‘Southern Charm’ Cast: Where Do the Biggest Costar Relationships Stand During Season 9 Premiere?

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‘Southern Charm’ Cast: Where Do the Biggest Costar Relationships Stand During Season 9 Premiere?

Southern Charm got messy at the end of season 8 — and when season 9 premiered on Thursday, September 14, some of the cast was still at odds. OG star Shep Rose’s relationship drama with ex Taylor Ann Green was front and center during the season 8 reunion, which aired in October 2022, after she accused Shep of cheating with “300 whores.” When Shep reunited with Taylor to film the season 9 premiere— which tapped in January — he insisted he wanted Taylor to be happy. Taylor, however, was not ready to forgive and forget. The former couple weren’t the only exes who had issues going into the new season. Olivia Flowers and Austen Kroll ended their romance in fall 2022 shortly before they tapped the season 8 reunion. When season 9 picked up, Olivia made it clear she wanted nothing to do with her ex-boyfriend. [ami-related id="2349377" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/southern-charm-cast-a-guide-to-who-has-dated-each-other/" title="'Southern Charm’ Cast: A Complete Guide to Who Has Dated Each Other" target="" thumb="true" imgsrc="/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Southern-Charm-A-Guide-Who-Has-Dated-Each-Other-0000123337.jpg?quality=55&strip=all" imgid="2349399" format="gallery" flag="" channel="1"] Both Taylor and Olivia confronted their exes during Madison LeCroy and Brett Randle’s post-wedding bash in Charleston, which was heavily featured on the Southern Charm premiere. Scroll down to see which Southern Charm stars made up after season 8 — and who was feuding at the start of season 9:

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Venita and Madison

Status: Friends Again — Maybe

During the season 8 reunion, Madison claimed that Venita Aspen didn’t have her back — and was “talking s—t” with the other girls. However, when the show picked up, Venita was back in Madison’s good graces. “I’m excited for us to be friends again,” Venita said in the premiere. Madison agreed, saying, “I did miss my friendship with Venita. I’m happy we squashed the beef.”

Ahead of the season 9 premiere in September, Madison gave Us Weekly an exclusive update on her friendship with Venita, saying, “I never wanted to feel like there was bad blood between us or anything, so I'm happy that we can just move on and get over it.”

Venita, however, hinted during an exclusive Us interview that same month that she and Madison weren’t 100 percent back on track. “It's been good. It's been a learning curve because it's hard to not only make friends as an adult but keep them going. So it's been a fun learning curve trying to work [on] the relationship,” Venita explained, noting they are “almost” back to normal.

“I think we need to spend more time together. We haven't been able to spend a lot of time,” Venita confessed. “She travels just as much as I do. So we haven't had just moments to hang out, sit down, be on the couch, chill, and not think about anything else. We need girl time.”

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Madison and Leva

Status: Friends Again

Madison was also at odds with Leva Bonaparte when they filmed the season 8 reunion in fall 2022. At the time, Madison slammed Leva for texting back and forth with Venita about her and claiming that Madison was not over Austen. Leva and Madison didn’t talk about their relationship during the season 9 kick off episode, but Leva was in attendance when Madison and husband Brett toasted their marriage in Charleston. The ladies shared a laugh while eating cake.

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Austen and Olivia

Status: Not Talking

“Falling for Austen is like the equivalent of going in a Fun House,” Olivia joked to Taylor after rollerblading together on the season 9 episode. “You see it. You’re all excited and then you walk in and your [looking at a] distorted image. There’s a f—king clown running by and then you get out and you’re all discombobulated and you want to vomit.”

Olivia, who confirmed during the season 8 reunion that she and Austen split after he struggled to commit, was unamused when she came face to face with her ex at Madison’s party.

“How have you been in the month of December? You could have texted me that, but you decided not to,” Austen said, calling out Olivia for allegedly ghosting him over the 2022 holiday season. Olivia fired back, “That was the first time you reached out to me in a very long time. I didn’t feel the need to respond.”

She then asked, “What do you need from me in this moment to enjoy the day?” to which Austen replied, “Nothing in this moment.” Olivia concluded: “Then we can go our separate f—king ways.”

Credit: Courtesy of Taylor Ann Green/Instagram

Shep and Taylor

Status: Not Talking

“I was in love with Shep. I wanted to go full force. After Shep and I broke up I still really wanted to make things work,” Taylor explained during the premiere, referring to the pair’s July 2022 breakup. “It’s hard for me to understand his emotions … I feel like I was constantly fighting and he didn’t want to do that.”

Shep confessed to the cameras: “I was a little bit broken. I just wanted to travel … get out of Charleston. I’d be lying if I said Taylor wasn’t on my mind … at least twice a day. I hope that she’s willing to patch things up and be friends.”

During the final few scenes of the episode, Taylor and Shep had a discussion, but it ended with them at odds. “She’s combative. I just feel responsible and that makes me really sad,” Shep admitted.

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Shep, Austen and Craig

Status: BFFs

Craig Conover was on good terms with his longtime pals when season 9 kicked off. They were seen shopping together for Madison’s event in one scene and then stuck together during the wedding bash. The trio also had each other’s backs after awkward conversations with some of the other cast during the premiere.

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Olivia and Taylor

Status: Close Friends ... For Now

After splitting from Shep and Austen, respectively, in 2022, Taylor and Olivia formed a close bond. The pair joked about being single and ready to mingle while filming the premiere in January. Taylor called Olivia “a sister to me” during a confessional, while Olivia revealed that the pair were “glued at the hip.”

However, it is clear from the teaser for season 9 that Olivia believes that Taylor hooked up with Austen shortly after her split from the beermaker — and it didn’t sit well with her. “Is the sky blue?” Olivia fired back when asked if she thought Austen and Taylor had sex.

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Austen and Taylor

Status: Just Friends ... They Claim

During Madison’s wedding celebration, Taylor made it clear that “the only guy who's had my back is Austen” following her split from Shep. Elsewhere in the episode, the cast hinted that Taylor and Austen were more than just friends, with many claiming that the pair hooked up after their respective splits. “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet,” Taylor told the cameras when asked if she slept with Austen.

While Taylor denied in the premiere that she and Austen hooked up, Madison exclusively told Us in September that she saw signs of their alleged romance in fall 2022. “Well, at the reunion [in 2022], I was the first one to literally say, ‘This is what's happening. Accept it or not, but they're into each other,’” Madison dished, pointing out that Austen was very invested in Taylor and Shep’s split in summer 2022.

“First off, who cries when their boyfriend and them fight? Why was Austen crying over Shep and Taylor's drama back last year?” Madison quipped, adding, “So, I knew.”

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Taylor and Craig

Status: Feuding

Craig raised eyebrows during the season 8 reunion when he revealed that he witnessed Shep try and kiss Mia Alario (from Leva's spinoff show, Southern Hospitality) while he was still dating Taylor. When Taylor reunited with Craig on season 9, she made it clear she was unhappy that he seemingly sided with Shep after their split — despite knowing about his cheating past.

“Craig was sitting on that information … but didn’t have the balls to come to me,” Taylor said during the premiere episode. “Craig was laughing about it. He thought it was hysterical.”

Craig denied that he was supportive of Shep’s infidelity. He insisted that he “stopped” Shep from hooking up with Mia, despite Taylor’s story to the contrary. “You weren’t there the night he did it. I threw him through a f—king wall. I didn’t cheat on you my f—king friend did,” he yelled.

Taylor dropped her own bombshell allegation in response, saying, “What about your girl cheated on you?” Craig didn’t seem fazed that Taylor was claiming his girlfriend, Paige DeSorbo, was unfaithful. “You’re embarrassing yourself,” he fired back.

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Austen and Madison

Status: Cordial

Madison surprised everyone during the season 8 reunion when she came to Austen’s defense after his split from Olivia. While she has previously thrown shade at her ex-boyfriend, Madison invited Austen to her and husband Brett’s post-wedding celebration as seen in the season 9 premiere. (Austen and Madison split in 2020 after dating on and off for two years.)

“It’s almost like a great chess move by Madison,” Craig joked to Austen after learning of the party invite. At the bash, Austen made slighlty awkward small talk with Madison and Brett and raised a glass to make a toast to the happy couple. Craig was also in good spirits while talking with Madison at the party.

Madison later reflected on the moment Austen and Brett met, telling Us in September, “Austen hit us with a little bit of humor, thank goodness. So it kind of cut the tension. I know the guys were like, ‘Oh my God, that was so awkward,’ but it wasn't awkward for us, I don't think.”

She was confident in her choice to invite Austen, revealing, “I just wanted, honestly, Brett, to meet Austen and be like, ‘You have nothing to worry about.’ That's the truth. I think that it was a good decision.”

Southern Charm airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.