Is It Time For Craig Conover To Pack Up His Pillows And Leave ‘Southern Charm’?

The last year or so hasn’t exactly been easy on Craig Conover. The Sewing Down South founder entered 2025 as a single man for the first time in three years after his then-girlfriend, Paige DeSorbo, dumped him over the holidays and soon began seeing someone else. Southern Charm Season 11 picked up a few months into Conover’s newfound singlehood, and while he had garnered up enough goodwill from Bravo fans in light of his breakup, it wasn’t long before he blew it all up.

When Conover and DeSorbo broke up, there was a shocking number of fans rushing to defend him. “What’s wrong with wanting kids and a family? Why did she string him along if she knew she didn’t want that?” The DeSorbo hate grew even stronger when, not long after their split, she was spotted out with her current boyfriend, Joe DaMelio, sparking questions about a possible affair, which DeSorbo has denied.

While DeSorbo’s last season on Summer House certainly painted Conover as a pining, egotistical boyfriend who couldn’t support his girlfriend’s career endeavors because of his own insecurities, Conover’s sit-down with Andy Cohen (and bonus post-breakup scene in the Southern Charm Season 10 finale) showed a different story, one that portrayed him as the blindsided victim in the situation.

Going into Season 11, Conover was single and ready to mingle. Having scored big wins in the Craig vs. Paige breakup saga and garnering enough sympathy to exude a newfound confidence, Conover, while still grieving his past, was ready to look toward his future. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before some of those fatal flaws that DeSorbo spent three years trying to fix were restored to their factory default settings.

Putting aside his (many) blowout arguments with Austen Kroll, Conover truly came under fire for his angry outbursts directed at both Venita Aspen and Salley Carson this season. The latter argument, during which he called Carson “dumb” and a “loser,” was the final straw for newbie Charley Manley, whom he had been romantically pursuing (mostly off-camera) throughout last summer. Manley, who is now dating Southern Hospitality star Justin Assada, was abruptly turned off by the way Conover screamed at her friend, forcing her to swiftly end their situationship. Outside of the show, all of that support he was getting from fans post-Paige came to an immediate halt.

When the cast came back together for the Season 11 reunion, there was undoubtedly a bit of a gang-up on Conover. Even new cast member Whitner Slagsvol, who has remained rather unproblematic and quiet thus far, had something to say about the Southern Charm veteran’s inexcusable behavior.

Feeling pressure from all ends, Conover questioned whether being on Southern Charm was still “right” for him, which got me thinking … is it time, after more than a decade, for him to pack up his pillows and exit the show altogether? It’s not an unpopular opinion to say that I’m sick of watching Conover and Kroll have the same fight/different font season after season. It should also be noted that it’s never fun to watch a man scream at a woman. Without those two storylines, what is Conover bringing to the show anymore?

Photo: Bravo

For one, I can’t imagine Conover ever actually leaving—at least, not now. Sewing Down South seems to thrive off of the free promotion from Bravo, and it would be a poor business move to lose that bump. As someone who attended BravoCon back in November, I can tell you that the lines to purchase Sewing Down South sweatshirts and/or snap a picture with Conover, who spent much of his time manning his booth in the Bravohood, were always lengthy.

I also should point out that, while Conover certainly has his flaws, we don’t watch reality TV for the morality component. Usually, the best reality stars are messy, chaotic, and blissfully unaware of just how crazy they can seem at times. I don’t agree with calling Conover a narcissist, as that’s a term best saved for the Jax Taylors of Bravo, but I do think that without his occasional diva moments, we probably wouldn’t be talking about this show in the same capacity. Moreover, Conover did take accountability for his actions and apologized by the end of the reunion, and to the point I made about Taylor, he’s not actively trying to ruin anyone’s life. In fact, he’s become one of the best kinds of reality TV villains (if we even want to call him that), because you can love him one minute and want to give him a masterclass on respect the next.

While Southern Charm has undergone many cast switch-ups over the years, Conover and Shep Rose have been the show’s anchors since Season 1, which aired in 2014. With Rose noticeably taking on a smaller part in more recent seasons, perhaps that’s a position Conover might want to think about moving forward. He might not always be on the right side of history, but he and Rose are Southern Charm. Heck, at this point, they are legacy characters. They can get away with simply doing silly things, making funny commentary, and offering the occasional juicy tidbit on their dating lives, while the younger generation takes the reins on drama.

Conover has sacrificed the better part of his adult life for our entertainment, and while I wouldn’t blame him for wanting to take a season off to regroup and do some inner healing, I don’t think this is (or should be) the last we see of him on Southern Charm.

Southern Charm Season 11 is currently streaming on Peacock.