‘Southern Charm’: Salley Carson Might Be Annoying, But She Didn’t Deserve To Be Berated By Craig Conover

Salley Carson has been at the center of Southern Charm‘s Season 11 drama, but even so, she didn’t deserve to by screamed at by Craig Conover in tonight’s episode.

Carson’s relationship with Conover wasn’t always this hostile. When Season 11 started, Carson was crushing hard on the Sewing Down South founder, spending late nights in his hot tub and purchasing chickens to draw him in closer. What she didn’t know, however, was that Conover was more interested in getting to know her best friend, Charley Manley, and when he and Manley finally sparked up a romance, Carson did a full 180.

In conversations with Manley, Carson did all she could to turn the art gallery employee away from Conover. Looking out for her friend? Maybe. Jealous? More likely. Carson’s constant complaining about Conover put a damper on her friendship with Manley, who eventually asked her to stop speaking to her about the Southern Charm vet altogether. Given the state of their friendship and Manley’s desire to get to know Conover on her own terms, it wasn’t all that surprising that she decided to keep their kiss a secret from Carson.

The news was, of course, bound to come out eventually — and when it did in tonight’s episode of Southern Charm, all hell broke loose. There at the bar in Puerto Vallarta, Carson confronted Manley for “lying” about her relationship with Conover. Carson said she was more upset that Manley would keep such a big secret from her than she was about the kiss itself, though we’re not totally sure that argument would hold up in court. The women sparred, and after Manley expressed her frustrations to Conover, he took it upon himself to put Carson in her place.

Back in the sprinter van, Conover screamed at Carson for involving herself in his personal life, repeatedly calling her a “loser” and “dumb.” This was all right in front of Manley, by the way!

We understand that Carson can be annoying. Hopping around different reality shows like The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise, Southern Hospitality, and now Southern Charm has not only branded Carson as a “thirsty pick-me,” but also as someone who isn’t a “girl’s girl.” She didn’t do herself any favors by expressing interest in Austen Kroll while he was still in a relationship, or by turning on Conover the moment he friend-zoned her and went after Manley. Carson’s past fling with Southern Hospitality star Joe Bradley, hookups with Shep Rose and Summer House‘s West Wilson, and alleged hangout with a recently separated Kyle Cooke have earned her quite a reputation in the Bravo universe. It’s safe to say her constant desire for male validation has overshadowed the fact that she is, despite what Conover said, not a dumb girl. I mean, she literally works as a spine surgery robot operator as her day job — and, whether we like to admit it or not, if it weren’t for Carson, the only drama we’d have this season is more catfights between Kroll and Conover.

Photo: NBCUniversal/Bravo

With that being said, she did not deserve to be berated by Conover in the sprinter van. This would be the second time on this cast trip that Conover has, for lack of better words, lost his shit, on a female co-star (he went after Venita Aspen at dinner the night before). While I can understand Conover’s frustration with both women—Aspen had been taking his ex Paige DeSorbo’s side in the press following their breakup, and Carson was meddling in his relationship with Manley—neither deserved to be cursed at or called names by a grown man.

The episode ended on a dramatic “to be continued,” so I think we’re all curious to see how Manley handles her relationship with Conover moving forward. While she’s been rather lenient in regard to his arguments with their co-stars up to this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if she caught the ick from his most recent outburst. She and Carson have since rekindled their tight-knit friendship, after all. We’ll just have to wait one more week to find out what happens!

Southern Charm airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.