The Southern Charm star, 41, opened up about being unfaithful to Taylor, 26, during the first episode of the Bravo reality series’ two-part season 7 reunion, which aired on Thursday, January 28.

“We’ve had a few hiccups,” Shep told Andy Cohen after his costars Craig Conover and Madison LeCroy urged him to tell the truth. “There were some text messages.”

After Craig, 31, blurted out that Shep “made out with a girl,” the Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, native clarified, “I kissed a girl in a stairwell — and that’s all it was. … It was an old flame and we were texting like, ‘Ooh, tomorrow night,’ and nothing ever came of it. It was a moment of weakness. I was drinking. But that’s all it was, and I’ll go to my grave knowing that that’s true.”

Austen Kroll then tried to commend Shep for being honest about his infidelity, but Leva Bonaparte was less than impressed.

“Y’all really romanticize cheating,” she shot back as Madison, 30, Kathryn Dennis and even Craig agreed with her.

The RelationShep alum quickly denied doing so, telling the cast that the incident actually ended up strengthening his relationship with Taylor.

“She goes, ‘Look, I hate what happened, and it hurt me a lot. However, I’d like to stay with you. I’m in love with you. You make me happy,’” he said. “We cried, and it was a big deal.”

Shep went on to insist that he would not “fly off the handle” if Taylor had been the one who cheated on him, saying, “I would be like, ‘Well, let’s talk about that.’ … And I would want to stay with her.”

The couple sparked dating rumors in March 2020 and made their romance Instagram official two months later. Taylor has since developed a close bond with her boyfriend’s costars.

“She’s become better friends with my friends than I am,” Shep exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2020. “And I’m, like, sort of pissed about that. My dog, little Craig, loves her more than me. Craig and Austen like her more than me. She’s taken over.”

The Southern Charm season 7 reunion concludes on Bravo Thursday, February 4, at 9 p.m. ET.

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Nicholas Hautman