Devin Grissom, a University of Alabama junior and the bachelorette from season one of Country Music Television’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” escaped from Tuscaloosa in February to film a new reality TV show in Savannah, Ga.
The show, “Southern Nights,” features five girls and five guys as they experience the nightlife, haunted houses and beaches around the historic city. While many people are calling the show a southern “Jersey Shore,” Grissom said the producers pitched the show as more of a “Real World”-type show.
“It looks exactly like ‘Jersey Shore,’ the difference is that the girls are really classy,” she said. “They really just set us loose … Part of it seems scripted, but it was seriously real.”
Although the group does venture into the Savannah night scene, drink and live together in a coed mansion, Grissom said she and a few of the other girls knew they didn’t have to be wild and dramatic just because they were on reality television.
“We demonstrated that you can be fun and classy at the same time,” she said. “I really hope that comes across.”
Grissom’s roommates in the Phi Mu sorority house, Meghan Moore and Brittany Covington, feel confident that their friend will remain true to herself and put together, even in the world of reality television.
“She always portrays herself well — she’s the good girl on the show,” Moore said.
While the “Southern Nights” cast is composed of contestants from the previous three seasons of “Sweet Home Alabama,” Grissom notes that four out of the five guys are from her season.
“They all came up to me and wanted reasons for why I sent them home,” Grissom said. “It was really awkward.”
According to Grissom, filming “Southern Nights” was a lot more enjoyable for her than “Sweet Home Alabama” because there were no dates involved this time. However, she explained that a guy from her season, Collin Varallo, confessed his love for her several times once they were reunited on the show. At first, she said she wasn’t interested but says it developed into a “bit of a thing” as they lived together while filming.
“Now that the trailers are coming out, he looks like a huge player,” Grissom said. “He was doing stuff behind my back.”
For now, Grissom said she is not dating anyone.
While the show did present Grissom with the challenge of balancing social fun and her online schoolwork, the experience has opened plenty of doors, such as the opportunity to shadow Erin Andrews.
“I never thought I wanted to do anything on camera at all, but ever since ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ I’ve had a lot of doors open for on-camera stuff,” Grissom said.
While Moore and Covington both said they haven’t quite gotten used to seeing their friend on the television screen, they are happy for her.
“It’s been great seeing her do this,” Covington said. “We know it will advance her career.”
Grissom said going into the show she was worried about how wild the show might be because she understands reputation is key in the broadcasting business.
“I was myself the entire time, like, I never did anything wild or crazy,” Grissom said. “I don’t think I need to be worried.”
