Shep Rose Spent BravoCon 2023 in a Black Out: How a Call from Andy Cohen Helped Him Make Changes (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

(L-R) Shep Rose; Andy Cohen.Photo:Cindy Ord/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty; Todd Williamson/Bravo via Getty

Cindy Ord/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty; Todd Williamson/Bravo via Getty

BravoCon typically serves as an exciting time for the network’s stars to meet fans from around the world. But forShep Rose,last year’s conventionin Las Vegas marked one of the darkest moments of his life after he spent the weekend in a blacked-out state.

“I was on my couch in a ball and wondering what the F just happened, and was really mad at myself,” Rose, 45, tells PEOPLE of the BravoCon 2023 aftermath. “There was no giant incidents or anything like that, but I could tell that people weren’t all that enchanted with my time in Las Vegas, and I wasn’t either. Things had felt like they were coming to a head, and I was a little frightened and didn’t know what to do and who to talk to about it other than immediate family.”

Rose tried to connect with hisSouthern Charmcostars and close friendsCraig ConoverandAusten Krollbut “they were fed up,” he says. “They rebuffed my advances of trying to talk. That was harmful and confusing. We’ve gone through all this together over the years, we’ve seen each other at our worst, our best and everything in between. How can you not be supportive and empathetic? It sucked.”

So Rose leaned on his family, spending last Thanksgiving after BravoCon with them at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. “They were super cool and nice about it, and they even shared some stories of similar ilk, being like, ‘Yeah, we learned that we can’t do it like we used to, too,’” the reality star says. “I was I’m starting to come to the conclusion, that much of it is physiological. But old habits die hard. You think you’re invincible and you think you’re the life of the party, and it turns out you’re not. You’re obnoxious and you irritate others and it puts yourself in harm’s way.”

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When Rose had “all these things flooding through my head,” he received a “very nice” and concerned call fromAndy Cohen.

Shep Rose of “Southern Charm” television series attends BravoCon 2023 at Caesars Forum on November 03, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Gabe Ginsberg/Getty

Gabe Ginsberg/Getty

“He was cool, but was like, ‘Hey, I want you to be on this channel for as long as you want. We love you, but you can’t do that in front of this person, that person. You just got to be way more cognizant,’” Rose recalls. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been beating myself up.’ He was like, ‘Well, that’s good to hear.’ And I was like, ‘How do you mean?’ He’s like, ‘If you were like, “Screw it, don’t care,” that would’ve been bad.’"

Rose heard from his friend Bailey Bial, who’s appeared onSouthern Charmbefore, about theRythmia Ayahuasca retreatin Costa Rica and decided to give it a try in January. He calls the seven-night experience “revelatory” and says it helped him untangle “a lot of webs inside of me.”

“Everything opened up,” Rose says.

When Rose returned home, he explored traditional therapy, although he didn’t immediately find it to be a fit. “But it’s in my consciousness, and maybe it wasn’t before,” he says. “Maybe before it was like, ‘Ha, ha, ha, f— them.’ And I’m not like that anymore.”

He also created guidelines for himself around drinking, which largely entails avoiding liquor and sticking to beer or wine.

“It’s setting rules for yourself and really working not to break them, even though sometimes you do get excited around certain friends and stuff. But I know who the right people to spend time with, and I try to do that,” Rose says.

(L-R) Austen Kroll, Craig Conover and Shep Rose on Southern Charm.Alan Smith/Bravo

Alan Smith/Bravo

“I’m such a social animal. It’s important to try to get your fix, so to speak, in ways that are more palatable than sitting on a bar stool for several hours, which is hard not to do, especially on college football or something like that,” Rose says. “But I had a really nice time at a college football game recently, on a college campus. I was like, ‘Oh gosh, Shep, be careful.’ And I was. I was able to figure it all out. So little gains. Don’t let good be the enemy of perfect, but also hold yourself accountable.”

Rose had said he expected filming season 10 wouldhelp him reconnectwith Conover, 35, and Kroll, 37, and it did end up forcing some tough conversations.

“They’re both sensitive guys, and both of them have never been wrong in their entire life,” Rose says. “It is a complicated triumvirate, and I’m fine with talking about it and dealing with it, because it’s a big organism that maybe is out of control at this point. But I always knew it would be repaired because it wasn’t all that dire.”

Conover also pared back significantly on his drinking, and Rose feels that Kroll “controls himself quite well” when it comes to partying.

“I’m kind of in the middle,” Rose says. “We’ve had to recalibrate that part of it, Me, Craig, Austen. and Whitney, too, because it’s easy to do. One day will I have a more stable sort of [life], kids and wife, and I think that’ll change me immeasurably. That’s what everyone says it does, right?”

For now, Rose hopes to “continue to operate in a fair but honest way,” he says. “That’s all I can do.”

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Southern Charmpremieres Thursday, Dec. 5, at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

source: people.com