WhenVanderpump Rulescast membersAriana Madix and Tom Sandovalbroke up, it was a pop culture sensation that brought in a flood of new fans and created international headlines. Parasocially, it’s hard to imagine there could ever be a reality television event as captivating as the breakup that would come to be known asScandoval, but this year, Bravo is delivering us an even more compelling televised breakup: Paige DeSorbo and Craig Conover’s split.And we’re not just seeing the messy aftermath — we’re watching the entire story unfold from both sides on not one, but two Bravo shows.
Scandoval Unfolded Almost Entirely Off Screen
As season 10 ofVanderpump Ruleswas airing,Ariana discovered evidence that Tom, her boyfriend of a decade, had been having amonths-long affairwith her close friend and costar, Rachel Leviss. The show’s crew quickly picked up cameras to film an additional episode covering the breakup in real time, which saw over four million viewers and garnered the showa pair of Emmy nominations. Butas gripping as this was to watch on TV, the real drama was unfolding off-screen.
Coverage of Scandoval on the show was responsive;what we watched onVanderpump Ruleswas the fallout of the breakup, without any sort of on-screen lead-up. Though the relationship betweenTom and Ariana no longer felt fully functional, it didn’t necessarily seem obvious that they were headed for a split. The longtime couple had created a life with one another; they owned their home together, worked as business partners, and had become something of a branded power couple. Maybe it seemed more like a rough patch than the end of a relationship.Without a runway,Scandoval crash-landed ontoVanderpump Rulesfor one fleeting episode.
‘Vanderpump Rules’ Season 10 Finale Trailer Brings “Scandoval” to a Chaotic Head
You know that it’s (almost) time — the Season 10 finale airs on May 17.
Two Bravo Shows Tell the Full Story of Paige and Craig’s Breakup
Paige and Craig’s breakup, on the other hand, has been a well-crafted story unfurling across two separate shows. OnSouthern Charm’s tenth season, we watched Craig obliviously believe everything in his partnership was fine, and though he and his girlfriend disagreed on fundamentals such as where to live, when to marry and have children, andhow successful Paige was allowed to be, he believed love was enough to carry them through. The subtext there was an expectation that Paige would have to give in and sacrifice her career goals, marry him, and become a mother much sooner than she’d like. Paige visited him in Charleston occasionally,noticeably annoyed at times, and beginning to withdraw. In the show’s finale, Craig is fresh off a relationship-ending phone call with Paige,allegedly blindsided.
This season ofSummer Housepaints an entirely different picture.Paige’s overwhelming anxietyabout her boyfriend is a central storyline as she’s realizing in real time that it’s best to part ways with Craig, and now she has to pluck up the courage to do it. It seems likeshe loves him, but understands being with him is no longer sustainable. Paige shouldn’t have to sacrifice her career, nor should she be coerced into getting married and having kids before she’s ready.Relationships require compromise, but they also require you to know what you’re unwilling to compromise.
In a recent episode, Paige wept to her best friend and housemate,Ciara Miller, as she expressed her anxiety and fears around the relationship. Ciara seems to give Paige the permission she’s struggling to give herself, but Paige is scared of how Craig (and the world) would respond if she were to end the relationship. On this season’sSouthern Charmreunion,Andy Cohenasked the cast if they’re fearful of Craig, and several hands went up.Craig has been known to haveanger issuesand a superiority complex, andPaige is justified in feeling fearful of how he might react.
‘Southern Charm’ and ‘Summer House’ Co-Stars Rally Around Paige and Craig
Who knows how things have unfolded off camera and behind closed doors, but on screen, we’ve seenCraig direct his rage at Paigein the most southern way imaginable. In the south, the most cutting insults are delivered in dulcet tones. Though his delivery is always pleasant, anyone fluent in southern politeness can pick up on his coldness.Whenever he’s asked if Paige has cheated on him, he punishes her for breaking up with him byletting the question go unanswered. He leaves Paige vulnerable to Bravo audiences, who have proven they can’t be normal about anything, and love to project onto the interpersonal dynamics of people they’ve never met.
Both Paige and Craig are central characters on their respective shows, with close friends around them in whom they can confide. This provides viewersa peek behind the curtain at both parties’ true feelings about the relationship and its dissolution.Both casts largely take the side of their respective costars. OnVanderpump Rules, Tom and Ariana were part of the same group of friends, which forced the cast to take sides. It tore the show apart. After more than 10 years on the series together, real-life friendships had long been weakening, andthe definitive split into factions following Scandoval was ultimatelythe demise ofVanderpump Rules.
‘Summer House’ Star Paige DeSorbo’s Relationship With Craig Conover Was Unhealthy and Caused Great Damage
Both Bravo stars have shared their side of the breakup story.
The Morality of Bravo Breakups
The complicated social dynamics at play make Paige and Craig’s breakup more textured. By contrast, onVanderpump Rules,Scandoval was framed in stark black and white. Ariana was a loyal, supportive, faultless girlfriend, and Tom was her washed-up, goofy boyfriend who betrayed her in the most deceitful way possible. For months, behind Ariana’s back (or rather, right under her nose), he carried on a full-blown affair with her best friend, sometimes even in their shared home as she slept.He took on an identity as a cartoonish villain, and she was held up as theinnocent victim. It’s a completely morally unchallenging narrative without any ambiguity or complexity. And in real life, things rarely, if ever, work the way this breakup did. Have you ever met anyone who was immediatelyrewarded with riches, fame, a hot new boyfriend, perfect abs, and worldwide adorationfor being cheated on? Me neither.
Paige and Craig’s breakup began amicably and was not the result of cheating, abuse, or any sort of wrongdoing.It’s a harder pill to swallow that your relationship is over, not because your partner turned out to be a monster, but becausecircumstances simply won’t allow it. The result of their breakup much more closely mirrors what happens in real life — their friends were there to support them, a few who were stuck in the middle awkwardly shuffle to one side or the other,a bitter ex-boyfriend’s resentment blooms because he didn’t get what he wanted,a woman is heavily scrutinized, rumors swirl, life goes on. No one really profited or suffered to any extreme. It’s a more complex narrative to navigate as a viewer because of its realism.
No reality television moment could ever come close to thepop cultural frenzyof Scandoval. For months on end, fans were fed updates in real time. We were all foaming at the mouth for any information we could get our hands on; my screen time app gave up on running the numbers and just started saying, “Babe, you are out of control…” Buton television, we only saw reactive glimpses of the real event, the human emotions involved — the aftermath without any of the buildup. With Paige and Craig’s breakup, the entire story is being told in full from both sides, and it’s been even more compelling than Tom and Ariana’s on the screen.If Scandoval was a fairy tale, Paige and Craig’s breakup is a long-form human interest piece.
Southern Charm
