We are only one episode in on the Summer House/Southern Charm mashup that is Winter House, and already I’m equal parts squealing and scratching my head. Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula didn’t get the best room, despite pitching the idea, and being the OG “coupliest” couple. What?!? Say it isn’t so. Although this drama gave us one of Kyle’s best self-important temper tantrums to date, so who’s complaining? Not me.
We’ve also got the will they or won’t they coupling of Craig Conover and Paige DeSorbo; which was rumored, talked about, and now confirmed. Totally shipping Craige over here, btw. Not that you asked, but I’m still telling. Who isn’t watching, just to see if we can see how this whole thing started?
And yet, the most shocking thing to come out of Winter House, is that Austen Kroll, he of the threesome video shown ’round the world, is the most sought after man in the house. I’ll take a pause, while you take that in. Grab a Trop Hop, I’ll wait.
I get that Madison LeCroy is recently engaged, and relatively swiftly at that, which explains Austen’s need to move on. But it doesn’t explain why these woman think he is the answer to their messy relationship needs. After all, we’ve watched Lindsay Hubbard’s “relationships” for years, from Everett Weston to non-sandwich making Stephen Traversie. And, because I’m a big fan of Linds spelling her name correctly, we will ignore the mess that almost destroyed her bestie status with Carl Radke.
RELATED: Paige DeSorbo, Amanda Batula And Kyle Cooke Dish On Austen Kroll’s Winter House Love Triangle
We were introduced to Ciara Miller last season of Summer House, and she was immediately embroiled in a love triangle with Luke Gulbranson (also showing his face in Winter House) and Hannah Berner. Apparently, girl likes things complicated.
The hottest commodity living in Winter House seems to be Austen, which dumbfounds both me and Paige, but it is what it is. What’s even more shocking, is that being sought after by both Lindsay and Ciara also baffles Austen, who’s no stranger to this scenario. According to an exclusive interview with E! News, Austen dishes about his surprise at finding himself the focus of two women at the same time. Cough, cough.
According to Austen, “You show up to the house and I’m really just looking to have fun and to get away from Charleston really and to have fun with my friends in the mountains. Ciara and I did kind of—not immediately—but pretty quickly hit it off. I was just attracted to her of course and just her sense of humor I guess, we really clicked on that. The fact that I could make her laugh on command is key.”
RELATED: Madison LeCroy Hopes Austen Kroll Handles Her Engagement With “Maturity” And Shows Her Support
And, while Austen and Lindsay have interacted briefly on Summer House in the past, Austen shares that, “I guess what people don’t understand and they don’t really know until they watch the show, because we definitely talk about it a bunch and we set it up, is that Lindsay and I have been friends for like the past four years. And we’re great friends in fact. She knows everything about my past relationship and I know everything about hers. We used to call each other up and bitch and moan and complain about all the things I didn’t like. So going to Winter House I was very excited to see Lindsay, because I was like, ‘Hey, if everything turns sideways, at least I have Linds.’ And she felt that same way about me.”
However, even with their shared history, having Lindsay share that she was in love with him, was not something Austen had been preparing for. “Now her dropping that bomb on me was just that: It was her dropping a bomb on me. A bomb that I was not expecting. I was kind of like, ‘What?! What are you doing Linds?'”
Austen, you may not be ready for it, but it’s happening. And now, the question on all of our minds is what are you going to do about all of this?!?
TELL US- LINDSAY OR CIARA, WHO’S THE BEST MATCH FOR AUSTEN? DID ANYONE SEE THIS COMING?
[Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo]
