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Craig Conover may have thought he and Paige DeSorbo would be engaged by now just one year ago, but he’s since come to the realization that more should be discussed before taking that step in their relationship.
Following their two-year anniversary, the Southern Charm star, 34, addressed his future with Paige, 30, slammed Taylor Ann Green‘s cheating suggestion, and spoke of his regrets while also discussing Taylor’s friendship with Olivia Flowers, Austen Kroll‘s tension with Shep Rose, 43, and Lindsay Hubbard, 37, and Carl Radke‘s canceled wedding.
“It’s a tough decision to get married for anyone and there’s a lot of thought that goes into it,” Craig noted during an October 2 interview with Us Weekly after being asked about Lindsay and Carl’s sudden breakup. “Life’s just wild and so I think Carl is a good listener. We talked this summer.”
As Lindsay and Carl’s would-be wedding date approaches, Craig admitted he’s unsure if he will still go to Mexico as scheduled.
“I don’t know,” he shared.
For now, he’s focused on the current season of Southern Charm, which features questions surrounding the alleged hookup and relationship between Taylor and Austen.
“I told Austen, I said, ‘I tell you everything that I say to your face this year on camera.’ Everyone’s different. I wouldn’t say that he’s a bad friend to Shep. [But] when my friend breaks up with someone, I stop hanging out with them,” Craig stated.
As for where Taylor stands with Olivia, Craig said he doesn’t know.
“It kind of resembles [Vanderpump Rules‘ 10th season] except it’s not as dark and people weren’t dating and people on Southern Charm are truly trying to salvage relationships,” he explained. “I can’t speak to Vanderpump Rules but theirs was a little, like, never speaking to each other again. This year, I think there’s a lot of sadness because of the friendships and trying to see if you’re ever able to move past that.”
Looking back at his time on Winter House, Craig admitted to having some regrets in regard to his behavior.
“Those shows, there’s a lot of context always missing but yeah, that was a good example, like, regardless of what viewers didn’t get to see, if I would have been a little calmer my point probably would have, they wouldn’t have been able to twist it as much as they did,” he shared. “So it’s on me to stay calmer and this season, I think I did a good job of that.”
According to Craig, he went into season nine of Southern Charm determined to be his true self — and he advised his new castmates, including Jarrett “JT” Thomas, Rod Razavi, and Rodrigo Reyes, to do the same.
“I told some of the new guys this year, you will regret not being yourself,” he revealed, “because at least if something comes out you can be like, ‘That’s how I felt about that situation.’ You never wanna be like, ‘What I should of said…’ Well yeah, you should’ve said it.”
During an earlier episode of Southern Charm, Taylor suggested that Paige could have cheated on Craig. But according to Craig, the idea is fairly impossible.
“Neither of us can go out and be secretive about anything,” he noted. “Paige is like, ‘How on earth would I have pulled that off?’”
Looking back at the diss, Craig said he felt bad for his castmate.
“When she said it, I went more sympathetic towards her in being like, ‘Oh Taylor, you don’t wanna be…’ Everyone was always shocked that Taylor was dating Shep because she was such a sweetheart. I was like, ‘You don’t wanna turn into the girl that was like, oh, well that makes sense,’” he explained. “In my head too, [Paige’s] got all the gigglers. I was like, ‘Paige isn’t the best person to go after.’”
“Also, it’s a stupid thing,” he added.
Continuing on to his relationship with Paige, Craig said things are “good” between them.
“We just had our two-year anniversary. We’re going on a trip for that in a little bit and I think we’ve hit a really good stride where we’re not letting the unknown of the future — because we’re asked a lot when we’re filming and we just don’t know,” he shared. “We really don’t know where we’re going to end up but we decided not to let that affect us in the present.”
For now, he and Paige are splitting their time between her apartment in New York City and his place in Charleston.
“We hear about long-distance relationships, I’m like, ‘But we’re not. We live together, we just sometimes are in Charleston and sometimes in New York,’” he clarified. “I think she really enjoys that time apart and she talks about it. She’s like, ‘I get to have my alone time and watch my shows,’ and I am obviously the more sensitive one, so I have to be like, ’That doesn’t mean she doesn’t like you, Craig.’”
“We try not to [put pressure on our relationship]. And it’s funny because people remind me that last year I thought I’d be engaged by this time,” he went on.
Looking back at the moment in which Paige told him about her concerns on Summer House, Craig said he “actually listened.”
“I was like, ‘You’re right. There’s a lot more to figure out,’” he recalled. “Sure, we’re doing well dating now but we do have to figure out where we’re gonna live. We have to talk about money and kids, and two years I don’t think is that long of a time … It’s actually embarrassing that I think I could’ve gone to her parents last summer and asked them.”
Southern Charm season nine airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
