Natalie Joy's Questioning of Austen Kroll Sparks Controversy and Cast Criticism
Nick Viall’s wife, Natalie Joy, sparked considerable debate with her conversation featuring Southern Charm star Austen Kroll — including from his fellow cast members.
“Delving into your childhood history, I wasn’t previously aware of your sister’s passing at such a young age,” Natalie, 26, remarked during the initial ten minutes of Wednesday, January 7, episode of “The Viall Files” podcast. “You certainly don’t need to respond, but my inquiry [is] how old were you when this occurred?”
Austen’s older sister, Kyle, tragically died when they were children during a family outing, a topic Natalie attempted to discuss with him on Wednesday. Following a recap of the episode by the Instagram account “Besties by Caitlin”, Austen’s Southern Charm costar Rodrigo Reyes reacted strongly to Natalie’s raising of the sensitive subject in the comments section.
“She’s behaving inappropriately,” Rodrigo, 41, wrote.
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The Valley personality Kristen Doute, for her part, “liked” the original post, while other social media users criticized Natalie for so directly asking Austen about his sister’s death.
“This is surprising. He has spoken about it on the show, but on his own terms,” one Instagram user observed. “It seems rather jarring to bring it up in such an unfeeling manner with little consideration.”
Others, meanwhile, noted that Austen appeared visibly uncomfortable discussing his late sister.
“It was quite difficult to watch. Austen’s body language conveyed his discomfort clearly,” another social media user wrote, with a third adding, “She’s a mother! She should possess greater empathy from that perspective.”
During the interview, Austen, now 38, responded to Natalie’s questions, revealing that he was 7 years old when his older sister died.
“How did your family navigate this difficult time?” Natalie subsequently inquired.
Austen answered Natalie’s question with a single word, “Katie,” referring to his younger sister.
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“Katie joined our family and proved to be the greatest blessing the Kroll family could have ever received,” he continued. “Our story is quite remarkable because it’s as if, had my older sister, Kyle, remained alive, then my younger sister, Katie, wouldn’t have been here. It was essentially a cause and effect, and so it is truly remarkable because we reflect on those times with the fondest [memories] … and [our] family grieves together.”
According to Austen, the period between Kyle’s death and Katie’s birth were “a profoundly challenging time” for their family.
“Then, my youngest sister arrived … and … was born and that essentially marked our family’s renewal,” he said. “We relocated to a new home and it was, as if, life could begin anew.”
Moments later, Natalie asked Austen whether he witnessed Kyle’s fatal fall.
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“Were you present when she fell?” Natalie questioned the Bravo star. When he responded affirmatively, she then asked, “What was the nature of that precipice?”
Austen, who was noticeably tapping his leg at the time, briefly addressed the question.
“Discussing the town, it was essentially destroyed by a hurricane and there was no affection remaining for it within my family. I won’t even mention the name of the town … but there was no fondness for it and, yes, I’m unsure.”
Neither Nick nor Natalie, who welcomed daughter River in 2024, have publicly commented on the interview fallout. Us Weekly has reached out to representatives for a statement.
