Bravo has a new power couple in town! After many years stuck inside the friend zone, Southern Hospitality star Joe Bradley‘s dreams of becoming Maddi Reese‘s boyfriend came to fruition after she kissed him in New York. “I was like, ‘Finally,’” Bradley recalled of the long-awaited moment, while Reese gushed that “there was no one [she] trusted more than Joe and [their] friendship.” Swoon!
The couple consciously avoided posting photos of themselves together leading up to the Southern Hospitality Season 3 premiere so they could “[have] the time to really develop [their] relationship” before airing it to the world on TV, which, as Reese rightfully pointed out, “can get chaotic.” Bradley also wanted to make sure Reese was “100% certain” that she wanted to get into another relationship after her breakup with Trevor Stokes.
“I didn’t want this to be some rebound fling because it was comfortable,” he told DECIDER over a recent Zoom interview. “I wanted this to be forever. That’s the way I’ve always looked at Maddi. If I could wait three and a half years, I could wait a few more months to make sure that she knows she’s ready.”
While they tried to keep the early stages of their romance quiet, they were nearly outed on Watch What Happens Live by Below Deck Med‘s Joe Bradley (same name, different person).
During a July episode of Andy Cohen‘s late-night talk show, the deckhand said he met the VIP director and “his girlfriend” who was “DJing at this venue in Miami.” Neither Bradley nor Reese had publicly confirmed their relationship at that point, yet Southern Hospitality fans quickly picked up on the slip-up. “I was like, ‘God, dang it, other Joe Bradley,’” Bradley said, before Reese joked, “Joe Bradleys, man. They don’t got their shit together. “
Despite Reese’s initial concerns about working together at Leva Bonaparte‘s Republic Garden & Lounge and what it could potentially do to their long-standing friendship, she confirmed that her relationship with Bradley has been “worth the risk.”
When we caught up with the love birds, they teased what’s to come in Southern Hospitality Season 3, from dramatic “shifts in dynamics,” to their Las Vegas wedding. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: I am so happy that you guys are finally together. Maddi, what did that moment when you realized you wanted to be with Joe look like? Did he do something? Did he say something? Walk us through that.
MADDI REESE: I feel like I got out of my relationship and there was no one I trusted more than Joe and our friendship. I feel like it was more of a risk of, like, “Oh, we work together. We’re really good friends. I don’t want to mess this up.” I feel like it was risky but at the same time, it’s been worth the risk. For me, I had to let the dust settle a little bit, and I feel like it just naturally happened.
JOE BRADLEY: I knew I wasn’t crazy. I knew we had a connection. I just think timing was definitely in our favor this time around.
MADDI: Yeah, I definitely think timing was everything.
JOE: Yeah, and I think I needed to grow. Maddi needed to heal. As soon as those two things happened, we finally started hanging out every day and it developed naturally. We were also kind of starting on third base because…
MADDI: We’ve known each other for so long.
JOE: We already know each other’s flaws.
MADDI: That trust was already built and established. That was really, really nice versus my previous relationships, that wasn’t the case.
Joe, you said the most adorable thing in the premiere: “Maddi Reese finally agreed to love me back.” Were you surprised when she kissed you that first time? Or did you feel like it was coming?
JOE: I was never the smartest person in school and stuff, but when it comes to relationships, I knew that it was not that far-fetched. I knew that the way we look at each other, even when we were friends, I knew that there was a connection. And little things build up over time. So when she kissed me, I wasn’t as much so surprised. I think I was like, “Finally.” And it just felt right.
MADDI: I think he also knew I was out of my relationship for a time and knew that, “Oh, there might be something here.” So I feel like it wasn’t that shocking to you because it developed so naturally.
JOE: My bigger concern was not letting it go too fast because I wanted her to be 100% certain. I didn’t want this to be some rebound fling because it was comfortable. I wanted this to be forever. That’s the way I’ve always looked at Maddi. If I could wait three and a half years, I could wait a few more months to make sure that she knows she’s ready.
That’s so nice. I remember when Below Deck Joe Bradley was on Watch What Happens Live over the summer and he kind of hinted that you guys were dating, but it hadn’t been confirmed by you yet publicly. Was it a conscious decision to keep things on the down low until the new season aired?
MADDI: Yeah, definitely. And I feel like, if anything, to Joe, I was like, “Cherish this time because I’ve been in a relationship on television before and I feel like it can get chaotic.” Having that time to really develop our relationship was really beautiful. But we were literally just talking about the Joe Bradley on Watch What Happens Live thing.
JOE: I was like, “Dang it.” We’ve done such a great job of not posting. We do care about the show and the viewers.
MADDI: That was the one time there was a little sprinkle of it.
JOE: I was like, “God, dang it, other Joe Bradley.”
When we were listening to it, we were like, “Wait, did he just say, ‘his girlfriend?’
JOE: You can see Andy was like, “Wait, what did you say?” But he had to move on on Watch What Happens.
MADDI: Joe Bradleys, man. They don’t got their shit together.
I of course have to ask about that Vegas wedding we see in the trailer. Are you guys actually married? What can you say about that?
MADDI: I feel like you have to tune in to kind of watch how our love story develops. When we first started filming the season, we just started dating. I feel like you see it kind of progress throughout the months that we were filming leading up to the Vegas thing. I’m excited to watch that play out. That was such a big cast trip.
JOE: It’s such an epic, big moment for us. If we could hide our dating relationship for this long, I really do think it’s important for the viewers to tune in and see it all unfold.
When I talked to Leva a couple of weeks ago, she said your relationship is more of a hindrance at work than a help at the moment. Do either of you know what she might be referring to? And would you agree?
JOE: In 2025, I definitely need to get back on the horse and become Joey Bottles again. Since Maddi’s been taking off, I’m her biggest support system, I’ve been skipping a few shifts and being Joey Hype Man instead of Joey Bottles, but I want to be there for her. These are the stages where she’s crushing her career. I want to be there as much as I can. I think at the end of the day, we’re a great couple, but I think we’re even better when we’re working together. I think that’s the foundation of our relationship, is how well we work together at work. So of course Leva’s going to be missing us a little bit.
MADDI: We also have always been more single working in nightlife and in the club. It’s interesting growing older and getting into a serious relationship and working in nightlife. It’s just sometimes different versus when we were younger. And that’s why we’re excited there’s a lot of newbies coming in that are younger and are just working in nightlife almost like we were a couple years ago and stuff. So I’m excited to see them come in too.
Maddi, we see TJ come to you with his concerns about Joe in the premiere. Were you surprised when he compared Joe to Trevor?
MADDI: I was, honestly. Night and day relationship in the sense of toxic and fucked up.
JOE: A human and a moral compass.
MADDI: I just feel like that was really shocking, but I hope in the next episode they show my response because I feel like I’m different. I feel like that’s what’s really important to me. I’m not going to let myself ever be in that position again with a man or in that same toxic relationship. It’s too exhausting in my life right now. So I was just really shocked by that and kind of him calling Joe a cheater, I thought that was so out of left field.
JOE: It’s just not true, and it’s to the point where he’s trying to spin other narratives. But my biggest thing is what did I really do? I sent a few rage texts, but what did I do to hurt you? I think in the [episodes] that are coming, I think we’ll kind of dissect TJ’s mind and he’ll kind of confess the reasons.
MADDI: If there’s anyone he hurt, it was Danielle. TJ, how does this have anything to do with you?
JOE: I’m kind of excited for TJ in a way because in the prior seasons, he’s kind of a closed book but he gets involved in other people’s things. So I’m finally excited that people will see the way TJ thinks and where is this behavior coming from? I’m excited for that too.
MADDI: I’m kind of a middle man in it because I think it’s all funny and petty. I feel like they just need to make up, and we’ll see if they do or not.
I will say that when I spoke to TJ yesterday, he had nothing but kind things to say about your relationship.
MADDI: Yes, but at the time it was like…
Wounds were still fresh for everyone.
MADDI: Yes, and I was honestly shocked.
JOE: Maybe he felt bad about watching the first episode again. I’m just kidding. We’re actually in a great place with TJ right now. It just took a long time to get there, and people are about to see why.
Joe, a major catalyst in your feud with TJ was the whole Luann thing. A week after you denied it at the reunion, Danielle went and told her side of the story on Watch What Happens Live. Is there anything else you’d like to clear up about that fateful evening?
JOE: Yeah, I handled it very poorly at the reunion. I should have owned it. I should have owned kissing Luann and hanging out with her. I probably shouldn’t have done that so freshly after I ended things with Danielle. The reason I was so mad about TJ is because I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I had respect for Danielle at the time and I was like, “Dude, why would you do this? This is not doing anything good for anyone.” Instead, it’s humiliating. It was just a shitty situation. I’m not a cheater. That’s the biggest thing I want to say after watching what TJ said. I think he knows that too, I just think I hurt him in ways that I didn’t know I hurt him. A lot of it has to do with our very long-standing friendship and me being there more for him. But we’re finally moving on. I love Luann, and I hope that we go see her show. She’s great. She’s the shit. But I hope that we don’t have to talk about this much longer because we’ve moved on, like, eight months ago.
Maddi, you had the best reaction to Joe’s fling with Luann. You were like, “She’s iconic. This is funny.”
MADDI: I thought it’s all hilarious, honestly. It’s hilarious, and that’s why I just want them to make up so bad, Joe and TJ, is because it’s funny and almost petty. I know the two of them have a relationship with history, and I’m trying to support them making up.
JOE: Maddi did a really good job of facilitating us finally swallowing our pride and talking it out. But at the end of the day, I just want someone I consider a best friend to be happy in my relationship. That’s the one thing I pray for the most. I want him to be in our fucking wedding.
Maddi, the trailer shows a little fight between you and Grace. What can you say about what led to that? And how are you guys doing today?
MADDI: Grace and I have the most history of anyone. We’ve known each other for a very long time, and I feel like it makes me sad that we had some issues this season, truthfully. I will always love her, and she’s always going to be my best friend. I’m a very loyal person. I don’t care if you fucked me or my friend over, I’ll be there for you if you ever need anything. I just feel like Grace and I have that type of relationship, so I hated that we were fighting this season, especially over the things we were fighting over.
JOE: I think it’s a much deeper thing that’s a complex friendship between them. A lot of it was out of love and frustration. A lot of friends – especially in our group – fight out of love and frustration. It’s for the better. You can’t just enable the behavior and let it sweep under the rug. So I think that Maddi finally reached her boiling point and was like, “Listen, Grace. I want to grab your ears and kind of tell you what you need to do to be better.”
And that happens in the best of friendships. You come out stronger because of it.
JOE: Growing pains for sure.
Joe, did you hear Will speaking negatively about Emmy at Republic first-hand? And do you think she deserves to know the truth? At this point, in the first episode, nobody’s told her anything yet.
JOE: Back then, that was kind of right when I saw Will for the first time. He was at law school. Will came back, he was obviously very intoxicated, and I grabbed him because I wanted to talk to him. That’s what I’m trying to work on instead of walking on eggshells like me and TJ did. I’m like, “Alright, well, I can at least, like, warm up for this by talking to Will. Let’s get this out of the way.” The way he was talking to me that night, I have no doubts in my mind that he was just being kind of a monster and speaking badly about Emmy. But I didn’t know about anything until after the fact. So Maddi actually knew before me – and Michols and a few other people. So that timeline will be, you know …
MADDI: Brought out. And I feel like I was, you know, Emmy and I had a hard season last year as friends. And I feel like this season we try to repair it and I’m trying not to get involved with her relationship just because I know what that’s like. And it sucks, but it puts me in a weird position because I feel like I want to be a support system for her and support her in the best ways that I can. But her relationship at the same time kind of makes me a little uncomfortable.
JOE: But it’s hard because they’re very supportive of our relationship. And when we’re with them, they seem great.
MADDI: Yeah. And we want couple friends. All our friends are single.
JOE: We’re playing pickleball and they seem great. And we just became friends with them again. So who are we to be like, “Hey guys. Glad we’re all best friends again. Here’s what we’ve been hearing.” It’s just a tough situation. It’s better for us to kind of look after them but not get involved because I did that last year. It did not end well.
Maddi, will we get to see more of your DJing this season?
MADDI: Yeah, 100%. I’m really excited for that. Our cast trip is kind of surrounded by that. I go and I play in Vegas and that is such an accomplishment, especially being in the mecca of nightlife hospitality and Vegas of all places. And I feel like I’m very grateful for where my DJ career is at right now, and I’m excited for that to air.
JOE: Yeah. That Vegas trip…
Maddi: That was, like, my favorite cast trip.
JOE: It wasn’t just amazing. Seeing Maddi on the side of a building and DJing at a major club was just as amazing as our wedding. To see her be that fulfilled and her dreams are coming true right before our eyes is incredible.
You were both at Kathy Hilton’s holiday party last week. Are there any stories you can share from that night?
MADDI: I had a blast. I talked to so many Bravolebs and stuff like that. I got to meet a lot of the Salt Lake City people, but I also got to see friends that live in L.A. Joe and I went to BravoCon and stuff, so we kind of got to see a lot of the people we met there and stuff like that. So it was so exciting.
JOE: It was legendary. We’re usually hosting the party or DJing the party. And to go to a party where Maddi got like – there was a grab and go and she got, like, diamond earrings out of there. Like, you don’t really find that in Charleston. But it was just incredible. And everyone was super nice and we felt welcome. It was great.
What else can you tease about this season of Southern Hospitality?
MADDI: I’m excited to kind of watch our love story because like I said, we started dating right around when we started filming. So it’s just those early days where I kind of have a little bit of trust issues and I’m trying to find my footing in the relationship. So I’m excited to see that play out. And absolutely going to Vegas. So I am excited for that.
JOE: Yeah, I just think that this season, you know, it’s definitely one of the happiest summers of my life, but there’s also a lot of adversity and like a lot of growing pains. But looking back on them, I’m glad we went through.
MADDI: Yeah, lots of drama, lots of shifts in dynamics in the friend group. I’m excited to see all that because I think there’s gonna be a lot of surprises of like who’s friends with who now that time has gone on versus past seasons. So I think it’s a completely different dynamic change. Even with us dating, I feel like everyone’s kind of like, “This is so weird. Like, you guys cuddle and kiss and stuff like that?”
JOE: It’s not that weird. I take that as an insult. I don’t know why everyone’s so surprised.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Southern Hospitality Season 3 airs Thursday, Jan. 3 at 9/8c on Bravo.
The post ‘Southern Hospitality’ Stars Maddi Reese And Joe Bradley React To Their Relationship Getting Outed On ‘WWHL’ Over The Summer: “I Was Like, ‘Dang It’” appeared first on Decider.
