Craig Conover and Charley Manley’s breakup conversation on Southern Charm included a jaw-dropping statement about Paige DeSorbo.
During the Season 11 finale’s Carolina Day party, Charley finally ended things with Craig, explaining to him that she realized during the Mexico trip she saw him only as a friend. By Charley’s account, she had been “seriously interested” in Craig, but her “switch flipped” after witnessing his confrontation with Salley Carson during a van ride in Puerto Vallarta.
As Craig remarked in a confessional, “I let my guard down with Charley and, like, this isn’t a rebound or, like, something that I’m distracting myself with. So, for it to all be erased in one bad night just sucks.”
RELATED:Â Charley Reveals New Details About Her Decision to End Things With Craig Conover (EXCLUSIVE)
Speaking to Charley directly, Craig further referenced his and Paige’s split that had taken place roughly seven months earlier, while expressing just how serious he was about their budding romance.
“At the end of the day, like, after my breakup, I think I was worried that, you know, I would never, like, like someone again,” he told Charley, without ever mentioning Paige by name. “But I had a big enough crush on you that, like, I would’ve picked you over my ex. And I didn’t think I, like, would’ve felt that again.”
When Charley responded that she “didn’t know that,” Craig said, “We never got there, but we had a lot of fun.”
Craig Conover reflects on his comment about Paige and Charley
When a Southern Charm After Show producer reminded Craig what he’d said to Charley about Paige during Episode 15, castmate Madison LeCroy’s jaw dropped and she immediately accused him of being a “liar.”
“Not at that moment, no,” Craig insisted. “I really had gotten to a point where, like, I would have been happy dating Charley.”
Madison, meanwhile, still refused to believe that he had made such a comment. When Craig continued to maintain that he had, however, she dramatically slid down in her chair and told him, “I can’t believe you said that. You didn’t tell me you said that. That’s crazy.”
After stating that he doesn’t ever “ask to be in these situations,” Craig added, “I apparently didn’t realize it was that big of a deal, but now I do. … I was being honest.”
Either way, he predicted that if Charley had agreed to give their romance a “chance outside of filming” that they “would’ve had so much fun” together. Later, Craig conceded that Charley was not “the right fit” for him, however, because she lacked the “conviction” that he is looking for in a relationship now.
Charley Manley unpacks her breakup conversation with Craig Conover
Charley, for her part, also revisited her heart-to-heart with Craig on the Southern Charm After Show.
“I do see him as a friend,” Charley shared, declaring that she was not being “naive” in saying so. “I’m not looking at him like ‘It was fun. Bye.’ I’m just like, ‘Hey, like, I just don’t see you romantically anymore. Like, sorry.'”
Even though she wanted to be there for Craig “as a friend,” she ultimately felt that their finale conversation “was kinda going in circles,” toward the end.
“I think that we both like each other, I really do,” Charley added, mentioning their “mutual attraction” and underlying friendship. “I think that we just, like, didn’t know each other that well. … I, like, don’t regret it, because I do feel like it, you know, helped me get closer to, like, other people in this group as well.”
As for where she and Craig go from here, Charley concluded, “I don’t see him not being in my life, because we’re friends. But I also feel like we have a friendship to where I can, like, call him out on things, so that’s good too.”
As you wait for Craig and Charley to spill more intel on their whirlwind romance at the Southern Charm reunion, don’t miss the latest update on Paige’s dating life today.
