A Bravo bromance has lived to see another day.
We're, of course, talking about Southern Charm's Craig Conover and Austen Kroll. The pair patched up their differences on the July 7 episode of the Bravo series, marking the end of a months-long feud. Austen apologized for gossiping about Craig and Naomie Olindo's recent hookup, and Craig acknowledged that he was a better friend to Austen when he was single.
Unfortunately, based on Southern Charm's season eight trailer—which shows Austen and Craig wrestling against a car and then onto the ground as the latter demands he apologize—the peace between the two looks to be short-lived. This begs the question, what exactly went wrong between the two BFFs?
The answer is a complicated one.
A Cruel Summer
"Between Craig and I, it really came from this past summer," Austen exclusively told E! News, explaining that at the time, they both began to hear rumors that the other was talking behind their back. "What should've happened is that we should have had a conversation as soon as he heard that I said something, he should have called me and been like, 'Hey buddy, did you say this or not?' and we could have squashed it then."
Instead, Austen said that Craig "went off the rails" on Summer House—another Bravo series that the two briefly appeared on after they met castmembers Paige DeSorbo, Ciara Miller and Lindsay Hubbard on (you guessed it, another Bravo show) Winter House.
"People there were calling me," Austen said of his Summer House pals in the Hamptons, "and I was like, 'That's not something that that a friend does or should say about you.' And he clearly felt the same way about things that he thought that I had said about him."
Rising Tensions in the Bravo-verse
What exactly Craig did or didn't say isn't clear, but here's a rundown of the tangled web between the three Bravo shows (a more detailed breakdown can be found here): Craig and Paige quickly became an item and are now exclusively dating, while Austen found himself in a love triangle between Ciara and Lindsay. Craig has made it known that he's not friends with Lindsay, whereas he says he sees Ciara as "a little sister." And who wants to watch someone play games with their little sister?
Not Craig, because he revealed on one more than one occasion that because of the way Austen treated Ciara, he didn't talk to his longtime friend for a few months. As Austen put it, they were "walking on eggshells" around each other.
There's obviously more to the tension between Craig and Austen than the Summer House drama, though.
Enter Kristin Cavallari
Both Bravo personalities have remained tightlipped about the Kristin Cavallari of it all—they struck up a friendship with The Hills alum in October 2020—but it wouldn't be wild to assume that matters got complicated as romance rumors began swirling about both Kristin and Craig and Kristin and Austen.
Speculation was at an all time high this January when Craig revealed during an episode of Summer House that he had not only previously hooked up with Kristin, but that Austen "hate[d]" knowing it had happened.
A Not-So-Charming Culmination
We may never know the full details of what went down amongst the trio, but for Craig and Austen, that's par for the course. As Craig told E! News in June, "Austen and I just brush everything under the rug." So when filming for Southern Charm's eighth season began, he said, "There was two years of s--t that we were both upset at each other with and we finally kind of hashed it out."
While the pair's physical altercation remains on the horizon, there's plenty of good times to come, too.
"Me, Shep [Rose] and Craig go on a trip together, and it's just the three of us, and I just think it's going to be so funny," Austen said, teasing more "light hearted humor" throughout the season. That, and the notion that he and Craig have since made up and remain in a good place today (a sentiment Craig echoed in his own interview with E! News).
For the fun times, drama and everything in between, tune in to Southern Charm every Thursday at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)