Who is Mikel Simmons? Meet the Charleston native from Southern Hospitality season 1

Southern Hospitality is the spin-off to Bravo’s Southern Charm, where Leva Bonaparte was one of the main cast members. In the new show, she is the boss lady who runs Charleston’s high-end nightclub and handles close-knit staff.

One of the staff members is Mikel Simmons, who works as the VIP host for Leva’s nightclub, Republic Garden & Lounge. He was born and brought up in Charleston in a religious Christian household.

On Southern Hospitality, he is set to bring in some drama, as shown in several previews and trailers for this season. Although he has been working with the company for a long time, Mikel may rub his boss the wrong way. Only time will tell whether he can survive the season.

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Mikel claims to live “two lives”

Mikel Simmons will go through a roller-coaster of emotions in Southern Hospitality. In a preview, he was seen confessing that he had not come out to his family.

Mikel said:

“Imagine living two lives, both living in one body. My family has no idea that I like men.”

The VIP host’s bio also mentioned that he felt he was living a dual life where his church and family were unaware of the fact that he liked men. Mikel has been raised in a conservative Christian household and it would be interesting to see how he would tell his family the truth.

His bio on Bravo’s site reads:

“Charleston native Mikel Simmons/VIP Host has a reputation for bringing the party anywhere he goes. Tormented by his past when he felt as though he was living a double life, Mikel is finally ready to come out to his friends and beloved church community."

It continues,

"Though these conversations won’t be easy, particularly in the South, he sees this as the next step toward finding peace with himself.”

Mikel has always been in Charleston, South Carolina. According to his LinkedIn profile, he went to Wando High School and then took a year-long course at Seacoast School of Worship to earn a "certificate of completion, worship studies." He graduated from Southeastern University in 2019, where he pursued "worship leading, theological, and ministerial studies."

He started his career as an After School Counselor in the Charleston County School District. After working there for over two years, he became the worship leader at Freedom Church. He currently works in the hospitality industry with multiple restaurant owners to bring in celebrities and big parties to Charleston nightclubs.

His LinkedIn profile shows that he is a part-time commission sales associate at Leva’s Republic Garden & Lounge. In a sneak peek video for Southern Hospitality, Leva was seen slamming Mikel for backstabbing her and taking high-class clients to her rival's restaurant.

As Mikel is from Charleston, he knows many of Leva’s friends from Southern Charm. He has several Instagram photos of him and Kathryn Dennis partying together.

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Southern Hospitality season 1 cast members

Season 1 of Southern Hospitality is all set to air its first episode on Monday, November 28, 2022, at 9:00 pm ET on Bravo. Viewers can also watch the episode on Peacock the next day.

The cast members of the new reality TV series include Leva Bonaparte, Mikel Simmons, Grace Lilly, Maddi Reese, Joe Bradley, Lucía Peña, Will Kulp, TJ Dinch, Emmy Sharrett, Bradley Carter, and Mia Alario.

The show will also feature several familiar faces from Southern Charm, including Naomi Olindo, Craig Conover, Patricia Altschul, and Austen Kroll.

Southern Hospitality will air new episodes every Monday on Bravo at 9.00 PM ET.