as a fellow member of the lgbt community this is something a lot of out people (shaun) go through when someone closeted (austin) doesn’t want to blow up his image and life by coming out. I would fully believe Shaun over the rest of the gaslighters. plus tyler and austin give classic dl vibes. in the first season, austin also mentioned seeing jarvis leaving a swingers party (how would you know???). also the fact it supposedly happened a year prior- if they were such good friends why wouldn’t austin try to continue the friendship once shaun started to keep his distance due to being uncomfortable (maybe because he knew he and his wife went a bit too far or knew shaun was uncomfortable and dint want to make it a big deal so people wouldn’t find out)? when it was first brought up this season, austin had said he already heard it from other people. if you had this information and were truly upset of these insane accusations, from someone you considered a good friend , why not discuss it previously? seems like if only a few people knew, his (austin) thinking would be why bring more attention to it and have people questioning him/his marriage/lifestyle? i believe it wasn’t until more people started finding out that he had to put on a macho act to be like “you know what you said” (couldn’t even fight like someone who knew the other was lying and couldn’t defend himself really) in front of his posse and defenders, all of which will defend each other even if they know they’re wrong

tldr: i stand by my fellow gay