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The Story Of ‘Southern Charm’ Star Thomas Ravenel’s Cocaine Arrest

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 15:36 PST, Apr 27, 2018

Thomas Ravenel might have thought that he put his time in prison behind him, but on this week’s episode of Southern Charm, his current girlfriend made jokes at his expense about his mugshots for his arrest on federal cocaine charges and for drunk driving in the Hamptons.

On This Week’s Southern Charm, Thomas Ravenel’s Girlfriend Joked About His Mugshots

Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel was irked by his girlfriend’s jokes at his expense, and in his confessional, he told Southern Charm viewers that he knows he asked his current girlfriend, Ashley, to move across the country after dating for less than six weeks to Charleston, where she had no job, but all of this togetherness is getting t0 be a bit too much, and he wants to spend some time without her, reported Fitsnews. Ravenel strongly suggested that he is being suffocated.

Ashley asked Thomas if he was going out that night with “all the single boys.” She expressed that she had concerns, not because she doesn’t trust him, but because she doesn’t trust other women.

“I’m worried because you are such a stud.”

But Thomas Ravenel likely doesn’t want to talk about his arrest, mugshots, and time behind bars for conspiracy with intent to distribute cocaine. But fans who are new to Southern Charm don’t know about how Ravenel ended up behind bars in a federal prison.

The Post & Courier reported that before Southern Charm, Thomas Ravenel was the South Carolina state treasurer when he was arrested after an investigation into cocaine use and distribution. Ravenel lost his job and was sentenced to 10 months in a federal prison.

Southern Charm Star Thomas Ravenel Was Under Investigation For Two Years

Ravenel’s attorney thought he should get a slap on the wrist, but U.S. District Judge Joseph Anderson, Jr. didn’t see it that way, quoting a source as saying that Ravenel allegedly used cocaine at 27 of 30 parties he threw at his home in Charleston. Anderson did not think this was appropriate for a state official.

“We have an awful lot of cocaine parties at the house of a state constitutional officer.”

Thomas Ravenel apologized to the court.

“I brought embarrassment, being a public official, to the state. [Voters] had a right to expect better conduct, better behavior, from me.”

Gawker reported that both Thomas Ravenel and his drug supplier were sentenced to 10 months behind bars. Federal investigators said that at the time of his arrest, Ravenel had been under investigation for two years. Thomas Ravenel’s father, Arthur Ravenel, told the press that Thomas was in bad shape.

Thomas Ravenel’s Father Told The Press That Ravenel Was In ‘Bad Shape’

“He’s in pretty bad shape, you know. He’s got a drug problem. We suspected it.”

After getting out of prison, Thomas Ravenel agreed to do Southern Charm for Bravo. Many fans have wondered why Ravenel jumped back into politics on the national stage rather than starting small and dipping his toe back into local politics. But Gawker explains that felons can’t hold state office in South Carolina.

“South Carolina law bars felons from office, so Ravenel often points out that the only positions he can run for would be in the United States House of Representatives, the Senate and (this he says with an implied wink) the White House.”

While on Southern Charm, Thomas Ravenel attempted unsuccessfully to run again for office, but his jokes about his cocaine conviction on camera on Southern Charm kept votes for Ravenel at under 10 percent.

“It was just something I did in my personal life and I didn’t really have a problem with cocaine. What I realized later was I just really liked the smell of it.”

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