Beach Spin Becca is a Senior Editor for All About The Tea. She's a coastal girl who loves the outdoors, and writing about the sneaky and silly side of reality TV. Her bio is short, but her snark is endless. She loves writing for the sharpest posters in the world.

The Southern Charm reunion series begins Thursday night — and fans are on the edge of their seats, wondering how the cast sit-down will punctuate a particularly messy Season 5. Thomas Ravenel declined a spot on the reunion couch — but that didn’t stop his girlfriend, Ashley Jacobs, from making a desperate grab for the spotlight.

An inside source dished exclusively to AllAboutTheTea.com — and spilled all the tea behind the anxiously awaited series.

Our insider explained what went down, before Ashley agreed to throw her hat into the ring.

“Ashley went back and forth about appearing in the reunion. She was actually desperate to participate, so she caved for measly $5k, and hotel accommodations,” said the insider. “After she agreed to Bravo’s terms, she behaved like she was prepping for the Oscars. She jabbered about it non-stop, and arranged for a custom outfit and jewelry.”

The source dished that Ashley would have agreed to appear for simply free accommodations — adding that she requested a separate hotel, away from the rest of the cast.

“Ashley met with a producer and a Bravo executive for 8 hours, the day prior to the reunion taping,” revealed our tipster. “They had her watch the remainder of the season, and supposedly pumped her up with promises, to get her to ‘perform.’ They assured her that they desperately wanted her back, in some capacity, next season.”

Our source alleged that production promised Ashley that Austen Kroll would “be fired” for repeating the escort rumor on camera, during Patricia Altschul’s finale ball.

So what happened when Ashley hit the reunion stage?

“Ashley made her entrance during the second half of filming. When she appeared, Andy Cohen, along with the cast, gasped in horror at her emaciated body,” dished our snitch. “Her gaunt appearance caused the cast to shift their pent-up hostility to sympathy. They initially played right into Ashley’s hands.”

A few weeks ago, Ashley used Instagram to share about an ongoing emotional struggle, blaming “stress and anxiety” for her drastic weight loss.

“Cast members questioned Ashley about her weight, and she blamed the dropped pounds on stress and anxiety. The cast then held a mini-intervention, blaming all of Ashley’s troubles on Thomas,” explained the insider. “They all chimed in, giving her reasons to dump him.”

As reported, Thomas Ravenel chose not to attend the reunion.

“Ashley resisted the cast pressure to throw Thomas under the bus, but because she struggles to articulate clearly, she just looked like a mistreated wife, making excuses,” said the source. “Ashley has zero credibility.”

Our insider alleged that this dynamic was exactly what Ashley wanted — and that shifting the blame for her horrendous behavior onto Thomas, was her reunion goal. Social media hounds know that Ashley has been raked by fans, since Season 5 kicked off.

Our source revealed how Kathryn Dennis weighed in on Ashley’s skinny sob-story.

“Kathryn remarked that Thomas “did the same” to her, but everyone knows that Kathryn’s history speaks for itself,” quipped the tipster.

Our source continued, explaining that the cast sympathy didn’t last long, and that Ashley was eventually held accountable for her nasty behavior toward Kathryn.

“Ashley apologized to Kathryn, but admitted that she does not regret her actions,” revealed the insider. “It was a backhanded apology.”

“Ashley ranted and raved over being harassed online — and never really took responsibility for her vicious behavior,” added our source. “She had an excuse for every move she made — and her frenetic chatter ultimately exhausted Andy and the cast.”

Our source also revealed that Kathryn Dennis confessed to sleeping with Craig Conover during the Season 2 cast getaway to Jekyll Island. Kathryn had recently given birth to her daughter, Kensie, and was living with Thomas, when the beach hookup occurred. The new parents were discussing marriage at the time.

Also expect to see, Kathryn and Ashley face off in an explosive shouting match. It’s one for the record books!

Don’t miss the explosive Southern Charm reunion, Part One airing Thursday night, at 9:00 p.m., ET, on Bravo.

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