Austen Kroll is finally opening up about his short-lived and controversial entanglement with Salley Carson, and the details are as messy as the “Charmed” circle expected.
Weeks after the Southern Charm star was seen struggling to navigate his friendship with Craig Conover following Salley’s brief arrival in Charleston, Austen, 38, insisted he felt “used” and “manipulated” by the woman who famously left her own wedding just days before the pods.
Austen described the experience as a “calculated play” for relevance, revealing that during their most intimate moments, Salley allegedly whispered “horrific” things about Craig to drive a wedge between the two best friends.
“I think people will be surprised to hear the truth, but I felt completely blindsided by her intentions,” Austen told Pillows and Beer listeners in a candid update shared on January 31. “Obviously, I made a mistake, but I didn’t realize I was being used as a pawn in some weird vendetta against my best friend.”
“There was a lot of manipulation. It’s the hard part to admit, but looking back, it feels like she was trying to isolate me from the people I trust most,” he added.
According to Austen, the breakdown of his trust in Salley began when her comments about Craig became increasingly personal and malicious.
“It started as subtle jabs, and I kind of ignored them at first,” he admitted. “But when things got intimate, the mask really slipped. She was saying things about Craig’s character and his relationship that were just horrific, trying to get me to agree with her.”
“I wasn’t lying when I told Craig I felt confused. I didn’t want to believe someone could be that strategic. And ultimately, I decided that my loyalty to my brother is worth more than a fleeting connection with someone who clearly had an agenda,” he continued.
Although there have been rumors that Austen was fully aware of Salley’s intentions from the start, he confirmed the realization only hit him after the “fog” of the initial attraction cleared.
“I decided to just be honest with Craig, even though it was a tough conversation,” he explained. “The last thing I ever wanted was for a woman to come between us, especially one who seemed to take pleasure in speaking ill of him while she was in my bed.”
Regarding a potential reconciliation or even a friendship with Salley in the future, Austen said he has completely closed that door.
“We don’t know what her end goal was. There’s no playbook for dealing with someone who uses intimacy as a weapon. We were very much on the same page as friends where we knew we had to talk it out, but the details were tough for Craig to hear,” he reasoned.
That said, Austen confirmed he and Craig are working on their friendship and added that they are currently filming for the upcoming season with a renewed sense of brotherhood.
“We’re gonna have some deep conversations on camera. We’ll do the reunion together. This isn’t a situation where I’m going to let her win by losing my best friend. There’s absolutely some lingering awkwardness, but we got each other’s back,” he shared.
Austen then acknowledged the “red flags” fans pointed out regarding Salley’s past and mentioned the comments he’d seen about his own “gullibility” when it comes to romance.
“I don’t really plan to let myself get played like that again,” he noted. “I just hope that people can see I was coming from a place of genuine interest, while she was coming from a place of total manipulation.”
Southern Charm season 10 is currently filming in Charleston for Bravo.
