Southern Charm viewers have watched a secret romance unfold between Craig Conover and Charley Manley thus far this season. It’s another onscreen romance for the Sewing Down South founder, who had a very public romance previously with Paige DeSorbo.
Craig isn’t necessarily shying away from the limelight. But Charley certainly wanted to keep their kiss under wraps during the cast trip to Mexico. It seems, based on the most recent episode that her instincts were spot on.
Salley Carson had been vying for Craig’s feelings earlier on in the season before getting friend-zoned by him. When Charley expressed an interest in the Southern Charm veteran, Salley felt upset that her friend was pulling away from her.
Craig Conover and Charley Manley opened up about their kiss
On the Southern Charm After Show, Charley explained why her kiss with Craig “just wasn’t something that I wanted to share.”
“I was still trying to figure out how I felt about him. And I just knew that everyone in this friend group was going to have an opinion on it, and I just kinda wanted to keep it to myself for a second,” she explained.
Craig could tell that Charley was behaving differently within the friend group, and that “was the tough part.”
“It made Charley uncomfortable to tell her friends the reality of our situation. And out of respect, I did that too, because I thought eventually, one day, we wouldn’t have to live in secret. She just was always scared to tell Salley,” the reality TV star shared.
For her part, Salley recalled how Charley’s behavior changed when she started dating Craig, versus other guys. She revealed, “I am the person she’s calling or texting. And then she has a whole f*cking makeout with Craig and doesn’t tell me.”
On the After Show, Charley explained that she was putting up boundaries. In the “new friendship,” she won’t “tell her every single thing about every part of my entire day.” The newbie Southern Charm star added, “No, my feelings for you in this friendship are not changing, but my actions are, because I gotta start acting like an individual.”
Charley “felt like a bad friend” towards Salley because of “the parameters.” And she admitted that the concerns were “holding me back from ever giving Craig a chance at all.” Her keeping the kiss a secret from Salley was her “trying to” “draw a boundary.”
“As much as she doesn’t mean it, her opinions do affect my opinions,” she concluded. “I think subconsciously I was feeling like a bad friend for pursuing something with Craig, knowing that Salley had once liked him.”
Catch Southern Charm Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CHARLEY’S COMMENTS ON THE AFTER SHOW? ARE YOU SURPRISED SHE HID THE KISS FROM SALLEY?
