Season 3 of Bravo’s Southern Hospitality introduces two vibrant new cast members, Michols Peña and Lake Rucker.

Though the two have been working at Charleston’s Republic Garden and Lounge as well as being a part of this friend group, they are officially a part of the show this season and are making a splash. Both bring unique perspectives, engaging storylines, and personal journeys to the Southern Charm spinoff.

The two spoke to Blavity’s Shadow and Act ahead of this week’s episode and discussed everything from Peña’s important conversation about his identity, their thoughts on the primary drama of the season, the surreal experience of seeing their real lives on reality television and more.

Michols’ feelings about the reactions to his conversation about his personal experience

Peña spoke candidly about his experience sharing personal details of his upbringing and his journey as a gay person of color in Charleston.

Reflecting on the feedback from viewers, he explained, “It was really nice because at first, whenever we first got the episode, I didn’t really know how it was going to be perceived, just because just going into the reality TV world with a blind eye, you never really know, anybody can twist and turn a narrative. And so I got a lot of good feedback. I would say it was very positive. A lot of people were like, ‘Thank you for sharing your story. I’m so sorry about your strained relationship with your parents and your family.’ I had a lot of queer, LGBTQ+ people in our community just reach out. I even had somebody from Charlotte. She was like, ‘Oh, I’m a trans woman. I live in Charlotte. Your story made me feel so seen. Thank you for sharing that.’ And it was really nice because I almost had tears in my eyes. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that makes me feel 10 times better about sharing my story.'”

For Peña, the choice to be open and authentic felt necessary. “I just think that it’s so important to share that part of my life. You’re going into reality TV. You might as well go all in or don’t go at all.”

Where do Michols and TJ stand today?

Fans have watched Peña’s evolving relationship with TJ unfold this season, especially after their vulnerable conversation at the nail salon. Peña shared, “Needless to say, I would say TJ’s in the friend zone. That’s kind of where we left it after the nail salon scene. We’re in a great place. We’re the bestest friends. But yeah, I think that it was a necessary conversation, and it put us in a way better place and honestly, couldn’t have asked for that conversation to not happen. I think that him and I, we now see eye-to-eye and we’re closer than ever. We have conversations that we never would’ve had before, especially because our dynamic was so weird and we were just tip-toeing around each other. But yeah, I’m happy it put us in a way better place.”

How Lake feels about being integrated into the show

For Rucker, the transition into reality television came with excitement and ease, thanks to her established friendships with Michols and Brad. “Honestly, I thought that this experience was a lot of fun, and I loved it. I made some great friends along the way, and I already had Michols as my friend and Brad. And so it just felt like we were doing our day-to-day lives, it was just being filmed. And I thought it was just a great experience, and I want people to get to know me more and know the fun, bubbly side of me, and I think that [viewers are starting to] get a little taste.”

Where do Lake and Bradley stand today?

Rucker also addressed her relationship with Bradley Carter, which has sparked speculation due to the playful flirting we’ve seen so far and a kiss teased in the show’s trailer. “[It’s] just a very good friendship. I think that we’re two very successful people trying to find our way very young. So we don’t need to be able to settle down or do anything crazy along those lines, but I think that we developed a great friendship over the summer. Friends can kiss. I know you all saw it in the trailer. So it’s just a lot more to come with that, and we just got to know each other and he’s a really good friend of mine.”

Their perspective of the Will and Emmy cheating allegations/scandal

Both Peña and Rucker opened up about the overarching drama of the season: the allegations that Will Kulp badmouthed Emmy Sharett and that their relationship is not at all what it seems (according to some).

Peña described the difficulty of the conflict, specifically when in this week’s episode, he has to have a conversation with Sharrett. He explained, “[With] the conversation at the lake, it was definitely hard for me to have just because I’m not that big of a confrontational person. At least I come off that way in some instances. Michols at work and Michols your friend are two completely different people. That’s just the Gemini in me. So I don’t know…It’s kind of hard. I’ll own it [laughs]. I don’t care. I can be your best friend, but I can also be your worst nightmare. So it depends on how you want to take it.”

He emphasized his efforts to keep the peace, saying, “I feel like going into that conversation with Emmy, it was just very much tiptoeing around the conversation, trying to be comforting and just using the proper words to guide that conversation to make sure that it wasn’t a mental breakdown happening or tears or one other blowout like we had at work. I didn’t want any of that going on, especially because it’s our first trip into the season. We’re all just trying to have fun, and I just wanted to clear the air so that by the time we got down to more celebration at Lake’s house, the air was cleared and nobody had to worry about putting out any fires. Obviously, as you see, it didn’t end up going that way.”

Rucker echoed Peña’s frustrations. “There is a time and place to have a crash out, and she chose the wrong time and places to have her crash outs. She had a crash out at work and a crash out at my house. From my opinion, I found it disrespectful both ways, but people handle situations differently. I handle those situations differently. I’m not going to show out at work and I’m not going to show out at somebody else’s house that they invited me to, but that’s just me.”

Clarifying the store credit controversy with Emmy

A key point of tension this season involved confusion surrounding allegations that Sharrett may have used her store credit to buy outfits for the women at Republic that they needed. Some fans were confused about the issue at hand.

Rucker explained, “I think Siobhan went to this situation like, ‘Oh, here’s what I heard. Emmy, I know that you’re buying these dresses but it also happens to be where she gets store credit at. And so we’re just wondering if you’re using the store credit to buy those dresses or your credit card?’ When she should be using her credit card to buy them because the girls are Venmo-ing her.”

Peña added, “I just think that the girls, they were under the impression that Emmy was just using her store credit to purchase the dresses. It didn’t end up being that way. I think that it was just an assumption just because she’s a brand ambassador for them. So you would think, ‘Oh, maybe the brand is sending them to her for free. I wonder if she’s profiting off of us and having her send the money.’ Which is how Siobhan approached the situation, which is what she thought was going on.”

“And everything travels around Republic very, very quickly,” said Rucker. “I think that when it got to Emmy, it was just the biggest fabricated part of it.”

“It’s like the game of telephone,” added Peña. “I’ll go and tell Lake, “Oh my gosh, I love her outfit.” And then by the time it gets to Maddie and Joe, “I f*****g hate her outfit. She’s the ugliest person in the world. So there’s somewhere in the mix where it twists and turns, but yeah, that’s just how it goes in our group.”

Reliving their first season of reality TV

Both Peña and Rucker reflected on the surreal experience of seeing their lives unfold on screen. Rucker described it as “almost like we’re reliving the experience in a way, but we can… I look back at it and I’m like, ‘I don’t remember so much.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t remember saying that at all.’ And so I get a little nervous, and so I try to watch it like it’s an out-of-body experience, it’s not me, and I’m like, ‘I’m not watching myself.’”

Peña shared similar sentiments. “For me, when I watch it, it’s more so like I don’t know who that person is. I am watching these random people and they’re just paid actors. I don’t know. It’s the weirdest thing ever, and it’s also like, ‘That’s not my friend.’ And then also to see the scenes that you didn’t know about or that were being filmed and you didn’t get to see is so weird because it’s like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t even know that happened,’ or, ‘I didn’t know this conversation was had,’ or any of the flashbacks. It’s like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t know that was going to pan out like that, or that was going to come across that way.’ But most of the time, whenever I look at it, it’s very like, ‘Oh shit, I don’t even know who that person is. I don’t remember wearing that f*****g outfit that day…and also where the f**k is that shirt. [laughs]’”