Southern Charm is here, and true to form, the “good” old boys are bringing the petty drama. The trailer for the eighth season hints at the crumbling allegiance between Craig Conover, Shep Rose, and Austen Kroll, though the specifics are still somewhat of a mystery. Are we really meant to believe there’s a hardcore headlock altercation on the agenda?
In an interview with E! News, Craig and Shep gave a deep dive into the drama of the season. During the Q&A Shep explained that a reconciliation had to happen after Craig had been consistently absent from Charleston during his Summer House and Winter House filming obligations. Apparently, while Craig was off chasing his newfound happiness with Paige DeSorbo, Shep and Austen were thick as thieves.
“Craig had been gone a lot and I felt like we had grown apart and I wasn’t all that happy about it,” Shep explained. “Austen and Craig had a lot of stuff that was building between them over Summer House and Winter House. So I hate to say it, but Austen and I sort of ganged up on Craig. But it worked because here we are.”
Shep insisted that Craig and Austen are on “really good terms” at the moment, adding that they attended a Phish concern in New York recently.
“We are gonna have our bad moments. I mean, I think you see in the trailer,” Shep continued. “And furthermore, we don’t have a show unless we kind of bring some things to the forefront that maybe you wouldn’t know.”
As for Craig, he reminded viewers that he and Shep “always had ebbs and flows” in their relationship. Craig explained that between filming for Southern Charm he “isolated” himself and “just tried to take distractions away. Said Craig, “Unfortunately, seeing these guys was a casualty of that. So I think you get to see us trying to figure out how to be friends again this season.”
“We’re good. You’ll get to see us work through some stuff. Austen and I just brushed everything under the rug and we’ve spent a lot of time together, so there was like two years of just s–t that we were both upset at each other with and we finally kind of hashed it out,” Craig continued.
As for his secret tryst with Naomie Olindo in Vegas? Craig has no regrets about keeping that secret away from Austen until things came out during the opening episode of Season 8. “I don’t know if he figures it out or not, but what he didn’t understand is that was a consequence of him constantly betraying my trust,” Craig said, referencing Austen’s unhinged and unnecessary attempts to upend his relationship with Paige off camera.
TELL US – YOUR THOUGHTS ON SEASON 8 OF SOUTHERN CHARM SO FAR? WHICH OF THESE MEN WOULD YOU CAPE FOR, IF FORCED TO CHOOSE?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]