Paige DeSorbo gave Craig Conover a piece of advice while filming “Southern Charm” last summer, but he didn’t take it.
In a scene filmed for the 10th season of the Bravo reality show, the “Summer House” star told her then-boyfriend that he should consider ditching the “Pillows and Beer” podcast he co-hosted with his friend Austen Kroll. At the time, Conover and Kroll were going through a rough patch in their friendship.
During the exchange, DeSorbo questioned why the two didn’t record the podcast in the same room together. “Pillows and Beer is your side hustle,” DeSorbo told Conover in the “Southern Charm” episode “Making a Splash.” “The whole point of the podcast is to, like, put out good vibes and laugh and talk with your friend in a very real way. And if you guys can’t even do that, then why is the podcast even a question? I think you two need to sit down and legit dissolve the whole thing.”
DeSorbo, who co-hosts the successful “Giggly Squad” podcast with her friend Hannah Berner, suggested that Conover should start his own podcast sans Kroll. “Like, why would you not have a podcast like ‘Craig and Friends’?” she asked him. “You rebrand. You have your own new name. It’s a whole new vibe. It’s not ‘Pillows and Beer.’”
“You never shut up,” DeSorbo pointed out of Conover’s gift for gab. “You can do a podcast on your own. It’s just a clean slate. It’s like new energy. What are you holding on to? You have to sit and think, like, what you want.”
Conover agreed it might be time to end “Pillows and Beer.”
DeSorbo’s advice to Conover was filmed a few months before the two announced their breakup after more than three years of dating.
Fans Questioned Paige DeSorbo’s Advice to Craig
Conover ultimately confronted Kroll in a scene posted by BravoTV.com. The Sewing Down South founder told Kroll that their strained relationship didn’t lend itself well to “a good best friend’s podcast” and that the “chemistry” was no longer there between them.
Conover asked Kroll how much money he’d want in order to sign off his rights to the podcast. The question offended the Trop Hop Beer founder.
On social media, fans reacted to DeSorbo’s suggestion that Conover drop Kroll. Some praised her for “building up” her man. But others questioned the move.
“I’m starting to see how much influence Paige had on Craig. Telling him to get rid of Austin and do his own podcast. I can now see why Austin was frustrated with the situation. I hope Craig is good now with all his friends. You can have both.,” one fan wrote on X.
“Did Paige totally sabotage Craig and Austen’s podcast? #SouthernCharm,” another fan cracked.
Craig Conover Continues to Work With Austen Kroll
As of this writing, Conover and Kroll have not officially announced the end of their podcast. Their last new episode dropped in late November 2024. Since then, they’ve reposted a series of “This Time Last Year” episodes that revisit past broadcasts, and they’ve announced an upcoming live podcast in Toronto.
The two also recently opened a bar and restaurant with Uptown Hospitality called By the Way, per Eater Carolinas. The Spring Street spot is the restaurant group’s first collaboration with the “Southern Charm” stars.
And for those questioning if Conover and Kroll’s connection is just business, their co-star Shep Rose set the record straight via an Instagram comment in January 2025. After a fan account asked, “Do we think [Craig, Austen, and Shep] can mend their friendship and come back together? Or will it never be the same,” Rose replied, “A little spoiler alert… we had dinner together 3 nights ago and couldn’t stop laughing.”
Rose also assured fans the feud wasn’t “made for TV” drama. “There was definitely a right and tension,” the “Southern Charm” star wrote. “But our history together is just way too powerful and amusing.”
