Kathryn Dennis and Thomas Ravenel took their long-running legal fight to the S.C. Supreme Court, but the latest dispute did not center on custody itself.
Instead, the former Southern Charm couple clashed over whether the court should make their sealed custody records available to the public.
The Southern Charm exes are battling over whether their sealed custody records should become public
The South Carolina Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments in Thomas Ravenel v. Kathryn Dennis for September 15 at Clemson University.
The appeal focused on a Charleston County family court judge’s decision to keep records from the former couple’s most recent custody case sealed.
Ravenel argued that courts generally allowed public access to judicial records. He also pointed to Dennis’ previous public comments about their custody dispute and the South Carolina family court system.
Dennis opposed releasing the records. Her attorneys argued that Ravenel’s desire to defend his reputation did not outweigh their children’s privacy.
The former couple shared two children and fought over custody through several court proceedings dating back to 2016.
Their latest case began in 2020 when Ravenel sought another change to their custody arrangement. Both parents initially agreed to seal that case.
Ravenel later asked the court to open the file in 2022. He argued that Dennis had publicly discussed the dispute despite previously agreeing that the proceedings required privacy.
“I just want the truth to be out there for my own reputational purposes,” Ravenel told the family court, according to the appellate filings.
In February 2023, Judge Daniel E. Martin Jr. granted Ravenel sole legal and physical custody and limited Dennis to supervised daytime visits. However, Martin declined Ravenel’s request to unseal the case.
The judge concluded that releasing the records could harm the children.
Ravenel appealed that ruling and argued that the court could protect sensitive details through specific redactions rather than keeping the entire file private.
Dennis’ legal team maintained that the family court properly prioritized the children. Her filing also noted that the guardian ad litem opposed releasing the records.
The dispute presented the S.C. Supreme Court with several possible outcomes. The justices could leave the existing seal in place, require the court to release some or all records with redactions, or send the matter back to family court for further findings.
The appeal did not ask the Supreme Court to reconsider which parent should have custody.
Instead, Kathryn Dennis and Thomas Ravenel remained divided over how much of their years-long Southern Charm custody battle the public should be allowed to see.