Southern Charm’s Naomie Olindo Recalls Being a ‘Swollen Sausage’ After Filming, Shares Mental Health and Wellness Tips

Credit: Courtesy of Naomie Olindo/Instagram

Southern Charm’s Naomie Olindo Recalls Being a ‘Swollen Sausage’ After Filming, Shares Mental Health and Wellness Tips

It’s not all fun and games! Naomie Olindo broke down what it’s really like to film Southern Charm and the toll it took on her body ahead of season 8's premiere. The 29-year-old reality star dished on how she balances the partying and drinking aspect of filming with a healthy lifestyle during the Monday, February 7, episode of the “Dabble Co.” podcast. “If you film four days a week, five days a week, most people drink while they’re filming because it’s already so awkward. When you drink then you get hungrier,” Olindo revealed, calling herself a “swollen sausage” after shooting scenes for season 8. “It’s about trying to make up for it with other good habits. I’m not going to not work out and then do three other bad things. It’s just balance.” The L’Abeye founder first appeared on the Bravo series during season 3 while she was dating castmate Craig Conover. The pair’s ups and downs played out for multiple seasons ahead of their 2017 split. Olindo exited the show after season 6 in 2020, but Us Weekly exclusively confirmed in September 2021 that she was returning for the upcoming eighth season. On Monday, the Blueprint to Breakup cofounder dished on how she’s navigated the limelight for so long, revealing that she very rarely gets upset by strangers' comments about her life. “There have been two times that I’ve been really hurt by something someone said and it was people that I knew personally,” she told the podcast listeners. “It crushed me.” [sendtonews type="float" key="DiJ7e0D4aY-2836076-14453"] Olindo — who is newly single after splitting from Metul Shah in July 2021 amid cheating allegations — also broke down how she stays in shape despite having such a hectic schedule. “I just adjust to whatever my lifestyle is at the time. If I’m traveling a lot, I try to curb sweets and bad food because I know I’m going to be drinking,” she explained. “It’s just a balance. I don’t really restrict anything. I try to eat intuitively. I don’t always succeed. No one does." The College of Charleston alum expressed concern with the unrealistic beauty expectations and fitness goals that are put on women. As a public figure, she tries to be as transparent as possible, even if she doesn’t share every part of her life online. “I’m so happy for J. Lo.,” Olindo said, commenting on how Jennifer Lopez has managed to remain so fit at age 52. “What I have a problem with is normal women are looking at that like, ‘S--t, I’m not aging well because look at J. Lo, she doesn’t do anything. She’s using olive oil and I am not, and I don’t look like that. What is wrong with me?’” The Bravo star added: “Unless you have the best team of the best everything, you’re not going to [look like Jennifer].” Scroll down to see all of Olindo wellness tips and tricks revealed on the podcast — and how her Southern Charm antics led to zipper problems: [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy of Naomie Olindo/Instagram

Binge Eater

“Naturally, I’m a big binge eater. When I’m doing well, when I feel like I’m healthy, I do intermittent fasting,” Olindo explained. “You break your fast with a Blender Bomb smoothie. I’m a big snacker, so I just kind of graze. I graze throughout the day and then I’ll eat a bigger dinner and try to stop eating around 8 or 9 p.m.”

The TV personality noted that she also tries to do Hi Lo (classes that are high cardio but low impact) classes three or four times a week. “But realistically, that last few months I’ve been going twice,” she added.

Credit: Courtesy of Naomie Olindo/Instagram

The Drinking Toll

“We just finished filming [Southern Charm] a little over a month ago. It got to the point where I couldn’t take my rings off because I was so swollen,” Olindo joked. “I was a swollen sausage. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, my face.’ I broke three zippers. I had to get the zippers fixed because they just blew off my pants. I know that I’ll get back to a better place.”

She pointed out that costar Shep Rose, however, is “an anomaly,” who always appears to rally. “I think he feels fine. I don’t know,” Olindo said.

Credit: Courtesy of Naomie Olindo/Instagram

Love Me or Hate Me

The reality star explained how she approaches being in the public eye, telling listeners that “it’s not really as intense as you would think,” but that’s partially because of how she first chose to deal with the limelight.

“I think right from the beginning my view on it has been if it’s somebody who loves you or thinks that they love you from what they’ve seen from a few minutes on TV, or even just through Instagram, they don’t have enough bases to know you to love you. That same sentiment they don’t have enough bases to know you to hate you,” Olindo explained. “You can’t take the love if you’re going to leave the hate. I don’t take the hate because I don’t really take the love to heart. When someone says something mean, I’m just, like, ‘You have no idea what you’re talking about.’”

Credit: Courtesy of Naomie Olindo/Instagram

Breaking the Plastic Surgery Cone of Silence

“I’ve never understood why it’s so taboo to talk about work that you’re doing. I got a ton of kickback when I did my nose a few years ago,” she recalled. “People were like, ‘Oh, my God, you shouldn’t have done that.’ I’m like, ‘Guys, I didn’t do it for you.’ I did it because when I looked in the mirror, I saw something that I didn’t like. If I have the resources to change it, why wouldn’t I? It’s not your issue.”

The Charleston resident, who got a nose job in 2018, added: “I don’t understand why some people have things done and keep it a secret. It should just be out in the open so realistic expectations are set for the general public.”

Credit: Courtesy of Naomie Olindo/Instagram

Unfiltered

Olindo revealed where she stands on using photo filters to change her appearance, saying she has done so in the past, but has since changed her outlook on it. “Now, I think the most filter that I will use is when I record a video. The Paris Filter. It helps you out a little bit, but it doesn’t change your entire facial structure,” she said. “A lot of people are moving toward no longer using these types of apps and just posting the real photo.”

The restauranteur continued: “It’s OK if you have a bruise — I’m not the FaceTune police — but I think keeping pictures as realistic as possible is really important for kids who see these pictures. They’re so impressionable.”

Credit: Courtesy of Naomie Olindo/Instagram

How Her Dad’s Death Affected Her

The France native, who lost her father to esophageal cancer in December 2019, opened up about her dad’s journey with cancer and how he was able to help her get through the loss before he died.

“He essentially lived for one year [after being diagnosed] before passing away. I remember the morning they called me over … my dad was trying to share the news extremely gently to me,” she started, noting that he underwent chemo and radiation treatments and surgery. “Going back, we wouldn’t have done the surgery. That’s one regret. He was told in August that he was completely cancer-free and [then] he died that December.”

While the end was hard, Olindo remembered how her father did everything he could in anticipation of his death. “He planned everything for me and my mom. He emptied out his own closet. It was really, really difficult,” she recalled. “I feel like he left me with the tools to be able to cope with it in my everyday life.”

Looking back, the entrepreneur is glad she had some hope that he could recover even though he died somewhat suddenly. “The hope that you hang on to in those moments — it’s grueling, you’re essentially living at the hospital — so you need something to hold on to. Hope is super important,” she concluded.