Craig Conover Denies He Drank And Drove On Southern Charm
If you think you might have spotted something rather disturbing on a Season 9 episode of Bravo's reality series, "Southern Charm," you're not alone. Plenty of viewers believed they caught star Craig Conover in the act of brazenly drinking and driving. While seeing someone swigging a beer behind the wheel of a car is certainly a shocking sight, Conover reassured viewers that what we thought we saw on the reality show wasn't actual reality.
On December 22, 2023, Conover took to Instagram to share a clip from "Southern Charm's" latest episode. In the video, he and his girlfriend, fellow "Summer House" star Paige DeSorbo, were driving to have dinner with their friends, Madison LeCroy and Brett Randle. When Conover and DeSorbo arrived at LeCroy's home, Conover brought his open beverage out of the car with him.
DeSorbo told Conover not to bring the drink inside, so he poured the remainder into the grass. To many folks watching, both the can and the color of its contents looked like beer, which would have meant that Conover was drinking alcohol while driving. One comment on the post, which garnered over 100 likes, said "They lost me at drinking and driving" with a thumbs-down emoji. Conover quickly jumped in to deny the shocking allegations.
Conover was sipping on a non-alcoholic beer behind the wheel
"Southern Charm" star Conover replied to the comment on Instagram questioning his beverage of choice by clarifying, "It's Budweiser Zero." The reality star added, "I always have a cooler packed with some in my car." Any concerns about the contents of the can in question were completely understandable because containers of Budweiser Zero look very similar to classic Budweiser cans. But, as the name suggests, it's an alcohol-free beer, making it a perfectly acceptable — albeit slightly strange — choice of drink to sip on behind the wheel.
Conover also hinted that there may have been some shady editing at play, noting, "Not sure why they cut that detail," with a smiley face emoji. Editing in reality television shows is notoriously deceptive. While we often feel like we're seeing everything that goes on in our favorite reality stars' lives, editing can often skew our perception or leave out important information. It's safe to say that Conover probably wishes that the nature of his drink was cleared up before this scene aired with some more thoughtful editing but that's not the nature of the game.
New developments in Conover and DeSorbo's relationship have also caused concern
The drinking and driving false alarm wasn't the only thing that Conover did on "Southern Charm" that left fans worried. Conover has previously dished about the possibility of walking down the aisle with partner, Paige DeSorbo. But, during the same episode, Conover told DeSorbo, "It's not the end of the world if we don't end up together." The couple has struggled with their long-distance relationship and where they plan to settle down.
He continued, "I believe that I've become a stable person with or without you. I know that you got me there, but I really feel stable in myself to the point where, like, I could let you go. I would be really sad, but I wouldn't freak out." Ultimately, though, they agreed that they both see a bright future together regardless.
Conover spoke to People at BravoCon in November 2023 and said of his relationship, "It's funny how things evolve and change [...] I love what we have now. My home base is Charleston and hers is New York, but if it was a Venn diagram, we cross over. We're always together, we're just in one place and the other." He also reiterated that, as "Southern Charm" fans will be well aware, they're in no rush to move in together or get married since everything is going well.