Paige DeSorbo Reveals She Was ‘Brainwashed’ in Abusive Relationship at 19

Trigger Warning: This article contains discussions of abuse within a relationship.

Paige DeSorbo is a cultural and fashion icon to many who followed her path from Summer House to fashion contributor and podcast host. She has a sphere of influence on social media and more recently, is on tour with her Giggly Squad co-host Hannah Berner. They also have a book coming out.

Fans praise the reality TV star’s honesty and candid nature. And in the wake of her split with Southern Charm star Craig Conover, Paige reflected on some of her experiences dating. Not all of them positive, but the podcast host kept it real.

Paige DeSorbo described the “very weird time” in her life

“I probably got my most insecure when I was 19 or 20. I dated a really physically and mentally abusive man, and it changed my whole course of dating in my 20s,” she shared during the December 30 episode of her podcast.

“I don’t even know if I’ve ever even said that on the pod, that I was in an abusive relationship before, but I feel like if I’m going to say it, this is the episode I would say it because I know for a fact, a ton of other girls have been in them too,” Paige continued.

She described the experience as “a very weird time.” She was “fully brainwashed” by the ex-boyfriend. Paige was still quite young when it happened, and wasn’t able to identify what happened to her until she was out of it.

“I was 19, I was 20 years old, I couldn’t even legally drink. It really did change a lot of how I looked at relationships. I’d never been exposed to that ever. I never thought that that could be me,” the Summer House star explained.

Paige wants to send the message that her experience can “happen to anyone”

Paige felt “very ashamed” about what happened to her, but has worked through those feelings to turn it into something more positive and empowering.

“I’m not ashamed of it at all because I’m really proud of myself on how I handled it and how I handled it afterward,” she revealed. “I’m proud of myself on talking about it and letting girls know it can literally happen to anyone.”

The fashion contributor reflected on how she thinks she got hooked in the situation. She said, “I looked for chaos, and I looked for pure adrenaline and emotion. I was like, this is so fun, and this is so crazy. I would get out of one bad relationship and get into a slightly better one, but by standards, very bad.”

This was Paige’s “pattern” of dating until her mid-twenties. She did some self-reflection and changed certain decision-making habits. She engaged in a “normal” relationship after but terminated it. A few months after, she met Craig filming Season 1 of Winter House.

“When I got out of my previous relationship and I was single and I met Craig, I was like, I finally figured it out,” Paige stated. “I’m gonna be with someone that loves the f— out of me. This is all happening the way it’s supposed to be.”

The duo broke it off after three years of dating. But Paige promised she had “nothing bad to say” about Craig.

Summer House returns on Wednesday, February 12, at 9/8c on Bravo.

TELL US – WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO PAIGE’S COMMENTS? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HER DATING HISTORY?