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Salley Carson revealed she’s a big fan of sliding into people’s DMs — but her latest social media activity with Cooper DeJean might get her into trouble with Nikki Garcia.
“I’m definitely talking to people. I’m just not seriously dating,” Carson, 31, said in Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek at her appearance on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, which airs in its entirety on Tuesday, February 17, at 12 a.m. PT.
The Southern Charm star teased, “I slide in the DMs,” telling podcast host Amanda Hirsch that she’s not on any dating apps.
“I just slid into Cooper DeJean’s [DMs],” Carson confessed, explaining that he’s a “football player for the Eagles” and a “little 22-year-old.”
Salley Carson, Cooper DeJean, Nikki Garcia. Bravo; Getty Images (2)
Carson quickly pointed out that DeJean is “dating, or not dating, casually seeing a 43-year-old right now,” referring to Garcia, 42, who was romantically linked to the NFL player in the fall of 2025.
“I sent him the article and was like, ‘Are you dating her?’” Carson recalled, adding that sending DeJean a story about his rumored relationship with Garcia wasn’t her first “slide.”
The Bravo star said it all started by “liking” each other’s social media pictures.
“I have his number. I think he’s so cute. He’s going to kill me,” Carson said, turning red.
Southern Charm’s Salley Carson is setting the record straight after Taylor Ann Green reignited their feud with claims she was a homewrecker. “Wild how strangers can confidently state ‘facts’ about situations they’ve never been in and people they don’t actually know,” Salley, 30, wrote via her Instagram Story on Monday, December 1, denying claims she […]
When asked more about their online flirting, Carson changed her story a little, saying that she might have messaged him after “liking” a post about DeJean and Garcia “possibly dating.”
“Then I went to his page [and thought], ‘Oh, he’s super cute,’” she recalled. “I was like, ‘Maybe he’s into older women if he’s dating her.’ Then I liked his photo and he liked three of mine. Then I DM’d him. Then he DM’d me back.”
The former Bachelor contestant revealed, “He DM’d me back pretty quickly” and she was “shocked when he replied back” because he has such a big social media following. (DeJean has 1.1 million followers on Instagram.)
While Carson and DeJean have not connected in real life, she shared, “I told him ‘happy birthday’ like two days ago,” noting they are still in contact.
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“I would love to meet him if he’s not dating her,” she added. “There’s all these articles that they are dating but he in all of his interviews is [saying] no.”
Carson then got a little worried about her honesty, confessing, “Now I’m scared because that girl is going to beat my ass if they are dating.”
Hirsch, 37, reassured Carson that “it’s fake beating ass” in the WWE, so she should be safe.
“OK, she can throw me around,” Carson said with a laugh.
Garcia sparked romance speculation with DeJean in late 2025 after she attended an Eagles game in December and posed next to the defensive back’s locker.
“So blessed for the people around me, new friends and old, who make life so special and fun 🤍✨🙏🏼,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “Thank you Big Dom @daveophilly @nickyryan @philadelphiaflyers & @livecasinophl for spoiling me and my crew this weekend!”
Cooper DeJean. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Garcia, who is a longtime Eagles fan, concluded: “Fly Eagles Fly! Truly THE city of brotherly love! 💚🦅.”
Later that month, Garcia added fuel to the fire by posting a throwback video of herself at one of the team’s games ahead of the Eagles matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
“Walking into Sunday like…. 🦅🔥,” she captioned an Instagram video showing Garcia in DeJean’s jersey and Eagles sweatpants. “‘Been there, WON that.’ 🙌🏼 #FlyEaglesFly.”
Nikki Garcia. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
A source exclusively told Us in January that Garcia had “gone to a couple games” in support of the Eagles and that she and DeJean “have hung out.”
Garcia — who finalized her divorce from Artem Chigvintsev in 2024 — is “having fun and enjoying being single,” the insider added, noting that when she “isn’t on the road she is at home with her son,” Matteo, 5, whom she shares with Chigvintsev, 43.
One month later, Garcia seemingly confirmed her and DeJean’s relationship during a Raw event in Philadelphia on February 2.
Southern Charm star Salley Carson had quite the moment with one of the The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys cast members at BravoCon 2025. “The McBee boys are here. That was a weird run-in,” Salley, 30, told Us Weekly exclusively on Saturday, November 15. “It was just a little awkward.” Bravo fans know that Salley […]
After Nikki and her twin sister, Brie Garcia, took the stage at the Xfinity Mobile Arena to what she thought was boos, Brie explained, “I actually think they’re saying Coop.”
Nikki was visibly flustered before replying, “Can you blame a girl for having good taste? I mean, Pro Bowl, baby.”
DeJean, for his part, responded to Nikki’s shout-out two days later, telling People, “It was crazy to kind of see that.”
The NFL star blushed and grinned before adding, “I don’t know. I didn’t really expect that. Obviously, it was in Philly, so …”
Salley Carson. Courtesy of Salley Carson/Instagram
While DeJean might be taken, Carson has been keeping herself busy on Southern Charm, striking out with costar Craig Conover during season 11 before setting her sights on Austen Kroll.
During the Wednesday, February 11, episode of the series, Carson learned that Kroll, 38, was newly single and told her costars that she want Kroll’s “f***ing d**k.”
When asked on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast if she was making a “smart decision” with Kroll, Carson replied, “I think I’m making a smart decision by keeping it as friends. He really does, he helps my mental status.”
Listen to Carson’s full interview on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast when it goes live on Tuesday, February 17, at midnight PT. Watch Southern Charm on Bravo Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
