Party Down South

Joshua Tharpe -- a guest star on "Party Down South" -- has died ... TMZ confirms.

His brother, Billy, tells us ... Josh was found dead Monday by his mother on the kitchen floor of his home in Baton Rouge, LA. Billy says Josh's death comes as a surprise, as everything seemed fine just a day or so prior.

We're told Josh had gone to church with his mother on Sunday and then hung out at her house afterward. Later that day, he swung by a friend's place where he had plans to spend the night -- but had to stop by at his own place first to grab some clothes ... and Billy says he never returned.

The friend grew concerned when she didn't hear from him the next day, and contacted his mom ... who went to his house where she found him collapsed. Billy says the coroner has notified them that Josh died as a result of a heart attack. Apparently, he'd experienced something similar a year prior, but much more mild and he'd recovered.

Joshua wasn't a full-time cast member on the CMT reality show, but he was featured in multiple episodes.

He was just 42.

The party's over for Mattie Breaux ... she's doing time behind bars, because the third time is NOT a charm when you're talking DUIs.

The "Party Down South" star pled guilty to misdemeanor DUI and will serve 7 days at Davidson County Jail. According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge hit Mattie with nearly a year behind bars, but suspended all but 7 days of her sentence.

Karla West, chief of staff at the Davidson County Sheriff's Office, tells TMZ ... Mattie will serve her jail time on weekends until she finishes her sentence. We're told it's normal procedure for similar DUI cases.

Once she's served 7 days behind bars, Mattie -- who's also been on MTV's "Floribama Shore" and "The Challenge" -- will be on supervised probation for close to a year, and will also lose her driver's license for a year. Third time for that too.

Mattie was arrested in August 2019 after a solo crash in Nashville. Cops say she told them she'd taken Hydrocodone and chugged 2 beers before getting behind the wheel.

Cops also say they smelled a strong odor of booze and that her speech was slurred. While getting treated at a hospital, she told cops she had 2 previous DUIs in Louisiana.

Pretty crappy trifecta to score.

Taylor "Lil Bit" Wright is in a little bit of legal and family trouble after getting arrested for clocking her mother-in-law ... TMZ has learned.

The former "Party Down South" star was pretty smiley in the mug shot snapped after Lincoln County Sheriff's deputies hauled her in Monday in North Carolina. Cops tell us she was busted at her home on a warrant issued in Virginia ... and related to an alleged family dust-up back in June.

Law enforcement sources say Taylor allegedly punched her mother-in-law in the eye during an argument that actually started with her husband, Jake Mapp. He told police he'd gone to his parents' house to cool down, but Taylor followed him and ended up punching his mother.

We're told Jake's mom didn't press charges at the time, but she must have been stewing over the incident. Last week she went to police, filed a report and the warrant was issued.

Taylor "Lil Bit" Wright is worried someone's going to break into her house before she heals from childbirth -- and that's why she keeps a loaded weapon handy ... even next to her newborn.

The ex "Party Down South" star came on TMZ Live to respond to the critics who've been blasting her about the pic of her handgun on a nightstand, right next to her one-month old and baby daddy, Dalton Elliott.

To say Lil Bit is a proud gun-toting mama would be a huge understatement. Check out this clip -- she explains she's still recovering from a c-section ... so she wants to be armed and ready. As she puts it ... "Someone breaks in, I'm killin' 'em."

Former "Party Down South" star Taylor "Lil Bit" Wright is hollerin' like a stuck pig about all the haters who think she's crazy for keeping a gun near her newborn.

Backlash erupted after Wright posted a pic of her BF and baby daddy tending to their month-old baby ... with a semi-automatic handgun sitting on the nightstand next to them.

Lil Bit thinks the only real danger is having the gun locked away. She reminded us about her 2nd Amendment rights, and added, "By God I will unload on somebody if they break in and try to hurt me or my family."

Wright promises she keeps her firearm in "safety mode" ... so in her mind, it's all good. However, North Carolina law says it's a misdemeanor to leave a gun any place an unsupervised minor could reach it. It's debatable whether that applies to a one-month-old.

Lil Bit promises she'll hide the gun once the kid gets older ... but for now, she's not worried about him messin' with it.

"Party Down South" star Lyle Boudreaux must think Mardi Gras means, "please arrest me officer" -- because he just got busted for the 2nd consecutive year in Louisiana ... this time for boozing and driving.

Cops in Lafayette, LA confirm they pulled over Lyle Sunday night when he made a turn without signaling. Police noticed a smell of alcohol, and when the 29-year-old refused to take a breathalyzer test ... officers cuffed him and took him in for alleged drunk driving.

Bonus round -- for cops, not Lyle -- while checking him into jail ... cops say they found marijuana, and also booked him for possession. He was eventually released on $4,000 bond.

Lyle got a jump on his Mardi Gras celebration this year ... it officially starts next weekend. A year ago he got busted for burglary during a Mardi Gras celebration.

Taylor "Lil' Bit" Wright -- who quit the TV show "Party Down South" -- is rubbing her old bosses the wrong way ... with a line of body lotions that capitalizes on her reality show persona.

Wright's been on social media lately promoting a brand of moisturizer and suntan lotion called "Lil' Bit Country" ... but TMZ has learned the network honchos at Viacom (CMT's parent co.) sent her a cease and desist letter demanding she stop using her nickname to promote the skin care products.