Southern Charm followers know all about Whitney Sudler-Smith and his mother, Patricia Altschul. After all, he’s the creator and government producer of the Bravo actuality collection. And each him and his southern socialite mom have been staples of the present each season because it started in 2014. But what about Whitney’s dad? Who is he, and the place is he now?
‘Southern Charm’ matriarch Patricia Altschul revealed how she met Whitney Sudler-Smith’s father in her e-book
In 2017, Patricia gave Southern Charm followers some perception into her life and background when she launched the e-book The Art of Southern Charm. In the part titled “Becoming Patricia,” the matriarch detailed how she turned the lady followers know and love immediately. And that story included how she met Whitney’s father — her first husband, Lon Smith.
She shared {that a} pal launched her to Lon when she was residing in Washington D.C. and attending George Washington University. Five years her senior and the top of Dun & Bradstreet on the time, Patricia described Lon as “good-looking” and “mature.”
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“When you’re Southern and in your twenties, marriage is a top priority,” Patricia wrote.
The couple married in a small marriage ceremony ceremony with simply their fast households. Patricia and Lon then settled in Virginia, and he or she continued her research in artwork historical past and archaeology. Meanwhile, Lon labored at Dun & Bradstreet through the day and attended graduate college at night time to earn his MBA.
Who is Whitney Sudler-Smith’s dad, Lon Smith?
After getting her BA and Master’s Degrees from GW, Patricia turned an assistant professor of artwork appreciation and a survey of Western artwork at her alma mater. She turned a mother on June 2, 1968, when she and Lon welcomed their son Whitney.
Patricia wrote in her e-book that Lon was an incredible etiquette trainer for Whitney, and that’s how her son discovered to develop into a gentleman.
“Honestly, Lon was such a gentleman that Whitney learned by his example,” she described. “He saw his father open my car door, or stand when I entered the room, and eventually it became second nature for him to do the same.”
But despite the fact that her life appeared prefer it was straight out of a Fifties sitcom, Patricia says that she and Lon ultimately discovered themselves “growing apart.”
“Actually, we were so young when we married that maybe we were finally growing up,” Patricia wrote. “After fourteen lovely years of marriage, there was no acrimony between us—just a sense that we were moving in different directions. Our separation and divorce were completely civilized and our main concern was always our son.”
The ‘Southern Charm’ star says she ‘couldn’t have picked a greater father for Whitney’
Both Patricia and Lon settled in Georgetown — the place Whitney attended college — after their divorce. She says they established a “seamless co-parenting schedule,” and each time they spoke they have been “pleasant, respectful, and harmonious.”
“There was nothing pernicious about our relationship at the time, and we’re still that way after all these years,” Patricia wrote. “I couldn’t have picked a better father for Whitney, who never had to feel divided about his feelings for his parents.”
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Will followers ever see Whitney’s dad on Southern Charm? Probably not. According to Patricia, her first husband is “intensely private” and a “lovely man.” He’s retired and reportedly residing in Florida, and has managed to remain out of the general public eye.
“My dad and my step mom are bemused by the show and all the hijinks,” Whitney informed Bravo’s Daily Dish, describing the pair as “intellectuals.” “
They simply don’t take it critically; it’s popular culture.”
Southern Charm Season 8 premieres Thursday, June 23, on Bravo.
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