What Happens in the Hamptons… Doesn’t Stay There! Craig Conover got real about the summer house moment that caused a rift between him and BFF Austen Kroll.
“I was really disappointed,” the 33-year-old reality star exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 22 while writing for his new book, Pillow Talk: What’s Wrong with My Sewing? “I don’t watch the shows, just for my own sanity, but when I found out he was kissing Lindsay [Hubbard] after kissing Ciara [Miller], I just said, ‘Dude, that’s literally all Lindsay wanted.’ He just crushed Ciara. … I was just really disappointed in him.”
Craig, who has been friends with Austen, 34, since joining Southern Charm in 2016, explained that he stopped speaking to the founder of Kings Calling Brewing Co. after learning about his actions in the Hamptons over the summer .
Craig Conover and Austen Kroll Stewart Cook/Shutterstock
Fans saw the drama on Monday March 21 episode of Summer House, where Austen made out with longtime girlfriend Lindsay, 35, at her birthday party, shortly after rekindling his romance with Winter House flame Ciara, 26. The love triangle came to a head during the episode when Ciara confronted both Austen and Lindsay about their connection.
The Sewing Down South founder told us Tuesday viewers weren’t given all the facts about the behind-the-scenes drama that began months earlier at Winter House. (On the Bravo spinoff, which began filming in early 2021, Austen sparked a romance with Ciara despite Lindsay’s best efforts to take their friendship to the next level.)
“What you didn’t see with Winter House was that Lindsay was a lot worse. I mean, she lied about saying she was in love with Austen and she went after Ciara and him every second she had,” Craig claimed, claiming that Lindsay brought Austen to her Hamptons party with the “goal.” ‘ invited to ‘win this’. fight with Ciara.”
The Delaware native told us he “couldn’t believe” the way Austen treated Ciara while he was in New York in the summer of 2021. Craig admitted he was also upset at the way Austen was treating his now-girlfriend. Paige DeSorbowhen she was caught in the middle of the episode.
“[Austen] and Paige fight like siblings anyway [but] Whatever happened to them, of course I wasn’t happy about that either,” the lawyer told Us. “We just needed a break. I think he had to find himself.”
The “Pillows and Beer” podcast co-hosts have since buried the hatchet after being separated by a few months.
Austen Kroll and Lindsay Hubbard on Summer House. Sean Zanni/Bravo
“Austen is really in a really great place right now,” Craig said, noting that fans will see the Besties “solve our situation” in the upcoming season of Southern Charm. “Since last fall [Austen] and Paige [and] Ciara [have] worked to improve. So I feel a little bad that he has to repeat it [all] of which now eight months later.”
The Bravo personality added: “We’re in a great place right now. [He] and I’m about to go on tour and we’ve worked through all our issues. But it wasn’t the best performance.”
Looking back, Craig said Austen “didn’t understand” how Ciara felt about him when he visited her and Lindsay. “I think he regrets it all. It wasn’t malicious. He was just drunk and stupid,” the lawyer told Us.
When it comes to the Charleston School of Law alum’s relationship with Lindsay, however, things aren’t so black and white. Craig said Tuesday that he apologized to Hubb House’s PR founder for his role in the whole drama, including being called a “loser” when he appeared in Summer House season six. (Lindsay claimed earlier this month that he never apologized for his comment.)
“I apologized to her at the pool for that [next day but] They cut it off,” he claimed to Us, teasing that his ups and downs with Lindsay will also be part of the second season of Winter House, which they recently filmed in Vermont. “Somehow this stuff just goes on and on and on. I think the audience will be entertained but we had a good time and it was a great experience.”
Pillow Talk: What’s wrong with my sewing? hits bookshelves on Tuesday, March 29th. Summer House airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
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