Craig Conover Faces Reality: Navigating Life Post-Breakup with Paige DeSorbo - lulu

There was a time in Craig Conover’s (Southern Charm) and Paige DeSorbo’s (Summer House) tenure as a couple that I thought they were the most stable relationship on Bravo. I arrived at this opinion based on their communication: Paige didn’t want to leave her home and family in New York and Craig didn’t want to leave his business in South Carolina. They both were fine with traveling back and forth in the meantime and they didn’t feel pressured to get engaged or buy real estate together. I respected what I read as emotional maturity and mutual independence; they didn’t feel the need to make their relationship look good to others, and it seemed as if it was better for it.

I was … basically alone in these feelings. What I perceived as two people being secure enough in themselves and their relationship that they ignored arbitrary social norms, others saw as red flags. They dated for three years, they’re both in their 30s, they talk about wanting marriage and family and stuff—grow up already and move in together and get married, was the sentiment. Avoiding that must mean one or both of them simply wasn’t ready.

The thing is, Craig was. Craig is 36, a successful business owner, and newly sober. Or, well, maybe California Sober. The point is, he’s finally (in his mind) getting his shit together, and he’s ready to settle down.

But Paige is at the height of her power. Perhaps one of the most popular Bravolebrities of all time, she’s ascended reality stardom for fashion influencer status. Maybe that sounds silly to you, but between fashion influencing and podcasting, she’s huge in certain corners of the internet. To move down south, get married, and start cranking out babies would be completely antithetical to her image at this moment. I love an independent chick, but even the good ones like Paige aren’t above branding and image control. Craig just doesn’t fit.

Craig’s image, by the way, is all over the place. We were introduced to him on Southern Charm as the drunken, prone-to-white-lies law student. The business he now holds so dear—Sewing Down South—started as a hobby he used to unwind after studying for the bar (jury’s still out on whether he actually passed, by the way). His penchant for pillow-making had more than a little to do with ending one serious relationship, but that was before it was profitable. Now, as far as I can tell, the fact that it’s profitable is what’s keeping him from moving to New York and being with the woman he loves.

He doesn’t seem to see it that way, though. Craig took to his Instagram stories Tuesday to say he was “shocked” by the breakup and says it happened “right before the holidays.”

“This has all been very, very unexpected to say the least. But I guess life has to … I gotta start living again, whatever that looks like, whatever my new normal looks like, I have to start,” he said.

Even though I liked them as a couple, I wasn’t surprised when they broke up. So, I was confused by these statements. But then I remembered that this is a man who genuinely believes pandas aren’t real. Like, he thinks the government is lying to us about pandas for some reason. I always thought he was kind of joking about it, like that one friend I have who says, “But did we?” with a wink whenever someone says something about how we landed on the moon, but I know they don’t actually care enough to be a real moon-landing truther. But now I’m starting to think he’s completely sincere, and he’s out of touch in more ways than that one.

Paige, you dodged a big one, babe.