A friend’s perspective! Southern Charm star Leva Bonaparte thinks her friend Craig Conover isn’t quite the same person he was before he started dating Paige DeSorbo.
“Absolutely,” the Bravo personality, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 27, when asked if she thinks the Sewing Down South founder, 33, has changed at all during his romance with the Summer House star, 29. “I think he’s changed. His fashion’s a lot better!”
The restaurateur added that Craig “likes to please the person that he’s dating, and he likes to keep that person happy.”
The “Giggly Squad” podcast host and the Pillow Talk author confirmed their romance in September 2021 after months of speculation about their relationship. “We did get a little drunk at the wedding and threw a Story up there from the photo booth,” Paige told Us one month later. “[But] I’m just waiting [for] the right scenery to happen to snap [an official] pic.”
Craig previously dated his Southern Charm costar Naomie Olindo, but the duo called it quits in 2017 after less than three years together. Leva, for her part, is still super close with the L’Abeye founder, 30, which has led to some awkward moments on the Bravo series. In an exclusive clip from the Thursday, September 29, season finale, Leva questioned Craig’s decision to seat Naomie at a different table during a Christmas party.
After Naomie explained the situation to Leva, the Bourbon N’ Bubbles owner couldn’t hide her annoyance. “I don’t even know why I’m friends with some people,” Leva said during the clip, seemingly referring to Craig and his pals. “So f—king toxic.”
Leva hinted to Us that she thinks some of Craig’s decisions are influenced by his desire to minimize potential conflict with Paige.
“I do think that she is looking out for Craig, but she doesn’t always have the context, you know what I mean?” the businesswoman explained on Tuesday. “And I do think that he tries to keep her happy, but Craig doesn’t wanna hurt feelings. So, he doesn’t always say, like, ‘Hey, it makes Paige unhappy if I go to lunch with you, Naomie.’ That’s all you have to say, Craig.”
Overall, Leva wasn’t happy with the way Craig treated Naomie throughout season 8. “I think Craig is not the best at communicating when it’s his own feelings,” the Republic DMG owner told Us. “He can be a great mediator and he’s great at advice, but when it comes down to him, it’s like he couldn’t just say, ‘This is how I feel, these are my boundaries.’ And instead it would come out [as him] screaming at Naomie, and poor Naomie doesn’t deserve that.”
According to Leva, the tension hits a breaking point during the season finale. “There was a lot of stuff happening, and unfortunately when you’re really that close, a lot of it can even happen off-camera,” she told Us. “[With the] finale, you’ll start to see, like, the culmination of some things.”
The season 8 finale of Southern Charm airs on Bravo Thursday, September 29, at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
