Austen Kroll and Taylor Ann Green “ruffled a lot of feathers” when they admitted to their secret kiss in Southern Charm Season 9. That’s why Kroll decided it would be “for the best” that they take a “step back” from one another as they each entered new relationships.
“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,” Kroll told DECIDER when he stopped by our studio ahead of the Southern Charm Season 10 premiere. “We both were like, ‘Maybe we should focus on other things, but just know that I’m here if you ever want to talk.’”
The duo caused quite a stir last year with their secret tryst. Kroll, who is good friends with Green’s ex-boyfriend Shep Rose, also happened to be the former situationship of Green’s then-best friend Olivia Flowers, who exited the show ahead of Season 10. While Rose seemed “grateful” Kroll was honest about their smooch, he did go through an “array of emotions,” which is partly why they decided to take “a little break” after filming the Season 9 reunion.
But, like all true friendships, Rose and Kroll eventually made their way back to one another. “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,” Kroll, who has been on Southern Charm since Season 4, said, noting that it became “very obvious that we wanted to be in each other’s lives.”
The reality star also dished on his feud with JT Thomas, his new girlfriend, and what’s next for Trop Hop Beers. Check out our full interview below.
DECIDER: You joined Southern Charm in Season 4 and we’re now on Season 10. How are you feeling about entering this season compared to previous seasons?
TAYLOR ANN GREEN: Well, Season 10, as you said it, gosh, I don’t know. I’m just secure at this point in time of where I am in the show and where I am in life. You start doing it so much that it becomes second nature. So in seasons past, maybe I’m like, “Okay, okay. What’s the direction? Where are we going here?” And this season was more like, “I know what I have going on, so I’m good, and let’s go with the flow then.”
It seems like JT’s f-boy exorcism at the reunion last year worked because you have a new girlfriend, Audrey. How are things going with her? Have you gotten to go on any double dates with any of your co-stars?
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.
I’m so happy to hear that. How did you prepare Audrey for the world of reality TV? How is she feeling now that Season 10 is about to start airing?
That is a good question, right? Because she hasn’t shown any signs of being nervous. Something dropped. I think that when the trailer dropped, she texted me. She was like, “Did something just happen because I’m getting all sorts of requests?” She’s private, which is probably smart. And, I mean, she hasn’t said anything about it. So either she’s playing really well that she’s not concerned or she’s just not showing it to me.
Has she watched previous seasons?
She knows and she’s seen episodes and stuff. But from what she’s told me, she’s not a watcher.
That’s good!
Yes, I think so, too.
I want to get into the Shep stuff. After the Taylor incident came to light last season, how did you repair your friendship with Shep over the next few months? Did his forgiveness come easy or did you have to work for it?
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 service, 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. 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.
On a lighter note, what was going through your mind when Shep told you about his bizarre vision of Taylor?
What was going through my mind? Well, wait, he said that Taylor was like a bird and kept on running into the window repeatedly?
Yeah, he said that he was nesting her, she was running into the window.
I think it just really shows the way that Shep views Taylor. I think he kind of views her as a helpless little bird who can’t get out of her own way or get out of the window. I don’t know. But it also just shows to me that Shep still has, or had then, very strong feelings regarding Taylor.
Where do you and Taylor stand now? And what do you think of her new boyfriend, Gaston?
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. But then she began to date someone and I began to date someone. I just thought that it was probably for the best that her 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. And we both were like, “Maybe we should focus on other things, but just know that I’m here if you ever want to talk.” So we took a little step back and began to focus more on our own lives, or on my own life.
And that’s probably for the best, considering you’re both in separate relationships.
It was probably for the best, yes. I decided it was probably a good move.
One of this season’s new cast members, Salley Carson, has a bit of history with Taylor’s boyfriend, Gaston, which clearly puts her at odds with Taylor. Did you try to help Taylor navigate that dynamic or did you steer clear?
I have nothing to do with any of this. Maybe in the past, I would’ve jumped in to offer some sort of opinion. But I was just like, “Stay in your lane. This is not your business.” So I did not stick my nose in that situation.
I also want to talk about Craig a little bit. Would you say he’s being unfair to you and Shep by distancing himself to maintain the image of his business?
[Sighs] Craig. 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 because he’s like, ‘Oh, it’s fine.’” 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.
Paige said in the trailer that you and Shep think that she’s changed Craig. Do you agree with that at all?
Yeah, when I saw that, I was like, “You are dead wrong, Paige.” 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.” 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.
You and JT didn’t end well last season. What was your reaction to his decision to resign from the show so soon? And what do you think led to that decision?
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. 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. So he was like, “Okay, man. Austen is this, and Shep is this, so I’m going to portray a gentleman.” And it’s like, “What is this, cosplay?” So I know that at the reunion, I said to him, “I can’t wait for everyone to find out exactly who you are.” And so, I was glad he actually came back, because now, everyone gets a chance to.
Madison seems to think JT will still come to the reunion. Do you agree with her? Would you want him to show up?
There are lots of things. Let’s say that I do think that he will … I don’t care. One way or another, I think our show will survive.
I think so. Speaking of Madison, you guys have such a fun friendship. Are we going to see more of that this season?
Definitely. Madison and I are able to meet up now for drinks and such and laugh and gossip. It’s almost like maybe we should’ve been this way the whole time. But maybe we had to go through what we went through to get to this point. Because we dated so long and there was a genuine love there, we do have a deeper sense of each other. I don’t want to say anything to be inappropriate towards her new husband. But we know each other, so we’re able to meet up and have some sort of empathy for one another. We just make each other laugh a lot, so it definitely is nice to have that sort of relationship. I think it’s something completely different than fans have seen in the past. All I can say is I hope they show the funny stuff because there’s a scene or two where I’m crying laughing because we’re just roasting ourselves. It’s nice. It’s a different dynamic, finally, that I think the fans will actually appreciate seeing here rather than us arguing.
I hope that they share that because you guys are so much fun. There’s so much talk about Loverboy and Spritz Society, but I want to talk about Trop Hop! What updates can you share?
Thank you for asking. Trop Hop … so there are three things that I’m going to say without trying to bore people. One is that I have a new flavor that I just launched. It’s a peach-flavored wheat beer. I thought that fans could use something a little lighter than an IPA. So a peach-flavored wheat beer, and you can order those beers online for the first time in the company’s history, which is a huge thing for me. I always was like, “Man, if I can send my beer like Craig can send his pillows, what a game changer?” I haven’t been able to. So you can order my beer online. You should to watch it with Southern Charm. And then the last thing I want to say is that the path forward for Trop Hop, I think, is to do what Craig did, to open up a brick and mortar kind of tasting room so that people can come in, physically sit down, and drink beers. And I really, really want that to be the future of my company. That is where I would really like to head, and we’ll see if 2025 holds that for me.
That would be really cool. Is there anything else you can tease about the rest of this season?
Definitely. I’m going to go on a two-minute ramble. So, Season 10, we’re all growing. I’ve done so many interviews with Craig, I know these facts that I’m about to say. Craig began filming when he was 24. He’s 36 now. I began to film when I was 29. I’m 37 now. We’re growing, and when you grow, things change — friendships. Craig has been dating someone seriously, and I’m beginning to date someone. Shep is, I think, beginning to realize that he liked dating someone, and he liked having someone — Taylor. So he’s maybe exploring that option as well. And then when that happens, we’re all trying to figure out how we all can continue to fit into each other’s lives as we grow in business and grow in our relationships.
That is what is showcased here, us just growing and evolving and seeing how we fit and maybe don’t fit. And as with any good story in any good season, there are arcs. You want to watch the whole way through so that you see because especially with Craig and I as a teaser, there is an arc and a crescendo that I think the audience will really, really appreciate.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Southern Charm airs on Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
