Austen Kroll Says Craig Conover ‘Puts on Image’ for His Business

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Credit: Astrid Stawiarz /BRAVO

Season 10 of Southern Charm is here, and it has fans talking. This is especially the case following the revelation that Austen Kroll and Taylor Ann Green had previously shared a kiss, which ruffled quite a few feathers. Now, Austen is opening up about where they stand, his friendship with Shep Rose, and what fans can expect from the rest of season 10.

There has been quite a bit of talk about the kiss between Austen and Taylor. Notably, there was much confusion about the timeline as it happened following the season eight reunion of the show. They are both now dating other people. 

Austen recently sat down for an interview with Decider. Naturally, he had much to say about the show, his various relationships, and dealing with the fallout. 

First, the interviewer asked him how he was feeling about season 10. Austen responded, “Well, Season 10, as you said it, gosh, I don’t know. I’m just secure at this point in time, where I am in the show and where I am in life. You start doing it so much that it becomes second nature.”

When it comes to his new girlfriend, Audrey, Austen says things are going well between them. According to him, “Things are going great with Audrey. She’s actually here in New York. I went to Mexico City, actually, with Rodrigo and his boyfriend, Tyler. Audrey loves them … Audrey and I went out to eat with Paige and Craig one time. But yeah, it’s going well, and that’s a lot of the reason why I’m just so good with where I am in the season, I think. I don’t know. I just feel great.”

The topic of Shep then came up, and the interviewer asked how he was able to mend things after the kiss with Taylor came to light. 

Austen explained, “Gosh. Shep, in the moment, was very, very grateful and happy that I was honest with him when he asked me. We went to a basketball game shortly thereafter, but his range of emotions was [up and down]. I think it was mostly because other people were just chirping at him, like, ‘Why are you angry at Austen?’ Or, ‘Why do you let him get away with this?’”

“And I’m sitting there like, ‘Can you shut up, please?’ So Shep was going through an array of emotions, and then he would drink a little bit too much, and then it would all bubble to the surface, and he would scream at me. It was just very tough to navigate then. And then we filmed the reunion. We took a little break and then it became just very obvious that we wanted to be in each other’s lives, and we kind of went back to normal with hanging out and doing things together,” he added.

He then brought things back to season 10 by saying, “Then we waited until we began to film Season 10 to kind of have this talk about where our friendship was because so much had happened since the reunion, right? We went through a whole friendship. Shep was kind of a mess there for a minute. So then I had to actually put the brakes on our friendship, right? And so then we have a talk, as you see in Episode 1 of Season 10.”

The vision Shep mentioned of Taylor was also brought up, and Austen said he feels it shows the strong feelings Shep still has for their Southern Charm castmate. 

Regarding where he stands with Taylor, Austen said, “Taylor and I spoke after the reunion. We texted each other, right? I mean, gosh, her mother even texted me and was like, ‘Taylor told me that you guys took a beating up there.’ We kind of texted each other just being like, ‘Hey, you know, all as well. You are fine.’ And she said the same to me.”

He continued, “But then she began to date someone, and I began to date someone. I just thought that it was probably for the best that she and I took a little bit of a step back. I’ll always root for Taylor, and it’s always lovely to see her at parties and such, but we didn’t need to be having lunches anymore. We ruffled a lot of feathers with that.”

According to Austen, they both decided that it was best to focus on other things to avoid drama. However, they remained friends despite taking a step back from where they were. 

The topic of Craig Conover being distant also came up during the interview. When asked if he believes Craig is being unfair, Austen said, “On one hand, I kind of admire how he is able to set boundaries more clear and definitive than I am. So, if Shep is doing something wrong, he’s like, ‘I’m not answering. I’m not texting him. We’re not hanging out.’ And I find that very hard to do because I don’t really think that’s the definition of friendship.”

“So, me not talking to Shep for this little time period was very tough for me. But I was like, ‘I need to set a boundary, and I never have, and if I don’t, then Shep will kind of continue his behavior.’ And I wanted him to know that it wasn’t fine. Craig’s just better at doing that. I don’t agree with it all the time and how he does it and how he’s able to be so final. Then you’ll definitely see the way that I think about that as the season progresses,” he added.

They also discussed Paige DeSorbo, who said that he and Shep changed Craig. According to Austen, “That was a dead wrong take. That’s not true at all. While I do think that when you get into a relationship with someone, of course you adapt to that person or pick up traits or qualities. But I don’t think that Craig is an alien because of Paige. So, when she said that, I was like, ‘Okay, that’s a freezing cold take.’”

He added, “It’s not true. Craig is, as you said to me, he puts on the image for his business. His business is his life at the moment. You can’t fault someone for that. But I wish that Craig had a little bit of a balance. I wish that he was able to balance that life with friendships and such.”

Regarding Jarrett ‘JT’ Thomas‘ decision to quit the show, Austen admitted, “Madison called me, and she said, ‘Christmas came early!’ And that’s for certain. Christmas came early. He had no business, in my opinion, being on our show. He was an outsider from day one. He was obsessed with me. I hate to say that because it sounds like a narcissistic thing, but he clearly was.”

Austen explained his disdain for JT by saying, “He was so hyper-focused on me. He said horrible, awful things to and about me, and it was all a projection of his own self. He came in thinking he needed to play a certain role because of things that he had read on the internet, because he had the benefit of nine seasons of a TV show being aired prior to him coming on. ”

He then said that he thinks that JT will show up for the reunion because of all the drama he caused before departing the season. He also said the show would survive just fine without him. 

In the end, he said that this season of Southern Charm is all about the cast growing and evolving. They’re in new relationships, pursuing new businesses, and just navigating the ups and downs of being in a friend group. 

Southern Charm airs on Thursday nights.