Austen Kroll's on a fact-finding mission (and stirring up some drama in the process) on the next episode of 'Southern Charm.'
Call him Austen Kroll, P.I.
In ET's exclusive sneak peek at this week's all-new episode of Southern Charm, the Kings Calling Brewing founder is on the hunt for answers about his bestie, Craig Conover, hooking up with ex-girlfriend/returning co-star Naomie Olindo in Las Vegas, just before cameras went up on season 8. In the clip, Austen walks in on Naomie and Leva Bonaparte, mid-discussion. The women confess they were actually taking about Austen and ask him to join the convo because, as Leva puts it, they want to avoid a game of telephone. Leva wants to clear the air around the ongoing discussion surrounding Naomie and Craig.
"Craig is not able to just, like, sleep with someone and then like..." Austen tells Naomie, suggesting there might be deeper feelings involved. "I'm convinced that you two had a mini little, like, reconnection. Whether it be two weeks, three weeks, a month. Like, that's his style. Weren't you all hanging out in Charleston?"
"Yeah, we hung out a week," Naomie replies, confirming "that's it" when Austen asks. Craig and Naomie previously dated for years, before splitting up in 2017. They briefly reconnected after both becoming single in 2022.
"But you guys did not just sleep together once, true or false?" Austen presses.
"Twice, that's it," a seemingly reluctant Naomie confesses. "Is he lying about it?"
"He was like, 'One time. Never again,'" Austen reveals. "I don't know. The way that he described what had gone on was like, 'I was right and she came calling and we hung out and, yeah... we slept together and it, like, wasn't...' you know? Pshh. Just kinda the way that it was a throwaway."
The clip then cuts back to the moment where Craig shared the hookup story with Austen and Shep Rose at Kathryn Dennis' birthday, which is not exactly how Austen phrased it -- but also not far off.
"He describe you like some clingy, like, whatever who was 'trying to get back with me,'" Austen continues, to which Naomie replies, "I literally don't believe that he would describe me in that way."
Watch it all play out here:
When ET spoke with Naomie ahead of season 8's premiere, she explained why she and Craig drifted back together for that week.
"It was just a very short amount of time, where we both were kind of in an in-between phase," she shared. "This is somebody that you've known for a really long time, that you trust, that you're comfortable with, and so it was kind of a comfort thing where you know that it's not really gonna pan out, but that's OK, because you trust them and it really wasn’t-- I didn't realize the show was gonna make such a big deal about that."
Naomie has since given Craig's new relationship, with Summer House star Paige DeSorbo, her stamp of approval, teasing viewers will see how she handled their romance over the course of season 8.
"I really like Paige," she said. "I think that they're really well suited for each other and there's absolutely no bad blood there. ... We had a lot of conversations throughout this season, too, because it was almost like people kept thinking that Paige and I should fight, and Paige and I should not like each other. I mean, I like her a lot. I think she's great. I have no problem whatsoever."
Southern Charm airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.
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