One thing reality stars are good for is hot goss, or a good ol’ fashioned tell-all. After more than a decade of being in the reality television industry in some form or other, and Cameran Eubanks has a lot to tell. In fact, The Southern Charm former cast member left the show abruptly before its new season and we are now starting to figure out the real reasons why.
With the release of her new memoir, One Day You’ll Thank Me, Eubanks has been dropping tidbits from the book and explanations for her reality-persona absence. In a recent interview with Access Hollywood, Eubanks stated that she made “the right decision to exit.” The reasoning seems to be a combination of her family’s privacy and the outlandish rumors that have sprung up from the show. The juiciest rumor of this season? That Eubanks’ husband Jason, who notoriously never wanted to be filmed on-camera, had an affair.
When asked about the alleged affair, Cameran Eubanks said:
To be honest, it’s what you sign up for when you go on reality television. One of the negatives is when you sign that contract, you basically sign away saying people can make up the craziest lies about you and they have every right to air it. There needs to be drama. There needs to be storylines. Part of me thinks it was a way to explain why I wasn’t there, as crazy as that sounds.
Only recently, on the reunion episode for Southern Charm, did viewers find out that Eubanks was actually slated to still be on the show this season. Co-stars Shep Rose and Craig Conover revealed that Cameran Eubanks was set to come back, but mysteriously bowed out a day before filming. Likewise, viewers got the official announcement from an offhand comment on social media.
It shocked many fans who had watched her be the voice of reason and Wendy to a bunch of Peter Pans since the show’s beginning. But Cameran Eubanks divulged that reality television just ain’t what it use to be. She was an original cast member on The Real World: San Diego in 2004 and even a host for the likes of Girls Gone Wild in the early aughts.
Yet Cameran Eubanks maintains that Southern Charm is more contrived than reality-based also mentioning,"It’s not what it use to be." She's called the Bravo reality show "very toxic, very drama-filled" and noted "it’s at the expense of the people who participate on it, unfortunately.”
Indeed, the show has come under criticism in a post-MeToo era for the ingrained "Good Ol' Boy" mentality that has sometimes permeated the cast. In the early years of the show especially, certain male castmates could do or say whatever they wanted with impunity, and it would often be brushed under the rug.
Touching on this culture, Eubanks believes she was part of the problem. She prided herself on being an authentic representation of her true personality but came to see herself as a hypocrite. She reflected,
Here I am, kind of the Greek chorus, and I have to comment on everybody else’s personal life, but I wasn’t showing my daughter. I wasn’t showing my husband and it felt inauthentic for me to be on it. But that is really the truth.
Instead of wallowing in regret or fear, Eubanks decided to turn some lemons into lemonade. For the reality star, it turns out her departure was a perfect opportunity to write about her life. In the memoir, she writes about becoming a mom to her daughter Palmer and the rollercoaster ride of reality show martyrdom.
Writing this book is 100% from me. There is no editing involved. There are no storylines involved. It is just raw and real…I don’t regret it because look at me now. I wrote a book. There are so many positives and negatives to reality television. It gives you a platform. It gives you a fanbase. It gives you a voice. It was overall a very wonderful experience for me.
Though Cameran Eubanks may no longer be part of the Southern Charms crew (for the near future), they sure do still talk about her a lot. For more, tune in for the last and final reunion episode on Bravo, Thursday, Feb. 4. In addition, there are other popular Bravo shows, or see what is new and returning in movies and television this year!
