Lindsay Hubbard and Austen Kroll's friendship has grown so much since their romantic relationship ended in 2021, and so much has changed in their lives. Lindsay is currently expecting her first child with her boyfriend this holiday season, and the Southern Charm cast member could not be happier for her.
The Summer House cast member took to her Instagram Story over the weekend, where she posted a photo of her hanging out in Manhattan with Austen. In the photo, Lindsay can be seen wearing a casual pair of jeans and a blazer thrown over a white crop top, showing off her bare pregnancy bump.
Over the photo, Lindsay referred to Austen as one of the baby's "uncles", and it's clear that Austen is excited for the baby's arrival. In fact, Austen reposted the photo to his own Instagram Story.
And, in typical "uncle" fashion, he made a funny joke about Linday's new chapter in life. "So great catching up with these two, although something looks a little different about Lindsay. I can't quite put my hand on it," Austen wrote over the adorable snapshot in which he's touching her baby bump.
Are Austen Kroll and Lindsay Hubbard friends?
As if Linday calling Austen an "uncle" wasn't enough proof, Lindsay and Austen are friends. During an episode of BravoCon Live with Andy Cohen during BravoCon 2023 held in Las Vegas, Lindsay dished on their friendship.
"Austen and I did catch up recently in New York when he was in town," Lindsay said last year. "It was a friendly catch up — just friends. We are not in that realm anymore. That's very far in the past. But, yeah, it was just a friendly catch up."
This had been a major change for Lindsay, who had previously expressed her feelings to Austen during Winter House Season 1. After kissing during Summer House Season 6, Austen and Lindsay did not decide to explore things any further with Lindsay getting together with (her now former fiancé) Carl Radke by the end of the season.
In an interview with Us Weekly during BravoCon 2023, Austen opened up about his friendly reunion with Lindsay and how he hopes their friendship will play out in the future. "I did see her in New York, yes," he said at the time. "You know what? We haven't spoken and had a chance to talk in so long. And part of it is because...that's growth."
He added, "I think that we're gonna kinda begin this new sort of friendship, where it's boundaries, and the key word, though, is 'friendship.' And that's what I want to keep it to. And I'm sure that with everything that she has going on, she feels the same way."
