CLOSING TIME

Mattie Breaux swears she’s different on this season of CMT’s wildly popular reality show “Party Down South.” She’s trading in her fighter mentality for a more zenlike lifestyle, but fans of the series, which the network has announced will be the last, need not worry She still knows how to party like a champ.

In the season premiere, which aired Jan. 28, it’s evident the old version of Breaux is still there, perhaps just a bit more manicured. It doesn’t take long after she arrives at the group’s home in Savannah, Georgia for audiences to see a glimmer of her familiar outspoken personality as she picks a fight the first night with the often-inebriated, southern ladies’ man Ryan “Daddy” Richards.

In fact, her brazen behavior has become such a unique trait on the show, she’s earned herself an alter ego named Martha who has come out to play more times than she likes to admit. She told The Times the day before the premiere she is working to make Martha a woman of the past, but if the first episode is any indication of what’s to come this season, it’s a little tough to think she won’t make an appearance at least once during the getaway.

“Calling Mattie Martha is pretty much like pushing the plunger on a dynamite pack,” fellow castmate Josh Murray said in response to Daddy’s decision to use the nickname the first night in the house. “You know it’s about to go off.”

It’s a name she loves to hate, a badge of honor that is indicative of her journey on the show, which premiered in 2014 as a countrified answer to hits like “Jersey Shore.”

Despite previous vacations in Murrells Inlet, S.C., Athens, Ga., Biloxi, Miss., and St. Petersburg, Fla., Breaux said this last vacation has been by far her favorite simply because it was the one that didn’t center on her causing all the drama.

“The last few, I partied hard and most of the nights, I won’t lie, I don’t remember,” she said, chuckling. “As far as Savannah, I really wanted to embark on the journey with my family, live it and remember it. You never know when this ends and going in, we never know if it’s going to be the last season. I really just went out, stayed in the gym… I kind of met a boy who wanted to hang out with me and then I wasn’t the one going crazy all the time, so I got to sit back and watch my family be just as crazy as I used to be, which is pretty fun.”

Over the course of the 11-episode season, which airs every Thursday at 8 p.m., the gang enjoys generous libations from the now-iconic spray painted beer fridge and also ventures outside the house to take in the sights and sounds during a NASCAR race in South Carolina, wreaking a little havoc as they go.

Although not every moment has been her proudest, it has brought Breaux to the more positive headspace she said she’s in today. Although she has no real regrets about her behavior on the show, she does admit to cringing a Little looking back on some of the more notable fights between the group.

“It’s kind of embarrassing when you see things and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, why would you throw a plate?’ she said. “But I don’t regret it… All those little things were just experiences of how I can be better. I got to go and travel the South and party with some of the seven best roommates anyone could ever live with and I got to grow from it. I’m thankful for all of that. No regrets at all.”

Although there has been some backlash to the partying since the beginning, specifically from some living in the areas shown that feel the show didn’t accurately portray their towns, Breaux said the negativity hasn’t gotten her down. The support she has received from her family has not only made her stronger, but a much more confident person because she has learned to accept her attributes and flaws.

“My family has been my Number One supporter. I mean, at first, it definitely had its ups and downs because of course, some of the things I’ve done haven’t been like, ‘Oh, you’re the A-list daughter,”‘ she explained. “They were proud of me though because I was never not who I am. I wasn’t fake. What you see on TV is what you get with me… I really opened my life to everyone at CMT and gave them 100 percent of me and who I am.

Yeah, I’ve got my flaws and love myself no matter how Martha I might be. Whenever everyone else does give me some negativity, my family’s right there picking me up which is awesome.”

Since wrapping up filming, Breaux, who lives in New Orleans but still frequents the bayou area, said she’s been exploring future endeavors. In addition to focusing heavily on getting into shape, she wants to try out acting classes and get back into modeling, a passion she’s pursued off and on since the age of 15.

And just because the show is coming to an end doesn’t mean the Party Down South gang has disbanded. The eight-person team talks “sometimes too much,” Breaux joked, and makes trips across state and parish lines – four other castmates hail from Louisiana as well – to keep in touch.

Breaux admitted she never expected the show to be so popular, much less the highest rated series to ever grace CMT’s airwaves. However, she believes the authenticity each person brings to the table is what makes the show work and something so many gravitated toward.

“We’re relatable. People have friends like us, people think like us or act like us and I think that’s what really worked with us,” she explained. “You don’t have people like us with the southern hospitality or that will give you the shirt off their back everywhere. In traveling around the world, I’ve taken this place for granted. In the South, we have great food and great people in your community. You might fight each other but that’s also the same person that will have your back if anything else happens. You don’t see that a lot of other places.”

A picture of me and my wife.

HOW DO YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU?

Likable, funny and good on my word.

I WISH I COULD BETTER.

I wish I could play golf better.

WHAT’S ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

Become proficient at speaking German.

DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM JOB.

My ideal job allows me to utilize my creativity and have the freedom to come and go as I please.

WHAT WAS YOUR BEST GIFT EVER?

As a kid, I was pretty excited about getting a Nintendo, and I will admit that gifts have become increasingly practical with age.

5 FAVORITE SONGS OF ALL TIME?

“Dream On” by Aerosmith; “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin; “Piano Man,” Billy Joel; “Hey Jude,” The Beatles and “You Shook Me All Night Long,” AC/DC.

IF YOU COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY?

Nothing. Life is full of mistakes and triumphs and I accept both.

Gheens native Mattie Breaux (second from left) joins roommates Lyle Boudreaux, Josh Murray, Lauren White, Walt Windham, Tiffany Heinen, Ryan Richards and Hannah Guidry for the final season of CMT’s “Party Down South.” The fifth season of the highest-ated series in the network’s history follows the cast’s antics while living in Savannah, Georgia.

COURTESY | ANDY BATTCLOSING TIME