‘Southern Charm’: Taylor Ann Green Speaks Out About Drama, Heartbreak & Getting a Bad Rap

To say Taylor Ann Green has been embroiled in drama during season 9 of Southern Charm, would be an understatement. The cast member set off a firestorm of gossip when it came out she kissed her ex Shep Ross’ good friend Austen Kroll, who had also broken up with Green’s bestie Olivia Flowers. Ever since the episode of the revelation aired, Green has faced backlash from viewers for lying about the interaction before coming clean during a Ross’ pheasant dinner party.

The twenty-something has owned up to her misteps, but forgiveness doesn’t come easy as seen in the reality series. And having it in the center of conversation within the friend group doesn’t make it any easier for her. Making matters worse, as seen in the October 19 episode, this all comes before Flowers finds out about her brother Connor passing away.

Here Green speaks candidly about what has transpired this season and the bad rap she’s been getting.

How has it been for you to relive all the drama playing out? 

Taylor Ann Green: To be honest it has been really, really tough. It’s one thing to go through a bunch of stuff but to have all these eyes on you while you’re going through heartache and rough times. Everyone is weighing in. It has been tough. I know I did it to myself, but it has been tough hearing the background chatter. I’ve been trying to stay disconnected and not read comments and stay off social media. Shep actually advised me to do that and set it up where I don’t get notifications or tags. Stuff like that. We’re only human. We make mistakes.

I think a lot of people forget I didn’t have time to process the breakup between Shep and I. He was out of the country, and when he came back into the country, it was this whole bunch of emotions that came back around. The time he was gone and out of the country, I was acting silly and making mistakes. I own up to it. Then obviously, when cameras hit the ground everyone has to talk about it. Then I get to relive it here 10 months later. It’s tough before it happened, tough while it happened, and then tough after the fact it all happened, but I’m hanging in there.

Photo by: Paul Cheney/Bravo

When it came out that you kissed Austen, it seemed there was a game of telephone being played among the group. It went from a kiss to hooking up to Madison [LeCroy] alleging you slept together. Was that frustrating for you to witness? 

It’s very frustrating, but part of our job to be intertwined and interconnected. Everyone has to be in everyone’s business. The frustrating thing was when all that transpired, the only people that were involved were me, Austen, and then Olivia and Shep. The fact that other people are weighing in, it’s not their business. It has nothing to do with them. Why are you trying to get up in this business and create more drama out of it? How do you know anything when I haven’t seen or talked to you? You don’t know the real story.

So, making allegations we slept together. I don’t even think Madison has been to his house. The fact she is saying he doesn’t have a bed in his guest bedroom. He has two guest bedrooms and there are two beds in the guest bedroom. She doesn’t know that. Making allegations when she is not completely involved is very frustrating.

Do you feel a double standard in how people are reacting? 

It is a little baffling. Looking at it, I understand why people are making a big deal about it. One, that’s Shep’s good friend for eight-plus years. So, Shep and Austen have this long-standing friendship. I see where I came across wronging a friend of mine and also Shep. I understand that, but being single and everyone being single. For it to come out the way it has, that’s frustrating. I understand I lied about it. I get that’s where the frustration is coming from. After that is all done and said,  and I admit to my fault.  I admit I lied and hurt a friend and ex along the way. You’ll see as the season goes on, but it just seems it’s not enough.

You told Olivia you kissed Austen during Shep’s dinner. In retrospect, do you feel it should have been handled differently? 

That morning I had begged her to meet up with me…I told her I really needed to tell her something as I didn’t want her to walk into this dinner feeling blindsided in front of all our friends and feeling like the only person not knowing what was going on. She said we could wait and have the conversation at dinner. I wished I had pulled her aside to maybe a different room, but I had to get it off my chest. I didn’t want it to come from anyone else because this group likes to chat. I was a little overambitious. I regret that part, but I wish I had relaxed a little bit, but I wanted her to be the first one she heard about it from.

What did you make of all the chatter of a risque photo you sent Whitney [Sudler-Smith]? 

The thing is, yeah it is a risque photo, but you can’t see anything. That is the cold hard truth. The fact that Madison is trying to say you can see everything is completely false. You can not. That’s Madison trying to be Madison and trying to stay relevant and make it out to be worse than it was. At the same, time why are you sharing things? Yes, it was a drunken mistake. Yes, it was a jab at Shep. I’ve owned up to that. I’m not trying to hide anything. I was in a bad place in my life.

Going through that breakup and not really processing. Hearing Shep and Whitney are going around town hooking up with girls and bringing it back to Whitney’s house, I drunkenly sent a risque photo jabbing at Shep. Like, “Oh, this is what you guys are looking for.” Unfortunately, I hate it was brought up when it was. It gets brought up again at an event where we were there for Olivia. For once, can we go to an event where I’m not the topic of conversation? It’s very frustrating. I knew I had a lot of things I needed to work on and kept putting them off. I thought I was fine and got a reality check when everyone started getting involved in my silliness.

This past episode was a hard one as the group found out Olivia’s brother passed away. Despite all the drama, you wanted to be there for her as the others do. You yourself also lost your brother [Richard “Worth” Worthington Green] this year. How have you been processing all this? 

It’s very surreal. I lost my grandfather when I was really young, but I never was able to process that kind of heartache. When everything happened with Connor, I was so taken aback. I wanted to be there for Olivia as a friend…Now having to experience what Olivia experienced, I couldn’t even fathom sitting in a room full of people talking.

Charles Sykes/Bravo

Did the others band together for you after they found out about your brother? 

I heard from everybody in the group. Absolutely. They all sent out texts. That’s the extent of it.

How do you feel you’ve grown from the experience? Do you feel you are stronger coming out of it? 

I think it’s definitely a reality check. A lot of people got through stuff like that, and it’s never out for the world to see. I really should have seen a therapist when Shep and I broke up. I should not have let my emotions get the best of me and jab at Shep, texting Whitney. I should have tried to better myself.  I knew where I needed to be, but I couldn’t get myself there….Back in March when we stopped filming, I was able to get away from Charleston, reflect on everything that happened, and surround myself with family and friends.

I knew this was going to be a really tough year and I was in need of some solid people in my life to keep me grounded. I think I’m in a very good place. I’m trying to stay disconnected from social media. I’m trying to stay grounded with my close friends and family and in a relationship I’m really happy about. Their opinion matters most to me. It has been a lesson learned no doubt.

Your boyfriend Gaston seems to be your rock right now. 

He is super great. He is like, “I want nothing to do with that part of your life. That’s your world. I’m here to listen if you need to cry or vent. I don’t have much advice for you other than it’s going to be okay.” We’ve been busy traveling and at the farm to see my sister and her family We were just in North Carolina for a family reunion. He has been a great support system with all my friends and family.

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What can you tell us about what we’re going to see? 

I think as the season continues you’ll start to see how exhausted everyone is with one topic of conversation being about myself and Austen. I know that myself and probably Austen too, we’re just genuinely exhausted talking about it. Unfortunately, it continues to be brought up, but you’ll see everyone is exhausted. Even Shep is like, “We’re done with this. Why are we still talking about it?” You’ll see that. I admitted to my faults and apologized after wronging a friend and want to move forward. We’ll see how that all plays out.

Southern Charm, Thursdays, 9/8c, Bravo