For seasons, Craig Conover has been a fan favorite on Southern Charm. The 26-year-old at the time was a recent graduate working hard toward his dream of becoming a lawyer. The thing about Craig was he was the kind of reality star viewers all knew. He was that one friend who burned the candle at both ends. However, behind his outgoing party-boy persona, he was struggling with some demons. Now, ten years later, he is sharing his journey to sobriety and changing the way fans look at the King Street drinking atmosphere.
What was Craig Conover addicted to?
By Season 6 of Southern Charm, Craig was being peppered with question after question regarding his lifestyle. For episodes, Craig was acting irritable and depressed. But when his friends would try to get an answer from the Sewing Down South founder, he would just shut down. Finally, Craig admitted that he had an addiction to the prescription drug Adderall. The drug is usually used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In his book Pillow Talk, Craig wrote, “In those early seasons, I often blamed my internal demons on the outside pressures I was facing. The need to finish my work caused me to take Adderall. The anxiety of needing to ‘be on’ when I went out to the bars caused me to take more Adderall. And so on.”
Craig shared that by the end of Season 3, he was taking three 15mg pills a day. Craig added, “Instead of finding calm and happiness, my life had been an endless parade of searching for that next high; that next jolt of what I thought was real life. But it had been an illusion, a trick that my money and fame had played on me.” Recently, Craig also came clean about his drinking issues when talking to Austen Kroll.
How Craig Conover made good changes
According to passages from Craig’s book, a trip to the Bahamas enlightened him to his problem with Adderall. While spearfishing, he dove into the water to warn his friend of a shark but “couldn’t hold my breath for more than a few seconds” due to the dosage he took that morning. After Season 6, Craig made the decision to quit the drug once and for all. That was when he founded his company, Sewing Down South, which he credits for saving his life.
As fans are also learning, Craig also had a problem with alcohol. During the most recent episode, he explained that alcoholism runs in his family, noting when a family member cut back, everyone understood why. Shortly before Season 10 aired, Craig told People, “I pretty much stopped drinking. Probably once every two months I’ll have a drink or two, but that is drastically better than drinking every night or every other night. I’m having fun finding that middle ground.” Craig shared, “I was just filling my time. Every activity to me was a drinking activity, and I never knew the world outside of it. That was always my priority, and I’ve found value in other things. It’s been a real blessing.”
Here’s how Craig Conover is helping others
Thanks to Craig opening up about both of his addictions, he is helping to start a much-needed conversation. Craig and Austen’s beachside chat was moving and brave. Craig told fans on the After Show, “You don’t realize that I’m actually trying to change my life. He thought I was just doing it to look better. And once I realized that I opened up to him because I finally understood it, and I was like, ‘No, I’m an alcoholic.'” Craig is sharing his rawest emotions, noting “I still don’t even like saying that word because I don’t understand it that much, but I’m like, ‘I drank too much.'”
And while he is stripping the layers back he is most likely helping a few fans out there who might be in the same predicament. It was also good to see that Craig doesn’t blame Austen for being upset with him. Craig went on to note that he doesn’t blame Austen for being in the “To his credit, I had really never talked about it with anyone other than my parents and Paige. But it still feels weird because it feels weak to me. I know everyone’s like, ‘It’s not weak,’ but it still feels … It’s weird,” he added. I hope Craig continues to have these challenging discussions, as some feel he is the unsung hero of Southern Charm.
Southern Charm is available to stream on Peacock.
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