Austen Kroll and Salley Carson’s relationship status went from friends to something more when they kissed on the Southern Charm Season 11 cast trip in Mexico, and Andy Cohen is pressing them for more of the steamy details in the above preview of Part 1 of the Reunion, airing Wednesday, March 18.
When Andy inquires if they’ve been “intimate,” both stare wordlessly at him, before Salley prompts, “Austen?” and he jokingly replies, “Salley?”
An awkward silence ensues, so Salley asks Austen to “help [her] out.” After another beat where both avoid a straight answer, Salley offers, “Making out is intimate.”
As the rest of the cast begins to joke and laugh at the situation, Austen declares, “Guys, we’re not doing this, like, big thing in secret that you think that you know we are.”
A moment later, when Salley concedes, “There has been more than kissing,” her vague answer sends her cast mates into a frenzy. Rodrigo Reyes chimes in, “Yeah, f—king,” while Molly O’Connell tells them to “stop lying.” Craig Conover, meanwhile, asks, “Okay, so, if you did sleep together, why would that be bad though?”
“It’s not bad!” Austen responds. “But, like, I have thought it’s a big deal, how about that?”
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Elsewhere in the reunion preview, Andy is confused by Austen and Salley’s evasiveness on their romantic status, especially since they only kissed after he broke up with his ex, Audrey Pratt. “I don’t understand why you’re being weird about it,” Andy explains. “You didn’t cheat on Audrey.”
But Austen argues, “I have a clear boundary of like, ‘We’re not gonna do this,’ because this is, like, very disrespectful to Audrey.”
Still, Andy presses the point that Austen’s far removed from his breakup with Audrey at the reunion filming, noting, “We’re now 8 months away from Audrey, so there’s nothing to be ashamed about. You’re both single. I don’t understand the reason to not say it.”
Austen Kroll and Salley Carson’s romantic history, explained
In case you need a refresher, Austen decided to end his relationship with Audrey during Season 11, Episode 10. Upon finding out the news, Salley was immediately thrilled to have a chance with Austen.
“I feel bad when anybody breaks up, but at the same time, I just was, like, in this moment. I was being selfish and thinking about myself, for sure,” Salley reflected of her reaction during the Southern Charm After Show.
It came after she made clear she had romantic interest in Austen, even as he was still with Audrey. “I love Audrey, but my personality fits with Austen very well,” she told Molly and Rodrigo during Episode 2. “I mean, would I hook up with him? The day after they break up, let’s go.”
Salley and Austen’s flirtations culminated in a steamy on-air kiss during the cast trip to Mexico.
Where Salley Carson and Austen Kroll stand after Southern Charm Season 11
Are Salley and Austen dating? Austen put an end to that rumor during his Jan. 7 appearance on the podcast The Viall Files.
“Salley and I grow close, and we are close now,” he shared at the time. “Like, she’s texting me, I’ve been texting her. And we have become close. But no, we’re not dating, anything like that. I really, really like where me and Salley are.”
That same day, Salley described Austen as “one of my closest friends” during her Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen appearance. She added, “There is not a day where we don’t talk…we just have very similar personalities. We have a lot of fun together.”
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But Salley later revealed that she met up with Austen, his mother and his sister, Katie, in New York City following Austen’s Feb. 4 WWHL appearance.
“That seems fast,” Andy told Salley during her own WWHL appearance on Feb. 11. He also commented that Mrs. Kroll seemed “very much approving” of Salley when Austen was on the show.
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