Southern Charm‘s Ashley Jacobs is hoping for a fresh start as she turns a year older.

In a video on her Instagram Story, Jacobs — who revealed in August that she and Thomas Ravenel, 56, had calls it quits — blew out a candle atop an ice cream scoop while celebrating her birthday on Saturday.

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“Hope 34 is a lot better than 33!” Jacobs wrote, adding the cake and praying hands emojis.

Image zoom Ashley Jacobs and Thomas Ravenel Rodolfo Martinez/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Jacobs looked holiday-ready in a crimson outfit with matching lipstick, wavy blonde locks and jolly reindeer ears. “It’s my birthday and if I want to be a reindeer I can!” she declared as she shared a peek at her birthday ensemble.

Jacobs’ birthday posts came amid Ravenel’s ongoing legal troubles. In September, he was charged with assault and battery in the second degree after a woman who worked as his children’s nanny accused him of rape, Charleston County jail records showed.

The case will go to trial. A judge in South Carolina found probable cause in November.

Ravenel denied the allegations through his lawyer, as well as a separate sexual assault accusation from a woman he met on Tinder in 2015.

Image zoom Ashley Jacobs Ashley Jacobs/Instagram

Image zoom Ashley Jacobs Ashley Jacobs/Instagram

Image zoom Ashley Jacobs Ashley Jacobs/Instagram

“My client enjoys a certain degree of fame, which has unfortunately made him a vulnerable target for such claims,” Ravenel’s late attorney Richard P. Terbrusch told PEOPLE in a statement. (Terbrusch was killed in a plane crash in October.)

“The person this woman describes is simply not the man that I know,” the statement continued. “My client is a loving father, successful businessman, and upright member of the community. He is appalled and hurt by these allegations — and is committed to defending his reputation in the appropriate legal forum.”

Despite her hectic year, Jacobs had a relaxing day with her mom as she entered age 34. Jacobs posted pictures of her verdant view from a luxurious patio in Montecito, California.

Image zoom Ashley Jacobs’ view Ashley Jacobs/Instagram

“Happy birthday, Ashley! You were 9½ pounds — not a fun moment for me,” her mom quipped in a car on Jacob’s Instagram Story.

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“Thank you for giving me life, Mom, and for not taking it back when I’ve made some questionable choices!!” Jacobs captioned three pictures of the mother-daughter duo in front of cheery birthday balloons.

Image zoom Ashley Jacobs’ mom Ashley Jacobs/Instagram

In November, Jacobs said on Instagram that she will not be returning to Southern Charm because she has “been blessed with an amazing career, family, & friends” and she does not “want to put those things in jeopardy for a reality tv show.”

A Bravo source told PEOPLE that Jacobs was not an official cast member, “so there would be no conversation of her returning or not.”

Bravo confirmed to PEOPLE in September that Ravenel is not coming back to the show. The network’s decision came after he suggested he was quitting in August, tweeting “I’m not doing the show anymore. In the contract, they have the right to fictionalize your story. They took advantage of me. I decided I’ve got too much to lose and informed them I’m not coming back.”

Jacobs indicated in November that she still has love for Ravenel, posting a lengthy note on Instagram expressing positivity about the time the exes spent together.

“For all the crap we went through together this past year, the good really does outweigh the bad,” Jacobs wrote. “You can’t go through stuff like that and just pretend like it never happened, like the person that got you through some of the toughest times of your life now means nothing to you.”

“You were my boyfriend during a time in my life when I needed you and you needed me,” she added. “I don’t know how much I believe in the idea of fate, but if it exists, I know it brought you and me together for a reason… even if we weren’t made to last forever.”

“We might not be creating new memories anymore, but I still treasure the ones we have, and I’d do it all again knowing how things turned out in the end,” Jacobs explained. “Thank you for the memories, the good and the bad, and I’ll forever cherish them till the day I leave this world.”