Southern Charm‘s Craig Conover reflected on how Austen Kroll is thriving while single after his split from Audrey Pratt.
“Audrey was a fantastic person, but he’s lighter and gets to be himself again,” Craig, 36, shared on the Wednesday, December 17, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
Craig pointed out that Kroll, 38, has the chance to be “living the life that he wants” right now.
“He’s lighter. He is happier because he wants to be single, which is what I always thought,” he continued. “I knew as soon as they broke up that we would start getting along again.”
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Austen and Audrey sparked romance rumors in early 2024 during a group trip. He later gushed exclusively to Us Weekly about why his relationship with Audrey felt different than past romances — many of which were featured on Bravo’s Southern Charm.
“Whether she knows it or not, [she] is a big part of my happiness and my inner peace,” Austen told Us in December 2024 about learning that not all relationships have to be “tumultuous and hard.”
Audrey made her Southern Charm debut during season 10, but by the time season 11 premiered in November, the pair appeared to no longer be together. In the trailer for the current season, it was teased that Audrey hooked up with costar Salley Carson after his split from Audrey.
“I found someone who just brought a level of peace into my life, which I just felt that I needed,” Austen said about Pratt on an episode of the “Chicks in the Office” podcast earlier this month. “It honestly was so right for what I needed.”
Austen maintained that there was no big blowout that caused their split.
“That’s what made it so hard and so adult at the same time,” he explained. “Normally, you break up because something happens. That’s what made it all that harder.”
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At the time, Austen acknowledged that filming themselves for the show didn’t help their relationship. “It was good and all was fine. Then, not to blame it completely on this whole process that we’re in, but it forces the narrative,” he shared. “It accelerates your life by, like, 10 months, right? It’s like, we need to know answers. We need to know now. You think that you’re being vulnerable, but what you’re really doing is kind of providing a chink in the armor for other people to feed off of. That’s what happened.”
Austen went on to say that he gave Audrey the “grace” of not having their breakup be captured for Southern Charm, adding, “I’ve never done it in this manner. I’ve never broken up with somebody in the manner that [we did].”
Craig’s single life is also being showcased on Southern Charm this season following his 2024 split from Paige DeSorbo. During the season premiere last month, he claimed he was “betrayed” by his ex, adding, “I never did anything to deserve becoming the villain in her story. But she needs a villain.”
Southern Charm airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
