Celebrity
Austen Kroll & Ciara Miller Aren’t Shutting The Door On Their Relationship
The two dated briefly after Winter House and have both expressed they still have feelings for each other.
Southern Charm star Austen Kroll and Summer House’s Ciara Miller hit it off in Season 1 of Bravo’s crossover series Winter House. But when it came time to head back to reality, things fell apart. After Amanda Batula pressed Austen about the status of his relationship with Ciara in the Nov. 24 finale, he lashed out. “As nicely as I can [say this], [it’s] none of your f*cking business,” he said. “I have not had a chance to speak to Ciara, so it’s none of your f*cking business.”
Austen and Ciara left on uncertain terms, dating briefly after the show before deciding to call it quits. “As much as I hate to admit it, I just wasn’t fully over [my ex] and at a place to move on like that,” Austen told Entertainment Tonight in November, referring to his three-year, on-and-off relationship with his Southern Charm co-star Madison LeCroy. “I was like, I don’t want to let down someone like her, or anyone for that matter. I don’t want to be like that. I don’t want to be a half-present boyfriend.”
The 34-year-old Kings Calling Brewing Co. founder said it was “easy” to be with Ciara while filming because they were “on vacation,” but when they returned to real life it was more difficult. “We hung out in New York and she came down to Charleston, and it was full of laughs and this and that,” he recalled. “Then I was like, ‘OK, but you’re flying back to Atlanta,’ [which] is where she was living at the time. So that’s kind of where it was left. We talk, but never like it was in the house once life began to move on.”
Ciara agreed that it was best for them to go their separate ways. “I did go to Charleston and we had a lot of fun there. But I kind of knew I needed to take a step back from it for a second and realize that we’re not filming. We’re not living together anymore and the dynamic is definitely going to be different,” she told ET, adding that neither of them were ready for anything serious. “He was three months post a relationship. That’s way too soon. He also was not ready. I don’t think I was truly ready either.”
Austen’s romance with Ciara was only further complicated by his longtime flirtationship with their Winter House co-star Lindsay Hubbard. After hooking up with Ciara in the hot tub on their first night in Vermont, Lindsay arrived with her sights set on Austen. It didn’t take long for her to drunkenly confess she was in love with him, citing a New Year’s Eve call they’d had during which Austen apparently proclaimed he wanted to start a serious relationship with Lindsay. Needless to say, the two remember the conversation very differently.
Although they agreed to stay friends, Austen and Lindsay’s relationship continued to sour after the show. Following an appearance on Watch What Happens Live during which Austen said that Ciara was a better kisser and cuddler, Lindsay — who’s now dating her Summer House co-star and longtime friend Carl Radke — blocked Austen on social media. He’s also been keeping his distance from Madison, who revealed in October that she’s engaged to her boyfriend of seven months, Brett Randle.
Based on previews for Summer House Season 6, it appears that Ciara and Austen may rekindle their romance. But the show was filmed in summer 2021, and their more recent interviews confirm that they’re not dating. The two now both seem to be single, though they’re open to revisiting their relationship down the line. “You never say never,” Austen told People in November. “Craig [Conover] thinks I’m going to end up with her.”
The same month, Ciara told ET that their connection is still there. “I still kind of have these feelings towards him,” she said. “Even though we’re not dating or anything, it’s not like... I don’t know. It’s just for right now this is what’s best for both of us. I’m not saying that the door is shut completely on at a hundred percent.”
