Craig Conover Dishes on Unaired Engagement Convo on Summer House, Being on “Same Page” With Paige DeSorbo About Marriage, and Respecting Her Independence, Plus What Fans Don’t See, Moving in Together, and Kids

Craig Conover isn’t buckling under the pressure to get engaged to his girlfriend of three years, Paige DeSorbo.

As he continues to be faced with questions about their next steps, the 36-year-old Southern Charm star is looking back on an unaired conversation he had with Kyle Cooke, 42, Jesse Solomon, 31, and Carl Radke, 39, insisting he and Paige, 31, are in agreement about their future, explaining what fans don’t know about their long-distance dynamic, and more.

“I’ve learned to put one foot in front of the other. I’m trying to not let the unknown of the future ruin the happiness of today,” Craig explained to OK! Magazine of the pressures on his relationship on September 25. “I think finding the right person is the tough part, and I could have found the wrong person in Charleston and have a structured life — or be with a girl that I love. To be able to have a social life in New York is a dream come true.”

During the eighth season of Summer House, Craig opened up to Paige’s castmates about his hesitancy to get engaged. But, unfortunately, the scene never aired.

“I was bummed because I don’t think it aired on Summer House last year, but at one point, Kyle [Cooke] was pressing me. It was me, Jesse [Solomon] and Carl [Radke] standing there, and he was like, ‘Why aren’t you engaged yet?’ I was like, ‘I don’t want to end up like any of y’all!'” he admitted. “Carl was like, ‘I get it, dude. We got engaged because everyone was telling us we would figure things out, but we’re figuring things out now while we’re engaged.'”

“So, Paige and I are on the same page about getting married. We’re figuring things out all the things you’re supposed to figure out beforehand,” he added.

According to Craig, he knows there are going to be ups and downs between him and Paige and would rather figure them out now, rather than wait until they are engaged or married.

“I was fortunate to have great parents growing up, but outside of that, I just had Hallmark to base relationship speeds on. You meet, you fall in love, you get engaged, you get married, but Paige has done a good job of being like, ‘In the real world, you need to date and talk about finances and where we’re going to live and kids,'” he noted.

Paige has also made a point to focus on her career as an individual.

“It was really important to her to become a successful career woman before she becomes Craig’s fiancé — whether that’s something that happens or not when you get engaged, she wanted that independence, and I respect all of that,” he stated. “Sometimes that was hard to figure out. I had to make a decision — do I stay in a relationship where I’m happy and have no idea what the future looks like or do I move on? For me, I’m happier with Paige and not knowing what tomorrow looks like. There’s a lot of pressure, and we’ve both realized one day we’ll figure out where we’ll live, but right now, we love being in both places.”

As for their long-distance relationship, with Craig in Charleston and Paige in New York City, Craig reminded fans that they don’t see everything on television and social media.

“We’re with each other every day, so what people don’t realize is we split time together in those two [Charleston and NYC] different places. Paige and I spent the spring in Charleston because we were filming Southern Charm, but we never go more than three or four days without seeing each other, which is nice,” he revealed. “We basically live together — just in two different places! It’s nice that we’re starting to see more and more long-distance couples reaching out and saying they feel represented by seeing us on TV now.”

During another interview, at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Thursday night, Craig spoke more of his future with Paige, specifically addressing when they’ll move in together.

“When we have kids we’re gonna have to,” he shared with E! News. “Or if we have kids. Charleston and New York City are great places to live. I love the balance. If we have kids and they get grade school age, then we’re gonna have to figure it out. She’s from a very close Italian family, so it might be me going up north.”

For now, Craig said his focus is on growing his businesses.

“But that just comes from wanting to build stuff for our future family,” Craig shared. “I think I’m very family-oriented as in I wanna have a good foundation so that, when the kids come, I can be with them as much as possible. Your priorities shift a little bit.”

As for why Paige wasn’t with him at the event, Craig added, “Paige is with her parents up in New York. She had something with Amazon today.”