busy she was with her work, Aspen still jumped at the chance when she was offered a full-time spot in the cast. She explained that when she appeared as a guest for the seventh season, she hoped to come back as a full-time cast member if she could. "I set the goal last season of, if I do good enough and they ask me to interview, I think I'll take it and see if I can do it," she said. "I'll always try most things once, and this is one of those things I've always wanted to try."

Venita Aspen said she feels lucky that her work as an influencer and now as a reality star hasn't changed how people treat her. "I haven't gotten any special treatment, or people haven't started acting weird yet, but I feel like as the season progresses, people are going to start coming out of the woodwork, for sure," she said.

But just because people haven't been treating her differently doesn't mean the people in her life aren't excited about this change. Aspen told The List that her best friend has been ecstatic about her going on the series. "My best friend Tati ... We call each other T and V. She was like, 'T and V is on TV now.' It was fun," Aspen said. 

With her episodes coming out, Aspen decided to host a viewing party with all her friends. She was amazed by the full-circle moment because she used to host small parties for other Bravo shows as a fan. "It was wild to go from having small watch parties at my house and now having a watch party where I'm actually involved in the episode," she said.

You can watch new episodes of "Southern Charm" Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on Bravo and streaming on Peacock.