Kristin Cavallari Saw Hookup with Craig Conover as a 'Wake Up Call' as He Sets Record Straight on 'Overlap' with Paige DeSorbo-quang

"It definitely made me kind of take a step back and realize that I kind of needed to reel things in a little bit," Kristin said of the attention on her brief romance with the 'Southern Charm' star

Kristin Cavallari; Craig Conover.

Kristin Cavallari and Craig Conover are looking back on their brief romance.

On the Wednesday, June 25, episode of Honestly Cavallari: The Headline Tour, the Uncommon James founder, 38, revealed how the brief romance between her and the Southern Charm star, 26, began four years ago.

“In 2021, Justin [Anderson] and I went down to Charleston, met the boys, and we just honestly clicked immediately,” she recalled. “And then Craig and I started hanging out — only a few times, but it became this whole media frenzy.” 

“The media was trying to figure out if I was hooking up with Craig, or if I was hooking up with Austen [Kroll], or is she hooking up with Austen and Craig?” she added. “I was like, I hate them. I hate them so much.”  

However, the attention on romance was heightened when Craig brought it up on Bravo.

Austen Kroll, Craig Conover, Kristen Cavallari and Steph Biegel in June 2021.

“When Craig joined Summer House, I magically became part of the storyline, and his then-girlfriend Paige even talked about me on camera,” she said. “I just remember being really stressed out by the whole thing, and feeling like the boys were sort of taking advantage of it. And I felt like they just kept adding fuel to the fire.”

She later added that the experience was a learning lesson for her, as she wants to protect her family. “Once I became a mom, I realized it's not just me anymore that I have to look out for," she said. "I have this tribe that I'm representing, and so the Southern Charm boy drama in particular, I really was mad about because it was the first time as a mom that I had lived out these scandalous headlines.”

“It definitely made me kind of take a step back and realize that I kind of needed to reel things in a little bit,” she added. “So ultimately, I guess maybe it was a good thing, because it was kind of a wake-up call.”

Ahead of the Southern Charm star's appearance on her podcast tour, she also addressed rumors of an “overlap” with Craig’s relationship with his ex-girlfriend Paige DeSorbo. The pair called it quits in December after three years together.

“I've always assumed there was a little overlap between Paige and I with Craig,” she said. “I'm not really expecting Craig to be like, ‘Yeah, you're absolutely right. I did lie to you and I lied to Paige.’ I just think it's kind of fun to give him a hard time about it.”

To her surprise, Craig did address the situation on stage, saying, “I don't really think there was as much overlap as everyone thinks,” which left the audience shocked.

Craig Conover, Kristen Cavallari, Austen Kroll and Justin Anderson in June 2021.

“I actually am an honest person, like I never lied to you about anything,” he told Kristin. “Eventually, it just got to the point [where] Paige and I decided to date and we stopped talking.” 

“Once I kind of caught wind of Paige, I was like, I'm gonna remove myself from this situation,” she responded.

Kristin previously discussed her brief romance with Craig on Watch What Happens Live earlier this month, saying, “Okay, let’s talk about it. So, Craig and I were friends first [and] became romantic for two seconds." 

When asked if there was overlap in the relationships, she said, "There was a picture of Craig and Paige in New York — I’ll never forget it — and it looked like they were sort of together. That was the first time anyone had seen them. That was the first I had heard about it.”

"I saw that picture, and I texted him and I said, ‘Hey, let’s just be friends.’ Like, I don't wanna get in the middle of this."

Kristen Cavallari (left); Craig Conover (center); Paige DeSorbo (right).

Honestly Cavallari: The Headline Tour is available to stream on Peacock.