Craig Conover’s Girlfriend Breaks Her Silence on Allegations Made on ‘Southern Charm’

Craig Conover

Getty Craig Conover in 2019

Fans had to hold onto their seats during the first part of the Southern Charm reunion. Among many other topics that got brought up, host Andy Cohen brought up the topic of cast member Craig Conover’s serious girlfriend, Natalie Hegnauer.

Southern Charm cast member Madison LeCroy first brought up Conover’s relationship with Hegnauer when she appeared on an episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in December 2020. Cohen asked her about Conover’s girlfriend, and LeCroy spilled that her ex Austen Kroll had previously hooked up with Hegnauer. LeCroy added that she was, “grossed out” by their relationship.

Conover defended his relationship and said, “For some reason, I f****** fell for this girl,” Conover said on the reunion. “I hated that she had been with Austen, but for some reason, I had not had this feeling about someone in years.”

Shortly after the reunion aired, Hegnauer broke her silence on the love triangle. She began in her statement, “I would never usually post this but since I am unable to defend myself since I didn’t really film this season, and people continue to broadcast aspersions on my integrity (which I understand, as reality TV feeds on drama — and I understand, since I am dating a reality TV stars where their life is lived publicly and inadvertently mine is too), I’m just going to leave this here.”

Hegnauer then dished on her past with Kroll. “Austen and I had a meaningless fling over a year and a half ago,” she wrote on her Instagram Story on Thursday, January 28. “Cool. We mutually decided we’re better as friends and he introduced me to Craig. Craig and I were just friends for months and organically developed feelings for each other. You can’t help or control who you fall for. Austen, Craig and I are all adults, all have a past, and do not care about it.”


Hegnauer Also Addressed Her Time on Another Reality Show

Conover’s girlfriend made her Southern Charm debut during the finale, but it was not the first time fans had seen her on Bravo. Cohen brought up the fact that Hegnauer had once appeared on Cohen’s dating show on the first season of Love Connection as a contestant. When Cohen mentioned this, many cast members found it surprising she didn’t lead with that fact when meeting Conover.

“Who cares what I did in my past?” Hegnauer continued in her statement. “My friend was one of the producers and offered me [money] and said it would be fun. So I did it, as most kids would. It’s not that deep. I told Craig about it way back when we were friends, we watched clips on YouTube together, then we continued living our lives. In no way is this a connection to who I am. I have a full-time job that I enjoy and have worked hard to achieve.”

She finished her statement writing, “What I do in my private life is my decision and I should not be shamed for it. However, your opinion of me is none of my business and I respect that. I understood from the start that in the world of reality TV, this would naturally be brought up so I wanted to give you all my side. … Craig is my best friend and we are happy together. Nothing else really matters.”

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