Southern Charm Austen Apologizes for Being Weak and Kissing Taylor - but Shep Thinks They Did More

Thursday’s Southern Charm picked up with Shep Rose learning that Austen Kroll did in fact kiss his ex Taylor Ann Green.

“Kissing turns into … we know what kissing is, come on,” Shep, 43, said to Austen, 36. “Where’s the boundary? That’s my question.”

Shep added that he didn’t believe Austen and Taylor, 28, stopped at kissing.

“You know how much I love women,” Shep continued to Austen. “It gets me in trouble all the time. I want f — -ing this one that one, but I know where a line is, man. How does a kiss just end in a kiss? I just don’t see it.”

Over in the kitchen at Patricia Altschul’s house, Craig Conover told Madison LeCroy and Whitney Sudler-Smith, “No one stops at kissing. No one stops before physical, like, contact.”

Austen acknowledged his wrongdoing, telling Shep, “I know that it’s not good in any sort of way.”

Shep asked if Austen he was still dating Olivia Flowers around the same time he kissed Taylor.

“Olivia and I weren’t speaking,” Austen claimed. “It was never like a, ‘Let’s go home together.’”

Austen explained to Shep that he and Taylor kissed “in the moment in a time of just like so much confusion for both of us.” The TropHop beer founder acknowledged his “poor judgment” and apologized for being “weak.”

“I was broken up with her. You were a shoulder to cry on. I don’t want to lose you as a friend, man,” Shep said to Austen.

THE NEWS TRAVELS AROUND CHARLESTON

Madison, 32, called Venita Aspen to let her know about Austen’s confession, and Craig told Jarrett “JT” Thomas. Austen went to Taylor’s house to inform her that he had come clean about what happened between them.

“This is not cool at all,” Taylor said. “Olivia’s reaction to this is not going to be good.”

Austen said he felt “liberated,” but Taylor said she felt “like a piece of s — -.”

“Every conversation that Austen and I had, he said, ‘Stick to this script,’” Taylor claimed in a confesssional interview.

Madison caught up with Patricia, 82, and Whitney, 55, about the big reveal and Patricia mentioned that Taylor had once sent her son nude photos.

“There was something written on the bottom of the photograph: ‘Come one, come all,’” Patricia said in a confessional, adding, “which implied, well, I don’t even want to think about what it implied.”

Whitney called the photos “just a friendly thing.”

“It was right after her and Shep broke up,” he said in an interview. “You know she’s just f — -ing around — maybe just to get Shep pissed off. I didn’t even bring it up to Shep.”

Meanwhile, Shep touched base with Craig, 34, at Vickery’s Bar and Grill, where Craig ordered a non-alcoholic beer because he was “struggling.”

Craig talked to Austen on the phone earlier and asked the Sewing Down South owner, “Are you really shocked is my question to you, Craig?”

Craig said he was shocked, but Shep appreciated that Austen “manned up.”

“I do respect him for his honesty,” Shep said.

DRAMA TAKES FLIGHT AT THE PHEASANT DINNER

Shep hosted a dinner to eat the pheasant that he shot — and he even invited Taylor. She brought Day Chaser canned cocktails to the event, and Shep teared up when Taylor reunited with his French bulldog Little Craig.

“When we were dating, we were a little family there for a little while,” Shep said in a confessional. “I don’t miss being in a relationship. I miss the closeness that me and Taylor and Little Craig had.”

Then, Shep and Taylor discussed her kissing Austen.

“It’s just hard for me to wrap my mind around, in this day and age, that people even just kiss,” Shep said. “I mean, I feel like everybody tears their clothes off.”

“Well, you ‘just kissed’ the girls you cheated on [me] with,” Taylor responded.

Taylor did not feel like she owed Shep an apology. “We’re two single people that were in a very vulnerable position,” she said.

When Olivia, 30, arrived, Taylor told her about kissing Austen after denying that anything happened. “The full truth is like, we did kiss,” Taylor confessed.

Olivia wished Taylor told her sooner.

“I know that I had months, but I’m listening to him, too,” Taylor said of Austen.

Olivia said she didn’t “give a f — -” about Austen. “He’s literally the scum of the earth to me,” she added.

When Taylor said she “was trying to protect” Austen by covering up their kiss, Olivia wondered, “Why aren’t you protecting me and my feelings?”

Shep interrupted their talk to invite them to sit down for dinner, where Austen and Olivia quickly got snippy with each other. When they went to talk outside, Austen told Olivia he wished they could be friends.

“We’re farther way from being friends now than we’ve ever been,” Olivia said.

But Austen wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. “No matter what you say, I still won’t believe that you and I are not meant to be friends,” he said.

Olivia left the conversation by telling Austen she wanted nothing to do with him. “It’s baffling to me that she doesn’t see what kind of person you are,” Olivia said of Taylor.

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