Taylor Ann Green is in her healing era. Now on her third season as a full-time cast member on Bravo’s Southern Charm, Green is blocking out the haters as she focuses on her family, her relationship with Gaston Rojas, and her new athleisure brand Reset Athletic.
The reality star first joined Southern Charm as Shep Rose‘s girlfriend, though they broke up in 2022 after two years of dating. Green returned to the show for Season 9, during which she was outed for kissing Rose’s best pal (and her then-good friend Olivia Flowers‘ ex-situationship) Austen Kroll, putting her at odds with much of the group even after multiple apologies.
While the two women seemed like they would never be friends again after the Season 9 reunion, Green revealed on Watch What Happens Live that Flowers had reached out to her when she started filming Season 10.
“I hate that the viewers don’t get to see that reconciliation,” she exclusively told DECIDER over a Zoom interview, adding that she was “really upset” when Flowers didn’t come back to the show this season. “That was really the whole reason why I wanted to come back — so that we could have reconciliation not just for the viewer to see, but for myself and for herself.”
Instead, Green has spent much of Season 10 fighting off rumors about her new beau, who shares some history with newbie Salley Carson. Despite having her taste in men repeatedly questioned by Rose, Green joined Southern Charm fans in supporting a potential romance between tubist extraordinaire Molly O’Connell and her ex-boyfriend.
“I encouraged it. I love Molly. I think that she is an absolute catch,” she said. “I kind of shipped it as well. But looking back, I was like, ‘Why would I do that to Molly? She’s such a catch!’”
DECIDER caught up with Green over Zoom, where she cleared up some rumors about her relationship, revealed who she’d like to see Craig Conover date next, and offered some insight into her five-year plan. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: I’m really loving Season 10 so far — and I love seeing you in a happy and loving relationship. Were you happy to have Gaston to lean on as you filmed this season?
TAYLOR ANN GREEN: Yes. Making the decision to come back was a really tough one. But I definitely didn’t want to leave on the note that I had left on last season. Cultivating this safe haven that I’ve created for myself with my family, my friends, and my relationship was a huge reason why I felt strong enough to make a return. And so having him be right by my side and help me talk through things and be encouraging was definitely a two thumbs up. I think much needed.
I know Gaston didn’t film much with the whole group, but now that he’s seeing what’s being said about him, does he wish he could’ve been there to defend himself more?
No. I mean, he made the decision to not film. He has a job. He’s got a really good job that he is not trying to risk at all. But he doesn’t know anybody in the group and vice versa. They don’t know him. He has met maybe a couple of people in passing. More recently, he has met people. We went to dinner with Leva, Venita, Molly and Rod and Tyler. He knows Rod, so that’s like the only person that he feels comfortable being around. But I think seeing what people are saying, it’s more of just an eye roll for him. He’s going, “I’m glad that I’ve made a decision to not be around these people because they’re all a little kooky.”
One thing I find so ironic is how often Shep questions your taste in men. First we saw it with Gaston and then we saw it with Andrew. Does it surprise you to see how uncomfortable he gets whenever he’s reminded that he’s not the only guy you’ve dated?
I don’t think he has any room to speak about anything when it comes to relationship-wise, like anybody, and especially me. So I’m just kind of like, “Keep your mouth shut, dude. Just do yourself and do everybody a favor here and keep your mouth shut because you’re not doing yourself any good with trying to make sense of who I’m dating or who I’ve dated in the past or anything like that.”
What do you think about Molly saying she might have a thing for Shep in tonight’s episode? And what do you think about fans shipping them?
You’ll kind of see it unfold a little bit, but I encouraged it. I love Molly. I think that she is an absolute catch. She’s just fun and quirky and they share a lot of similar interests just being a little bit more different, I guess you could say. So I kind of shipped it as well. But looking back, I was like, “Why would I do that to Molly? She’s such a catch!” But I think I was more so in that moment, I was just like, “If you will leave me alone and stop talking about me and my relationship, please, just someone keep him entertained because I’m tired of it.”
Anything to distract him! Some fans have been critical of you leaving group outings early when things get tense. What’s your response to those critics? Do you ever wish you had stayed longer?
I do wish that I had stayed longer because watching what was said after I leave or watching what’s been said when I’m not there, I would have been able to shed some more light or truth to what the conversation was. So I do wish that I had stayed. But at the same time, again, going back to just protecting my little safe haven. Being in therapy and coming from people who have encouraged me to walk away because normally I wouldn’t walk away, I’m like, “I’m going to walk away because I have to protect myself. I have to protect the safe space that I’ve created.”
We see you wanting to make amends with the girls after last season. Do you ever feel like people were way harder on you than Austen? Because I feel like he got a free pass and it takes two to tango!
I appreciate you saying that. All my close friends and my family and the people who have known me from childhood, they’re going, “Taylor, you made a mistake. You’re not a repeat offender. This is not who you are. I’ve known you since we were in pre-K together.” I had friends who stopped watching because they’re like, “This isn’t you.” And so they’re also saying, “The punishment doesn’t fit the crime.” And it was really, really tough. And I think people need to be reminded that we are human. We make mistakes. But I’m not repeating these mistakes. I’m not you know, I’m not going to ever do that again. I wronged someone and I was very, very remorseful for it. But yeah, I agree with you. I think the reason why people kind of allowed Austin to get a pass is I think Olivia just being more open to forgiving him and being seen on vacation with him after we were done filming. They like still kind of had some sort of friendship. And so that’s where I was like, “Well, I think I didn’t get the pass there.”
I was so surprised to see them hanging out afterward.
Austen can get away with murder, honestly.
I want to get into the Salley of it all. She said a lot about Gaston and her history with him — especially in the last episode. Is there anything you’d like to clear up about anything she said?
Yeah. There is something where she thought that there was crossover between me and her and that was shocking. But there’s a lot of things that she says that I’m just like — the things that come out of her mouth aren’t shocking to me anymore. There was never any crossover. I started dating Gaston in September and they had stopped seeing, talking to, and had zero communication back in July. So yeah, I don’t know where that came about. There was never any crossover. And yeah, I mean, I don’t understand why he’s such a topic of conversation when she’s happily in a new relationship. That should be your primary goal and talking about and you’re happy. Why are you talking about something from the past?
I have to ask about Andrew, because he first appeared on Southern Hospitality Season 1 and caused a lot of drama with Grace Lilly. And he was also on FBoy Island. Were you surprised to see him popping up on Southern Charm with Salley?
No, not at all. I know Andrew and we never dated. Don’t throw me under the bus like that. I did not date Andrew. We went on one dinner date and I babysat one glass of wine the entire time. That tells you how the date went. So, I mean, no, it doesn’t surprise me at all seeing him pop up. There’s a few people in Charleston who are clearly just fame hungry. And I think he might be one of those people. They make a great match.
On Watch What Happens Live, you said that Olivia Flowers reached out to you when filming for Season 10 started. Do you think you two will ever be friends again?
I was really, really happy to see her reach out. When I saw her name pop up on my phone, it wasn’t like the sinking feeling. I was very hopeful that she was reaching out in good graces and she was. She was just checking in on me. And I hate that the viewers don’t get to see that reconciliation. I’m so happy for where she is in life. She’s getting married and I think she’s living in Charlotte now with her fiancé. But I think her parents are back in Charleston, so she’s back and forth. I don’t ever really get to see her, but I would love to catch up and just actually get to see her, give her a hug face to face.
Were you surprised she didn’t come back this season?
I was really upset, honestly, because that was really the whole reason why I wanted to come back — so that we could have reconciliation not just for the viewer to see, but for myself and for herself. I don’t ever want there to be bad blood between people and especially somebody who we do share a weird bond with just everything that we had to deal with going through the loss of our brothers. So I was really upset that she wasn’t coming back this season. But, you know, never say never. There might be other chances that we’ll get to see some sort of reconciliation between the two of us.
As we all know, Craig and Paige recently broke up. What was your reaction to the news? And have you talked to Craig at all since then?
Craig and I live very close to each other. I always go on walks in his neighborhood and I was passing by his house so I just shot him a quick text. It wasn’t right after the break up because I know how that goes. You just get infiltrated with hundreds of people reaching out. So I just said, “Hey, bud, thinking about you, hope you’re doing okay, staying busy, seems like you’re doing just that.” So he just said, “Thanks, Tay. Appreciate it.” I wasn’t all that surprised. I mean, I do find them to be a very good match and I wish them the best. But I think that Craig just has always wanted more. Someone was saying Rachael [Kirkconnell] — Matt James’s ex. Someone was like – and I immediately perked up. I was like, “Now that I could see happening.” She is adorable. She seems like she’s ready to settle down. She probably will look at Craig’s house and be like, “Take me in, sweep me off my feet. I will say, yes, tomorrow.” I think he’ll be fine. I think that Paige really did kind of groom them to be the it guy.Whoever he decides to date next is going to be the person he’s going to marry.
I think Paige, too, she’s just such a strong woman. And I think that Craig allowed her to be that. But also I think a strong woman also kind of wants someone to tell her no sometimes. So I think she’s looking for someone who’s going to be like, “I let you be you. But there’s times where I’m not going to allow you to do like…” I think she means a man that’s going to really give it to her. And Craig’s just too sweet. I’m like, “You’re just too sweet. You’re a Southern guy.”
I know you’re super close with the Southern Hospitality crew and you even made a cameo a couple of episodes ago. I talked to Emmy a bit about this and she said she’d love to have you jump to their show but she thinks that reality TV probably isn’t in your five-year plan. Do you agree? What do you hope the future holds in store for you?
Honestly, yeah, I do agree with that. Reality TV has been an awesome, really cool, great experience. It has opened up avenues. I’m able to launch my own brand. Emmy has been such a big supporter of that. A lot of people on the Southern Hospitality team have just been very supportive of me and my launch and so I’m very appreciative that. I’ve known the Southern Hospitality people from before they even started the show. I remember TJ coming to me saying, “I think Leva is going to start a show and we’re going to be doing it based at Republic.” I was like, “No way.” So he was trying to brainstorm with me and giving names on who he should get to be on the show. And so, I mean, never say never. I do love all the people on Southern Hospitality. But yeah, I think that’s why I launched a brand in hopes that that will take off so that I don’t have to do reality TV anymore. It’s not for the faint of heart, I’ll say that. So you really have to have a backbone. And sometimes I find myself, especially after last year and kind of going into this year, it’s like I’m really trying to build that back. But it’s not easy. So we’ll see. Never say never.
Can you talk a bit about your brand? That’s so exciting!
I’m actually wearing one of our sweatshirts. It’s an athleisure brand. My business partner and I, she was my stylist and that’s how we got connected. But she’s worked in the space before, so she has all the contacts. We wanted to create something that is easy to incorporate into your wardrobe. So not just something that you wear to the gym, but wear it to a nice dinner, throw a blazer on and some heels and feel put together. You can go to the office, get your work done, and then kick everything off and go to your pilates class. So we really just wanted to try to create an athleisure line that is easily incorporated into your day to day life. Comfort is key for me. I’m always like, “I just want to be comfortable, but I want to look put together and cute.” So that’s what we’re doing. You’ll see Emmy in a lot of stuff. She is always posting, working on her set gear.
Speaking of Emmy, I do want to get your thoughts on some of the Republic drama. Have you and Emmy been able to bond over the fact that both your relationships have been in question among your friend groups?
Yeah, I’ve obviously told her, “Reach out to me any time you want to talk about it.” I’ve said this. I see both sides of the story. I see where Emmy’s friends are coming from and they are just checking in on her. Emmy and Will have also worked really hard on their relationship in this first year of long distance and him being in school and she feels as if it’s under attack rather than like, “Hey, we’re not attacking you. We’re just checking in.” So I understand where she feels like people are coming in on the attack when that’s not really what it is. But when you work so hard and you put in a lot of time and effort into something, in a relationship like that, and people are coming in questioning it, you’re going, “I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am.” And we clearly see today that Emmy and Will are very happy. That’s all you can do is just be happy to see a smile on her face. And I know that. I see her out and about. I said, “Just focus on what you have going on right now. The right now is that you and Will are good and y’all are happy. And I hope that your friends can be big advocates of that and just go, ‘Alright, if she’s happy, she’s happy.’” And if she’s not, then be there to be a good friend and help her pick up the pieces. But she’s clearly happy so I’m always going to be rooting her on – her and Will. But I do see both sides of the friendships coming in, just being like, “We’re not attacking.”
But on our end, I’m going, “These people don’t know — they’re not friends with Gaston.” So I’m going, “You can’t come in questioning things when you don’t even know the guy. You have never even shook his hand.” So I’m going, “Just drop it. Just trust me when I say like, ‘I’m good, I’m happy.’” That’s where I’m at. I’m good and I’m happy.
I love to see how much TJ has really come into his own this season. How do you think he handled all the drama?
TJ has always been really good at handling whatever comes about. I do love watching him come into his own as well. He has more of a voice and he stands up for things and he speaks very eloquently. And I’m super happy to have him as an advocate for me as well. He used to live with Gaston. So I will always be a big cheerleader of TJ and I’m just really happy to see him again, like you said, just coming into his own.
Is there anything else you can tease about the rest of the season?
I am really excited for you guys to see the Bahamas trip. There’s a lot of fun things that happen and I just was enjoying being there. I was, again, having just a great time with the girls. And that was my primary reason why I went was just to go and have a good time with the girls. But yeah, I hope that we’ll see a lot of fun and laughter. There’s a lot of drama that happens, but there’s also a lot of laughter and goofing off and all that. So I really hope we get to see a lot of that too. I feel like we need more of it, more of the fun and laughter and like people actually getting along. It’s not always drama and fighting. But yeah, well, we’ll find out, hopefully JT will show back up for the reunion and he’ll be able to shed a little bit more as to what’s going on because we’re all kind of left in the dark here with his exit. We’re like, “So, are you going to explain yourself or not?”
Have you talked to him at all since he left the show?
Absolutely not. No. We’re not friends.
Well, I know you left off on bad terms after the tuba concert. Did you talk after that?
Well, we had [talked] just [for] filming purposes, but at that moment I was like, “Why are you doing this again?” Like it was all last year. And then I hear he’s doing it again and with many different people this year. I’m like, “Ms. Patricia? Oh, my gosh, you’re going to go after her? Whoa. Not the matriarch.” And then Madison, like, what is going on? And so he’s just knocking off people one by one. And it was very, very odd and confusing. So I was genuinely checking in with him after the tuba concert just trying to figure out where his mental was at. And then he just decided to come after me. So I was like, “You’re not being a friend. You weren’t a friend. I thought you were a friend last year. In hindsight, you weren’t.” And again, this year, we’re just watching him rinse and repeat.
You’re so right. He really does make everyone angry at some point. You, Madison, Patricia, Venita.
Craig, Austen. I’m like, just keep on adding on to the list, buddy, what is happening? I hope that he makes an appearance. Everybody has gone through tough seasons and there’s times where everybody didn’t want to show up, but we did. And I think that he owes it to not only us, but he owes it to himself. He made a mess. Let’s clean it up.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Southern Charm airs Thursday nights at 8/7c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
