In the new season of Southern Charm (as seen in a first look at Season 10, Episode 1 video at the top of this post), Austen reveals he has a new woman in his life named, Audrey. And yes, he's completely smitten.
Ahead, discover everything there is to know about the new special person in Austen's life.
Who is Austen Kroll dating?
Austen is dating Audrey. Audrey's important role in Austen's world was first hinted at in a press release for Season 10 of Southern Charm.
"Surprising himself by defining the relationship, Austen is finally happy with a new long-distance girlfriend and focused on reviving his beer business," it read. "While his love life is on the up and up, his friendship with Craig is on the rocks as the former partners-in-crime find themselves at a crucial point of disagreement with no clear path forward."
Her impact was also made clear in his official BravoTV.com cast bio: "Once shy of commitment, Austen finds himself coupled up with a new long-distance girlfriend, whom he has affectionately nicknamed 'Pookie.' He is also focused on re-launching his beer business, Trop Hop. After the romantic implosion between Austen and Taylor last year, Austen remains focused on rebuilding his friendship with Shep, while his relationship with Craig starts to fall apart."
Who is Austen Kroll's new girlfriend, Audrey?
While not much is known about Audrey, Austen gave a little insight into his mysterious new flame's life during the episode.
"I met Audrey last summer. She lives in Charlotte, and we've been officially dating for three months," he explained during Season 10, Episode 1 of Southern Charm.
And we do know *one* very important thing: she's known as "Pookie" by her beau.
"There's pooks, there's pookie monster, there's pookapotamous," explained Austen in a confessional. "It's still weird to tell people, like, 'Hey, this is my girlfriend. This is my girlfriend, Audrey.' You know, for me definitely it is a big step."
Austen also called Audrey up while driving in the episode. "Hey, Pooks," he said, prompting her to answer with the same greeting.
What does Austen Kroll say about his new girlfriend Audrey on Southern Charm?
Austen opened up about Audrey while talking to Craig Conover in the preview clip for Season 10, Episode 1 of Southern Charm. The conversation went down after Craig noticed Austen didn't say "I love you" when hanging up a phone call with his girlfriend:
"You know, typically, my move is to just hang out with someone a bunch and not define it because I'm too chickensh-t to say something. But with Audrey, I am the one that brought it up. I was like, 'We should define the relationship.'"
Austen Kroll's relationship history
Austen has had a number of public relationships that we've seen play out on Southern Charm and Winter House. The most famous of these has to be his on-and-off relationship with Madison LeCroy (she made her Southern Charm debut in Season 6 as his girlfriend!), but his fling with Ciara Miller also made plenty of headlines.
During Southern Charm Season 9, rumors also began to swirl that Austen hooked up with his close friend Shep Rose’s ex-girlfriend Taylor Ann Green (who also happened to be besties with Austen’s most recent ex Olivia Flowers). During Episode 5, Austen finally admitted that the pair had “kissed" — a reveal that set off lots of drama in the friend group.
You can read Austen's entire relationship timeline here.