Paige DeSorbo is speaking out about the recent demise of her three-year relationship with Craig Conover.
As she officially announced their breakup on her podcast, the 32-year-old Summer House star said the Southern Charm cast member, 35, was the “best boyfriend” as she revealed what she’s still grappling with when it came to their breakup, spoke of insecurities, and admitted that she thought she’d have two kids by now.
“[Craig] truly helped me grow so much in these past three years. I am a different person than when I started dating him. I truly do feel more mature, more just, like, confident, all of these things, and that’s definitely, like, attributed to him,” Paige gushed on the December 30 episode of Giggly Squad.
Although Paige was worried about saying too much because she didn’t want her comments to be misconstrued, she didn’t mince words when talking about how Craig was as a partner.
“He’s definitely like, the best boyfriend I’ve ever had. I can truly say that. He was a great boyfriend, and he did everything correct, and he never made me feel insecure or anything like that,” she revealed. “I have nothing bad to say about him. He truly let me feel all my feelings, go through everything that would pop into my head, and I’m so beyond grateful for that. His family, his friends, are like all amazing people.”
The podcast host then went on to discuss what’s so “hard” about the split.
“So it almost is harder when no one’s done anything to be mad about. That’s hard. I don’t want things to be misconstrued that we hate each other or something happened. It’s really just two people growing and changing and things they want in their lives changing,” she continued.
According to Paige, she hated turning 30, but she came into her own at 32.
“I just felt so myself this year. I loved throwing myself into work. I loved doing everything I was doing, and it was stressful, and it was hard, but I just felt very me,” she explained.
That said, she was often accused of being “insecure” and “immature” for waiting too long to settle down.
“You can be 32 and decide to change the entire course of your life. You don’t have to get married and have a baby because you think you have to,” she argued.
While Paige is firm in her decision to stand with the “early 30 single girlies,” she continues to grapple with the idea that her life isn’t as she thought it would be.
“I love where my life is at. I truly can say I wake up every morning and I really am like, ‘F*ck yeah.’ I love my life. I think it’s more the fact that you have to come to terms with the fact that your life is not what you thought it would be,” she noted, adding that she thought she’d have two kids by 32.
“It’s not that, and that would have been amazing too. It’s better, but getting over the fact that it’s not what you made up in your head is kind of a thing,” she explained.
Meanwhile, in an interview just weeks before their split, Craig spoke of their future and his decision to stop drinking, citing it as an effort to “become more of a husband and father material” for Paige.
“We’re playing the long game. It would be easy to go for instant gratification, but the foundation that we’re building is so that we die together one day, not just make it fun,” Craig explained to PEOPLE. “We know we’re going to get married one day, and when it happens, it’ll be a lot of fun, but whenever that is, who knows?”
“Once you take yourself out of that pressure cooker and have some perspective and travel, life’s a little more simple. There’s no reason to put pressure on it. I think people will have a lot more of our lives to watch because we’re taking our time than if we were to rush it,” he continued.
Craig also signaled his and Paige’s desire to be “healthier than a lot of other couples that you see on your TV,” and he said he was “committed to doing what it takes to make it work” with Paige.
“We really don’t know what that looks like. We’ve got a couple years probably until we start having kids, and then we’ll have to figure it out. But I’ve really taken this normal role now of being a happy wife, happy life,” he shared.
Following the news of their breakup, Andy Cohen, 56, offered a comment with four sad face emojis on a post from Bravo’s The Daily Dish.
Southern Charm season 10 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.