‘Southern Hospitality’ Star Emmy Sharrett Sets the Record Straight on Those Will Kulp Rumors & That Viral Meltdown

Things are getting rather intense on Southern Hospitality as Emmy Sharrett continues to deal with the rumor mill surrounding her longtime boyfriend Will Kulp and an accusation that moved her to absolute outrage. 

After she was accused of purchasing dresses for her coworkers with store credit and then pocketing their money, Emmy melted down in the middle of Republic and had to leave work early to gather herself. Then, she was swarmed by accusations that Will was going around saying mean things about her body, her personality, and his true feelings about her. And from the looks of next week’s episode, that last bit will really come to a head when the subject comes up during the second part of their group trip to the lake. 

So how does Emmy Sharrett herself feel about being at the center of so much drama this season? And what does she want fans to know about the truth behind all of the gossip? TV Insider caught up with her to find out.

What’s it like for you to watch all of this unfold? 

Emmy Sharrett: I kind of laugh, honestly. It’s like, “Oops, I just had a moment there.” I’m really close with Michols [Pena], and I’m on very good terms with Leva [Bonaparte, Republic owner] so, for me, it’s lot of… My little freak-out was just kind of a moment. But there’s also a lot of stuff that is airing — and I think, I’m very aware of what’s going on when I’m filming, but there’s a few places where the pictures kind of getting like fully painted as it airs for me. So, to me, it’s just more informative than anything, but emotionally, I’m good. I know I signed up for this. This is reality TV. It’s going to air, so I have been at peace with that since Season 1. So for me, I’m just kind of like, “This is the name of the game.”

Like you said about being there since Season 1, this isn’t the first time you’ve dealt with this. There was a moment when Mia [Alario] tried to tell you about some cheating rumors with Will, so it’s not like you haven’t dealt with this before. Do you take it with a grain of salt?

I take it all with a grain of salt…. Also, it seems like people always come to me at very opportune times with this information. I’ve always said Charleston is a very small town, and as Mia says in Episode 1, she goes, “Oh, I heard Will talking about…” I mean, within the first 24 hours. And I’m like, “If all these rumors that people heard about were true, you probably wouldn’t hear them six or seven months later. You’d probably hear them within 24 hours.” So it’s just very telling how this all plays out to me. I’m just kind of like, everyone’s grasping at straws. And I just kind of laugh. 

So considering the source a little bit, you mentioned that you and Michols are close. What was it like to hear his account in particular? 

Oh, I already knew. I don’t think people know this, and I don’t think anyone in the cast knew this — or that are my friends knew this — because, well, no one cared to ask me for months until… you can fill the blank, but until all those months later at a very chill moment. For me, I think a lot of it is exaggerated. I know a lot of it is exaggerated. I think it’s unfortunate that Will did talk about me behind my back, and we all make mistakes. And I held Will accountable and it’s not okay, but he told me when it did happen, and I know the truth behind what he said. And I also know how the gossip mill works and gossip’s only good if you make it really juicy. So I know a lot of it is probably indulged and exaggerated, and no one knows Will better than I do. Everyone else’s opinion I take with a big grain of salt. 

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When it came to what Siobhan said about the dresses, I mean, obviously it made you very upset. Why do you think your reaction was so emotional in that moment? 

So you and the viewers don’t know it, but I was actually really sick with strep throat. I was up the entire night before — actually, we were out at Will’s parents’ house sleeping out there because we were filming with Will’s family that next morning —  and I was up ’til three in the morning crying, like knives in my throat. Will ended up giving me not one but two NyQuil pills. And I wake up, film with his family, I’m crying. I’m hot and cold. I’m overstimulated. I’m already not doing well. I go to work at noon, and I’m leaning against the bar, and I give Will that thumbs up because he’s making sure I’m okay because I was not feeling good. And so, yeah, then I’m on edge. I’m not doing well. 

And then Siobhan sits me down and accuses me of I don’t even know what. And I’m an ambassador for a clothing brand, and I get like store credit, and I actually show her — in that moment I pull up my account and I pull up my orders and I say, “Here’s my credit card that I used. Here’s the total.” [I go] all through my credit card, and I prove myself innocent. But my reaction is because I love these girls so much. I put them first for everything. And I don’t have to go and find these dresses. I don’t have to go on my way and take time out of my day all the time to then get these dresses in. If they don’t fit them, I return them for them. I do this out of the kindness in my heart. I’m not the manager, I’m not the AGM, I’m not the VIP leader. So, for me to do all this for the girls and then for Siobhan to accuse me of trying to be sketchy and make some kind of commission or pocket some kind of cash, is just the biggest insult I could have go my way after everything I had done for her. So, to me, that’s why I spiraled, and because I’m sick is why I can’t put a lid on it. That’s why I just can’t stop. I’m just like, I can’t see past it. I’m in disbelief. 

It seemed like a lot of people were questioning you with Will and all that, but Maddi Reese was on your side. You guys had a tough year last year, but what brought you guys together like that? 

Maddi is a really awesome friend to me this summer. I have to give a lot of the credit to Michols because I’m super close with Michols, and Maddi’s super close with Michols. So there’s a lot of times I’d call Michols in the spring and be like, “What are you doing?” And he’s like, “Oh, I’m with Maddi.” And then I’d be like, “Oh, like, do you and Maddi want to do this?” And then Maddi would call Michols and be like, “What are you doing?” And he’d be like, “Oh, I’m with Emmy.” And she’d be like, “Oh, do you and Emmy want to do this?” So because of Michols, it really just brought us together and we started hanging out a lot. And ultimately, it brought back this really good friendship that we had.

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Did her sobriety journey inspire yours? 

No, actually. It’s nice having a sober friend, with all this going on, but Will actually decided he wanted to go sober his first semester of law school. We had actually just got back from a trip in New York — it was about to be October 1st — and he was like, “I’m gonna go sober from October 1st until December 7th.” And I was like, “Oh my God, I’ll do it with you. I’ll do sober October, and if I like it, I’ll do like sober November.” And lo and behold, I got through October, and I was like, “I’m gonna continue to do this,” and then I got through November, and then I was like, “Oh my God.” Every day I feel better and better and better and better, and the feeling that my sleep, everything, I was not inflamed, I was not exhausted. I didn’t want to give it up for a glass of champagne. And here I am now, 15 months sober. But no, Will is the reason, ultimately, why I went sober because he went sober for probably 10 weeks. 

You guys have another couple in the group for a change. What’s it like to spend time with Maddi and Joe Bradley and watch them together? 

I love Maddi and Joe. They’re great for each other. I think the foundation of me and Will’s relationship is that we’re best friends, and the basis of Maddi and Joe’s relationship is they’re best friends and they’re romantically involved. And I think that speaks volumes because there’s nothing Maddi and Joe can do that they don’t already like know or love about each other. Nothing can scare those two away from each other. They know every secret about each other. They know everything. So I really love them dating and I love having them around. There’s another couple to hang out with, especially while we film like this show. It’s really nice having someone that gets it. 

After this week’s episode, it looks like there’s gonna be a dramatic dinner conversation at the lake. Can you preview like what’s gonna happen in that? 

Michols is just like, “I can go tit for tat,” and then I’m like, “Talk to me in privately.” And then you see me crying and I’m like, “So what? We’ve all gotten drunk and said things we didn’t mean. Who am I to judge?” And that’s like all in reference to what Will said about me… But yes, it’s another meltdown with a lot more. I need to get some waterproof mascara… I mean, it’s a really hard season for me and my friendships. 

Ultimately, this season brought me and Will really close together, and he’s my ride or die no matter how people see him on TV. He is my best friend, and I wouldn’t date him if he was some cheater that talks s**t about me and did not like me and didn’t want to date me and was one foot in, one foot out. I’d be nowhere near him. And I think a lot of people think I’m blinded by “I want to be a lawyer’s wife”… Like, “She’s gonna let him cheat. She doesn’t care. She wants to go up in her social class.” And for me, I’m just kind of like, “Will doesn’t have a trust fund. Will is in debt with student loans. I grew up in the exact same social class as Will. I grew up very privileged.” Which was very fortunate, but, you know, this whole narrative that I would accept Will as a cheater because I care about the money he doesn’t have is just… I laugh about it. But Will is my best friend, and we are still dating. And the viewers are gonna see my truth to everything going on. I think they’re gonna really see who my friends truly arenand that a lot of my friends seem to choose…. If my friends were my real friends, they would have come to me when this all happened, months before we started filming. They wouldn’t have come to me at these opportune moments. 

Looking even further ahead, what else can we look forward to you from like the rest of the season? I know there’s a Las Vegas trip. Can you tease anything about that? 

Vegas is fun. We saw Larsa Pippen out in Vegas. She was actually at the VIP table next to us, so it was cool to see her. We fly some helicopters, drive some race cars… Vegas is really the first big group trip that Will’s at because he doesn’t make it to the lake house because he has work. So that’s gonna be the first time for everyone to see Will with the group as a whole, ’cause Will’s working all summer, a 9 to 5 — and he has dinners sometimes — so he can’t always [be there]. He didn’t make it to Michols birthday, and he didn’t make it to the lake house. So this is the first group trip with Will and Grace [Lilly] and Mia. 

Southern Hospitality, Thursdays, 9/8c, Bravo