The season finale of Southern Charm aired on March 20, 2025, spotlighting Craig Conover as he shared his aspirations to propose to his then-girlfriend, Paige DeSorbo. During a vibrant summer kickoff gathering, Craig confided in Austen Kroll:
“I’m 99 percent confident that I’m going to propose this year.” He added, “I think that we’re both very excited about it.”
At that moment, Paige, who was 32 years old, appeared on-screen, and their engagement seemed imminent. However, just five months later, the scene shifted dramatically when the cameras returned to capture their breakup. In December 2024, Paige publicly announced that she and Craig had parted ways after three years together. Subsequently, in January 2025, Craig opened up about the split during conversations with Austen and Shep Rose.
The Unfolding Drama Between Craig and Paige
During the season finale, Craig revealed that he had purchased an engagement ring for Paige well before summer 2024. When discussing his proposal plans with Austen, he mentioned that he had already put considerable thought into designing the ring. However, Paige expressed a desire to postpone the proposal.
“Then she was like, ‘Actually hold off.’ Looking back, maybe that was her starting to panic or freak out,” he explained.
In a subsequent Southern Charm discussion filmed in January, Craig noted that everything between them seemed normal as recently as Thanksgiving 2024.
“Paige and I had a great Thanksgiving together. Everything was normal at her parents. Our chemistry, like, everything,” he said.
However, just weeks later, Paige reached out to him with troubling news. Craig sensed the gravity of the situation immediately. “I was like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening,'” he recalled. Paige explained her need to rediscover herself and requested that they break up. He characterized the conversation as calm yet predominantly one-sided, stating:
“She was like, ‘I need to find myself.’ She’s like, ‘I have to take control of my life again and we need to break up.'”
After their split, Craig struggled with whom to confide in, ultimately wanting to turn to Austen and Shep for support. He hesitated out of concern that Austen might not keep the information private. Shep questioned if Craig was waiting for Paige to announce the breakup publicly, to which Craig responded that he allowed Paige to dictate when the news would be shared.
“I wasn’t going to f—ing say anything because I didn’t want it to be real,” he expressed.
Craig also revealed that Paige had previously asked him to buy an engagement ring, which he did, even going to New York to create a custom design. He had even considered relocating to New York for her sake, but Paige warned him he might resent her for it.
“She’s like, ‘You will resent me forever if you have to live this life in New York,'” he shared.
Despite Paige once expressing a desire to raise children in Manhattan, she appeared to withdraw when Craig showed a willingness to commit. Reflecting on their relationship, Craig expressed how challenging it was to accept their separation.
“I just think it’s so rare for a love [like this] to come around. We were best friends. We loved each other. We had a great s*x life. We just checked so many boxes,” he said. “How are we giving this up?” He added, “It’s weird to, like, mourn someone that’s still alive.”
The highly anticipated first part of the Southern Charm reunion is set to air on Bravo on Thursday, March 27, at 8 PM ET.