Craig Conover claimed BFF Austen Kroll can’t be trusted around someone’s ex — not even one of his former flames — on the recent episode of Southern Charm.
“I know multiple girls that I used to date that he went and slept with after,” Craig, 34, alleged about Austen, 36, while chatting with Shep Rose on the Thursday, September 28, episode. “I found out years later.”
Shep, 43, wasn’t surprised by the claim, noting that he also has multiple exes who allegedly had sex with Austen once they’d parted ways. He then referred to the season 4 drama between himself, Austen and Chelsea Meissner.
“Remember Chelsea? She and I were hanging out and I left for that weekend, and he moved right in,” Shep recalled to Craig, referring to the 2017 moment also when Shep attempted to date Chelsea, 38, only for her to pick Austen and pursue a brief romance with him.
Craig chimed in, claiming that Austen’s “word doesn’t mean much when it comes to, like, hooking up with girls.”
Shep and Craig’s allegations came in response to the guys learning on last week’s episode that Austen had a “sleepover” with Shep’s most-recent ex-girlfriend, Taylor Ann Green, not long after their July 2022 split.
“There’s a history of Austen wanting what I have. Sometimes it feels personal,” Shep told the cameras on Thursday’s episode. “It’s almost like toys in a sandbox. [Austen says], ‘I want the toy you have.’ [And I say], ‘Well there’s three toys,’ [and he replies], ‘No, yours!’”
While the guys continued to ponder whether Austen and Taylor, 28, had hooked up behind everyone’s back, Shep decided to break the news to Olivia Flowers. Olivia, 31, dated Austen in 2022 and confirmed their split in October of that year.
During the episode, Shep told Olivia that there was an “implication” that “something happened” between their mutual exes during the now-famous sleepover. Olivia was taken aback and argued, “Don’t you think that if that were happening, she would be comfortable enough to tell me?”
The conversation left Olivia reeling so she called Taylor and asked to meet up. “Nothing is going on. I will put my hand on a bible. Nothing is going on,” Taylor swore to Olivia when asked about the sleepover.
Taylor, however, did confess to entertaining the idea of becoming Austen’s girlfriend — something she had only told her family.
“When we were both not in good places … we created such a bond in the midst of that vulnerability and absolute brokenness,” Taylor recalled, referring to her and Austen’s 2022 breakups. “And the two of us being pushed together because of our situation, I was like, ‘Austen, is this something we explore?’ I was the one that said it. ‘Is this something we were meant to explore?’”
She explained that Austen didn’t initially have an answer but after speaking with her own brother, Taylor realized “maybe I’m just lost in emotions.” Austen “100 percent” agreed with that assessment and Taylor claimed that’s where it ended.
“Don’t you think that having the conversations about whether or not you want to be together is something to want to talk about?” Olivia fired back, clearly hurt by what transpired.
Although Taylor insisted everything happened “within a 24-hour period” during “a moment of weakness,” Olivia couldn’t get over the fact that they both spoke with their families about a possible romance.
“Did anything happen that made you go from, ‘He’s my brother to like talking to your family about possibly dating him?’” Olivia asked. “Did anything happen? Drunken kiss? Or Hookup?”
Taylor vowed that they “never hooked up. Never anything.” Olivia thanked her one-time best friend for coming clean and noted it was a “bummer” that Taylor appeared to value her relationship with Austen over their friendship. While the girls left on cordial terms, the cameras caught Olivia crying in her car as the reality sunk in.
While the cast was filming season 9 of Southern Charm early this year, news broke that Austen and Olivia had hooked up following their respective splits. In the trailer for the new season, which dropped in August, Austen hinted that “something happened” between them while Taylor denied any hookup.
Southern Charm airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
