Last night, Part 2 of the Southern Charm Season 11 reunion aired. As expected, three big revelations come to light. Additionally, several other cast-related updates, spanning a smaller amount of screentime, also aired.
Regarding the smaller soundbites, the feud between Craig Conover and Venita Aspen is still intact. Producers wisely aired the podcast clip that originally pissed Craig off. In it, Venita accused Craig of “milking” his breakup. She also noted that Craig failed to form any connections with her.
On his end, Craig swore that he’d “always been nice to” Venita, which raised many eyebrows. Also raising eyebrows, Carl Radke apparently told the press, not Venita, that their relationship was a nonstarter, since he lives in New York while she lives in Charleston. But at least Salley Carson and Venita are slowly moving forward as friends … for now.
And no, Salley did not buy her former chickens to win Craig over, she claimed. Also, no, Salley’s approaches to snagging a man have not changed, and honestly, that entertains me to no end. As for the three time-consuming narratives in Part 2, well, the name Craig appears in all of them.
Craig Conover accused Charley Manley of “love bombing” him during the Southern Charm Season 11 reunion
Craig and Salley failed to thrive this season. On the flip side, Craig and Charley Manley shared a spark or two during Season 11. However, their romance quickly turned sour during a cast trip to Mexico, where Craig popped off on Venita. After seeing his reactive side, Charley slowly backed away from her Sewing Down South crush.
During Part 2, Craig and Charley held totally conflicting narratives. On his end, Craig accused Charley of “talking to two other guys.” That hurt because, as Craig claimed, Charley had taken him by the hand, insisting that he was the only guy she was entertaining. “I swear to God that did not happen,” Charley stressed.
Undeterred, Craig leaned in, further claiming, “I was strung on. I can’t believe I know what this means now … I was love bombed.” The way their costars’ faces instantly morphed was hysterical. Andy Cohen was also taken aback, so he asked Craig to elaborate.
Addressing Charley, Craig explained, “You said all of this stuff to me. And, like, you were FaceTiming me from your friends’ weddings and started to be the talk of the town. But then I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s what love bombing is.’ … There was some future planning from your end.”
Charley, however, did “not feel like I love bombed him.” But as Craig said, “You made it seem to me like we were gonna make it out of filming.”
Charley is now dating Southern Hospitality star Justin Assad
As fans know, Craig and Charley did NOT make it out of filming. But unlike Craig, Charley is now spoken for. As she revealed during Part 2, she is currently dating Justin Assad from Southern Hospitality.
At first, Charley played coy. Yes, she is dating someone new, she revealed. Her boyfriend is from Boston, and he works at a club, she added. Cue a grinning Salley, clocking in to reveal “He’s on Southern Hospitality.”
Likely realizing that their gig was up, Charley sighed. “It’s Justin Assad, yeah,” she admitted. Hysterically, Andy turned to Craig, wondering if he had ever met Justin. “Yeah, I always say hi to him when he comes in the bar,” Craig admitted.
Then, Craig threw Charley under the bus. “Charley and I were still, like, hanging out, and finally Austen [Kroll] sat me down in Vegas,” Craig recalled. “He was like, ‘Dude, whatever she’s telling you that she’s not talking to someone, I met him.’ He’s like, ‘He’s real’”
According to Craig, Austen further claimed that Charley was in love. But as Charley countered, she was and is free to do as she pleases, since she and Craig were never in a monogamous relationship. Meanwhile, on Episode 2 of his series, Justin explained that his last serious relationship ended following “a little threesome gone wrong.” Whether or not Justin will make an appearance with Charley on the next season of Southern Charm is anyone’s guess.
Craig admitted he “shouldn’t be” on the show anymore
Throughout Part 1 and Part 2 of the Season 11 reunion, Craig’s crack was planted firmly in the hot seat. So much so that, at the tail end of Part 1, Craig walked off the soundstage. “I just have to f*cking eat it. I hate being here,” he admitted, adding, “I don’t even know if I’m coming back anymore,” he said.
But he only excused himself from the noise for a brief blip, since he reappeared at the start of Part 2. As he returned to his seat, Craig turned to one of his producers and said, “You guys have villainized vulnerability. So unfortunately, I’m not going to be vulnerable with you guys anymore.”
He meant that, since Craig remained defensive for the rest of the reunion. But then, in a moment of defeat, Craig said something huge. As he sighed, this show might not be a great fit for him anymore.
“God, this f*cking show, man. Maybe this isn’t right for me. Maybe I just shouldn’t be here. I mean, look, I would love to figure out a way to enjoy this again,” Craig groaned.
Moving forward, Craig needs to “figure out a way to enjoy this again and not feel like I’m always [against everyone], even if it’s in my own head.” If not, Craig might walk away from filming.
Southern Charm is available to stream on Peacock.
TELL US –DID YOU WATCH PART 2 OF THE SOUTHERN CHARM SEASON 11 REUNION? IF SO, THOUGHTS?
