Maddi Reese didn’t legally marry Joe Bradley in Las Vegas, but that didn’t stop him from calling her his “wife” on Southern Hospitality — with or without her approval.
“That Vegas wedding wasn’t real, and I think Joe thinks it was,” Maddi confessed during the Thursday, February 20, episode of the Bravo series.
Maddi revealed that Joe can’t stop calling her his “wife” now that they are back in Charleston, which didn’t appear to sit well with her. “The wedding was for fun. I don’t think it was serious,” she said. “Vacation’s over, but maybe not for Joe.”
Joe and Maddi, who began dating in April 2024, had a fake ceremony with their friends while in Las Vegas that summer. The nuptials were featured on Southern Hospitality earlier this season — and came as a total surprise to Maddi.
On the latest episode, the group reflected on the Sin City wedding and revealed that Joe was taking it much more seriously than his bride. Emmy Sharrett claimed that Joe got “pissed” at Maddi on their fake wedding night because she stayed out with the girls.
“He’s like, ‘You’ve just been down their gambling and left me alone on our wedding night,’” Emmy recalled to her boyfriend, Will Kulp.
Joe admitted that he was “ready to go home” with Maddi after the ceremony and have a “romantic night in our honeymoon suite.” When his plans were thwarted, he didn’t react well.
“I get laid most other nights, how do I not get laid on our actual wedding night?” he quipped. Maddi pointed out, “It’s not our actual wedding night!”
Later in the episode, Maddi told her Republic Garden & Lounge boss Leva Bonaparte about the “commitment ceremony” calling it “hilarious.”
Joe, meanwhile, confided in pal Bradley Carter at a hotdog event that he’s on a “one-year plan” and he wanted to “propose pretty soon.”
At the time, the couple had been dating four months, but Joe said it felt like they’d been together for a year. “If she goes on the road [to DJ] and I’m not with her I like the feeling of being engaged,” Joe confessed.
Maddi, for her part, had a heart-to-heart with her mother about the faux nuptials and Joe’s intensity about their relationship.
“I don’t think we’re ready to get really married. We don’t even live with each other. I just think my No. 1 priority is my career to me right now,” Maddi shared, noting, “As much as I love Joe, my independence is the most important thing to me.”
When Maddi attempted to share her feelings with Joe, it didn’t go as planned. After telling Maddi, “You are my wife” she revealed that she was looking into buying a house as an investment.
“At what point do we move in together?” Joe asked. She replied, “I just hate this pressure right now. Everything is so great. We’re in this honeymoon phase.”
Joe claimed, “I’m not pressuring you,” but told her their current living situation “isn’t going to last forever” and he was frustrated having to constantly drive to her place and her not returning the favor.
Maddi revealed that she was worried about moving in too soon because of her last relationship with Trevor Stokes, which ended badly. She even pointed out that Joe was the one who “gave me a hard time” over the choice to live with Trevor.
“Now you’re sitting here putting me in the same situation,” she explained, reminding him that he “ripped [her] apart” when she lived with Trevor.
Joe fired back that she had “no future with that guy” and got upset that she was comparing their relationship to her past romance.
“I feel like I just got out of living with a boyfriend and watching the turmoil and the hell to get out of that. I’m so scared that’s going to happen to me again,” Maddi confessed. “I don’t even want to risk that. It’s almost too fast for me.”
Southern Hospitality airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
