Craig Conover is shedding new light on one of the most explosive moments of “Southern Charm” season 11. What appeared to be a sudden blowup between Conover, Austen Kroll, and Shep Rose during Whitner Slagsvol’s birthday party was actually the breaking point of hours of off-camera tension. Now, Conover is explaining what viewers didn’t see — and why the argument ran much deeper than it looked on screen.
Craig Conover Explains the Real Reason Behind the ‘Southern Charm’ Fight
During the Wednesday, Dec. 10 episode of “Southern Charm,” tensions boiled over when Conover, 36, lashed out at Kroll, 38, warning him, “Austen, keep running your mouth and Shep is going to say something that is going to ruin your life.” The moment left fans stunned and raised questions about what, exactly, Conover meant.
On the episode, Conover suggested that Rose, 45, knew something about Kroll that was being deliberately kept quiet. Rose later told Venita Aspen and Madison LeCroy that the drama stemmed from something he heard while in New York City. He claimed women had told him Kroll cheated on his then-girlfriend, Audrey Pratt, but stressed the allegations were “totally unsubstantiated” and that he saw no proof.
While the show offered limited context, Conover revealed on SiriusXM’s “Reality Checked” podcast that the fight viewers saw was only the tip of the iceberg.
According to Conover, he and Kroll had already been locked in a heated argument for nearly two hours before Whitner’s party even began. “So by the time Whitner’s party happened and Austen like chirped me and I freaked out, there was a two-hour fight before that,” Conover explained. He added that producers ultimately cut much of the footage because it broke the fourth wall and involved discussions about new cast members.
Conover acknowledged that moments like this come with the territory after more than a decade on reality TV. “A lot of times the viewer doesn’t get all of that context and you just have to be okay with it,” he said. “But sometimes it is fun to talk about it and be like, ‘Guys, we didn’t just show up to this party and just scream at each other.’”
Conover and Kroll Appear to Be on Better Terms Today
Despite the dramatic fallout shown in “Southern Charm” season 11, things appear far more positive between Conover and Kroll today. In fact, the longtime friends recently celebrated a major milestone together.
It’s been a full year since Conover and Kroll opened their Charleston restaurant, By The Way, and several cast members turned out to celebrate the anniversary. Salley Carson, Charley Manley, Molly O’Connell, Whitner Slagsvol, and Rodrigo Reyes posed for photos with the duo, with Salley captioning one Instagram post, “Celebrating [By The Way’s] first birthday with my dysfunctional family.”
The restaurant’s Instagram page praised both staff and guests for “pouring [their] heart into every shift” and thanked patrons for making the space part of their “meals, moments, and memories.” Another post added, “Outrageous amounts of caviar, foxy cocktails, and one heck of a crowd.”
Conover and Kroll opened By The Way in December 2024, fulfilling a longtime dream. Kroll previously told “The Daily Dish,” “It’s always been a dream of ours to open up something in Charleston. What could be more fun than to open up something like this with one of your best friends?”
Conover echoed the sentiment, explaining that they wanted to invest locally while creating a space they genuinely enjoy. “Why not give them a space that we would enjoy hanging out at, too?” he said.
New episodes of “Southern Charm” air Wednesday nights on Bravo.
