“As any good friend should do, I know the type of man she wants to be with, and I just did not think that he fit the criteria,” Venita, 32, exclusively tells Parade. “And I didn’t want her to continue to waste her time going after something that wasn’t worth her time to me.”
Salley, 29, has spent much of the season pursuing the newly single sewing aficionado, 36, but Craig — seemingly unbeknownst to her — had placed her firmly in the friend zone early on, despite their late-night hot tub hangouts.
Venita faced criticism from viewers for warning Salley that Craig may not be the right guy for her, with some interpreting her concern as overstepping. However, she pushes back on claims that she pressured Salley to choose between their friendship and her feelings for Craig. “If people think I came across like, ‘You have to pick him or me,’ that’s just not the case,” Venita explains. “Listen, call me a bad friend if you want. I’m sorry — but God forbid I was just trying to look out for my best friend.”
According to her, the situation was complicated by how much time Salley and Craig were spending together. “They were hanging out, like, every day, almost,” Venita says. “It was a lot.”
She also shares her perspective on Craig’s role in the dynamic, saying she believes Salley became emotionally invested in the possibility of something more. “I think that Craig likes a yes man, and Salley was his yes man,” she tells Parade. “And I think that Salley really did enjoy the idea of a potential possibility with Craig.”
Venita assures that up until the Craig situation, their friendship had been genuine and supportive. “She showed up for me when I needed her to when I was having some health scares, I showed up for her when she had health scares, vice versa,” she says. “But I know I’m no longer here to give advice when I’m not being asked to give advice as to what she should do.”
The Charleston resident also addresses where she currently stands with Craig, noting that their friendship deteriorated following her support for Craig’s ex, Paige DeSorbo, in the wake of their public split. “Craig basically went out loud and said that he could never be friends with someone like me,” she said. “Now he has me blocked on Instagram. Life comes at you fast, huh?”
Despite the tension, Venita feels confident in how she handled herself this season. “This is the first season out of the five that I’ve been on where I feel like I was fully myself,” she says. “No matter how difficult they may be or how they came across, just to make sure that my peers are doing the right thing.”
Southern Charm airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 9/8c.
