Shep Rose broke his silence about Austen Kroll’s close connection with his ex-girlfriend Taylor Ann Green — and he’s not happy about their “sleepover.”
“I’m pretty evolved, man, but I think it would be really f—ked up if Austen slept with her,” Shep, 43, confessed during the Thursday, September 21, episode of Southern Charm. “Austen, f—king Austen.”
Minutes earlier, season 9 newcomer Jarrett “JT” Thomas dropped a bombshell on Shep and pal Craig Conover when he revealed that Austen, 36, recently had a “sleepover” with Shep’s ex Taylor, 28. (Us Weekly confirmed in July 2022 that Shep and Taylor called it quits after two years.)
“I was downstairs. I thought that she left. Come to find out, she was in the guest room,” Austen explained to the group about the drama, which took place in earlier this year. “I woke up the next day and she walks into my room, like, ‘Hey!’ I was like, ‘Ah, I didn’t know you f—king were here.’ She was like, ‘Yeah, I got drunk.’”
JT noted that Austen and Taylor’s relationship is “a little gray” and “murky,” to which Shep agreed, saying, “I do feel that way. But I don’t have a claim over anybody.”
However, Austen insisted that he feels like “a protective brother” when it comes to Taylor. “There are friends in my life where I could share a bed with, and things don’t happen. And I kind of feel that way about Taylor,” he said.
While Austen denied — on multiple occasions — that he never kissed Taylor, Craig, 34, wasn’t convinced. “He looked down and to the left when he said that,” Craig told Shep at the bar, before explaining to the cameras, “You only have to watch a handful of spy movies to know if you look down and to the left that means you’re lying.”
Shep initially said he “believed” Austen’s claims that he never crossed the line with Taylor, but after the boys arrived at a second bar, he changed his tune. “I didn’t know about [her] spend[ing] the night. Yeah, it does [bother me],” Shep told Craig.
Although Shep admitted that it’s Taylor’s “choice” who she dates and spends time with, he called out Austen for not telling him about the sleepover. “If something would have transpired then I would have had a conversation with you,” Austen claimed.
Shep questioned, “But a one-night stand you wouldn’t have said s—t?” to which Austen replied, “At that point to say something to someone is hurtful. But that’s not what happened.”
As the night progressed, Shep confided in Craig about how much it bothered him that Austen was getting closer to Taylor. “I go 50/50 on if something’s happened between them,” Shep confessed. “I would not be surprised if they both looked at each other [and say], ‘Let’s just go for it and no one will ever know.’ I think it’s f—ked up.”
Austen and Taylor’s rumored hookup first made headlines in March. When the season 9 trailer dropped in August, Austen hinted that “something happened” with Taylor, but she claimed in the clip that she “never” had sex with him.
The alleged hookup — and whether it was more than a kiss — will continue to play out on season 9.
Southern Charm airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
