Why Did Rod Razavi Leave ‘Southern Charm’? Here's What We Know
Season 10 of Southern Charm hasn’t premiered yet, but there are already several cast shake-ups.
Published July 31 2024, 2:00 a.m. ET
It looks like Rod Razavi’s time on Southern Charm was short but sweet. The 41-year-old Zuri Group director first joined the cast during Season 9. Although he was a newcomer to fans, he was already friends with several guys, including Austen Kroll.
Their friendship hit a rocky patch when Rod started dating Austen’s ex Olivia Flowers. After his debut on the show, Rod took to Instagram to share his newfound love for the limelight.
“Juggling a 9-5 [job] and filming for three months was quite the challenge, but I’d do it over again in a heartbeat,” he wrote.
Sadly, that won’t be possible, as the reality star isn’t returning for the Bravo show’s upcoming 10th season. Why did Rod Razavi leave Southern Charm? We investigate.
Why did Rod Razavi leave ‘Southern Charm’?
Reality Tea reported that Rod was allegedly fired. If this is true, it likely has to do with Olivia Flowers’s not returning to the show. In Season 9, Rod took a step back from dating Olivia after she tragically lost her brother to an accidental fentanyl overdose.
The 32-year-old confirmed her departure from the show during a July 12 episode of the Scheananigans with Scheana Shay podcast. “I’m not on this new season. So, I have a lot more free time,” she said, adding, “I was super bummed.”
Olivia hinted at this not being her choice.
“I have this new relationship and I’m choosing another path,” she said. “But I got the call a few weeks before filming from the production company. It was just, kind of, asking the questions like, ‘You don’t really seem to be in Charleston that much.’”
While production alluded to her choosing a “different path,” she said this wasn’t the case. “I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s choosing a different path.’ I’m just, kind of, living my life,” Olivia continued.
“Mind you, at the time, my parents had just officially moved to Texas, and I was wanting to be closer to them. [The] boyfriend thing just happened very randomly.”
Rod's departure frees up time to focus on work.
Once you taste the limelight, it’s hard to return to a normal life. Thankfully, Rod has a full career to keep him busy. According to his LinkedIn, Rod has a background in computer programming. He has been the director of the Zuri Group since 2013. He has also been the director of ChemoCars since 2017.
There is a chance that he was never a full-time cast member to begin with. In an Instagram post, Rod shared that he was a last-minute addition.
“I had no idea what to expect when I got the call that they wanted me as a last minute addition to the cast, and there would’ve been no way to prepare me for what was to come,” he wrote.
He went on to say that he had 12 hours to decide if he wanted to be on the show or not.
“Anyone that knows me knows I am conflict averse, and tend to over-communicate my way around any awkwardness or drama,” he wrote.
“Bravo chose to look past that atypical reality TV trait and bring me on the show anyways, and for that I want to say thank you to everyone involved in bringing me on Southern Charm," he continued. "I think I was seen as a good fit due to my long standing relationships with the cast, but also because of my strong connection to the city of Charleston."
