Credit: Charles Sykes/ Bravo, Instagram
Austen Kroll called out Salley Carson for suggesting the two of them were “hot and heavy” on Wednesday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live.
As he also shared how ex-girlfriend Audrey Pratt reacted to his makeout with Salley, 31, in Mexico, revealed why he gossips about Craig Conover, 36, behind his back, and reacted to Craig keeping his kiss with Charley Manley, 28, a secret, the 38-year-old Southern Charm cast member addressed Craig’s suggestion that he would choose Charley over Paige DeSorbo, 33, and offered an update on their friendship.
“Salley and I are close, and she knows that when we got back from Mexico, it was like, ‘Hey, I’m still newly single, and I need time,’ and it’s still like that. We’re just really good friends to be totally honest … Salley is obviously like, she has done lots of interviews, making it seem like we are actively, like, hot and heavy. It’s not true,” Austen clarified on the March 11 episode of WWHL.
That said, they did share a steamy kiss in Mexico, which Audrey wasn’t thrilled about.
“She wasn’t pleased,” Austen admitted.
After saying that he gossips behind Craig’s back because “gossiping is fun for [his] friends,” Austen explained why he was concerned about whether Salley knew about the kiss Craig and Charley shared.
“I just thought that that’s what friends do. They tell each other when they kiss a boy or a girl,” he stated. “And I thought that that was just, like, a natural thing that would’ve happened. And then I think what I thought was most shocking is that Craig had held this secret and said it was like two or three weeks ago, and I was like, ‘That’s not that big of a secret. It’s just like, a kiss,’ but Charley thought it was a huge deal to be kissing boys on TV or something, so Craig was kind of like, bound to silence, which I thought was crazy town … kissing is not a big deal.”
As for Craig saying he would’ve picked Charley over Paige, Austen suggested it was a good sign.
“I thought it was, like, what a turning point to move past someone from your past and be excited about someone,” he noted.
Regarding the addition of Whitner Slagsvol, 36, to the cast, Austen expressed approval as he shaded Jarrett “JT” Thomas, 40.
“I think it’s fun that Whitner has come on, and it’s very obvious cuz he texts me all the time, he texts us, and he’s trying to get beers, and he’s trying to be part of the group, and it’s refreshing after that little runt [JT] was, like, ruining my life,” he declared.
Also on the live airing, after suggesting Craig was the cast member who let fame go to their head the most and naming Shep as the one with the highest body count, Austen looked back on Craig’s comment that the two of them holding hands was a fun callback to their best memories.
“I will say that it’s very easy to fall back into my friendship with Craig in certain moments. I find it so easy to do so,” he admitted.
Later, while appearing on the WWHL: After Show, Austen set the record straight in regard to his alleged decision to keep his split from Audrey from Craig and Shep.
“There were lots of people who were not privy to it. I told a person or two, and Shep didn’t even ask me, and I was like, ‘I just don’t want to talk about it because I don’t want it to be talked about all the time,'” he explained.
He also fired back at Venita Aspen, 32, who previously said he “told everybody.”
“I’m like, ‘Not true, Venita, because I didn’t tell you. So I don’t understand what you’re talking about,’” he stated.
Southern Charm season 11 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.