The Summer House cast member and entrepreneur shared why making her own money is so important to her.
Paige DeSorbo has made it clear that she's a "breadwinner." The Summer House cast member has found career success as a podcaster, touring across the nation with her show, in addition to being a social media influencer and author. In the process, she has been transparent about her financial situation, including how she received help during her early days of her career.
Paige appeared on the podcast Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike in June 2024, where she opened up about how her mom, Kim DeSorbo, helped her move to New York City after graduating from college, which had been a longtime dream of hers. Although she had no idea what she wanted to do, she knew she would be able to make her dreams come true.
"I said to my mom, 'Look, I'll make a deal with you. If you help me move to NYC, and help me financially, and help me figure out what I wanna do, I promise you, I will get a job within six months.' And we didn't even tell my dad anything," the Giggly Squad podcast host recalled. "So me and her had to kind of come up with this plan to convince him to even let me move to NYC. And obviously, because we're brilliant, we figured it out. We, like, made him think it was his idea."
In an April interview with The New York Times, Paige reiterated that her parents paid her rent in Manhattan until she was able to land her first ever job as an assistant.
How living in NYC empowered Paige DeSorbo to make her own money
On the Nice Talk podcast, Paige also opened up about growing up "extremely privileged," asking her parents for money when she needed it. "And it was always my dad who would give me money and help me out," she noted to podcast host Nikki Ogunnaike. "Then when I got into my 20s, especially in NYC, I watched money be thrown around in a very different way than I was used to."
She revealed that she saw men offering to fly women out to places or pay for things, which made her "uncomfortable."
"I didn't really like it," she added. "And I think it was one of my biggest motivators to working because I was like, 'I want to do X, Y, and Z, but I want to do it when I want to do it. And I want it to be under my terms. And I want to go when I want to go. And I want to leave when I want to leave.' So I need to make enough money to do exactly what you're doing, but you're not in charge of that."
Paige DeSorbo at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones held at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 02, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California.
Photo: Chad Salvador/WWD via Getty Images)Why Paige DeSorbo wouldn't let ex-boyfriend Craig Conover help pay her rent
She reiterated this sentiment during a confessional in Summer House Season 8, Episode 5. Paige revealed that her ex-boyfriend, Southern Charm cast member, Craig Conover, who she was dating at the time, had offered to pay for a portion of her rent for her new apartment, but she didn't want to be "indebted" to him.
"I wouldn't go buy a car with Craig not being married," she said. "I wouldn't start a bank account with Craig not being married, so why would I take part of my rent from him? Also, I'm not going to be indebted to him, and then, what? He thinks he's gonna make decisions for my apartment? Get out of town."
Paige elaborated on this during a confessional in Summer House Season 8, Episode 6. "I don't want your money. I don't need your money," she said. "Thank you so much, let's put it toward something else."
Paige DeSorbo aims to inspire others with financial independence
She noted on Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike that she is so driven to make a name for herself in order to set a good example for her future kids and her Giggly Squad podcast listeners. This is why she was so insistent on Craig not paying her rent.
"I acknowledge that I'm on a reality TV show and one day I probably won't be, but my future children will see all of that," she said. "And I also have a podcast that millions of younger girls listen to and I will be damned if the message that I send to them is work really hard, get into a great school, go into debt, get the career of your dreams, but as soon as a man says, 'I wanna control this, this, and this in your life,' you better absolutely jump and do it.' No way, no way. What was the point of all the other stuff?"
Paige DeSorbo declares she was the "breadwinner" in her relationship with Craig Conover
Paige gave a bit more insight into her finances during Summer House Season 9, Episode 9, where she declared that she was the "breadwinner" in her relationship with Craig, and that she didn't want to stop working if they were to get married.
During an April 23 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Paige admitted that she thought it was "crazy" that people were "appalled" by her making that statement. "I work more, so why would I not be?" she asked host, Andy Cohen.
What does Paige DeSorbo do for a living?
As previously stated, in addition to being a cast member on Summer House, Paige is the co-host of the podcast Giggly Squad with Summer House alum Hannah Berner. Together, they've written a book How to Giggle, and just launched a new web series focusing on them trying new things. She is also a social media influencer, and has partnerships with brands like TRESemmé, who she became a brand ambassador for in March.
How Paige DeSorbo learned how to negotiate in business
The How to Giggle author admitted on the Nice Talk podcast that she had "no idea" how to negotiate before she got into the business, and she still doesn't at times. "I'm a very big proponent of saying what you don't know," she said. "Like, I'm very big on, 'OK, this might be a stupid question' or, 'I don't know this, I'm gonna ask someone who does.' Like, that's not a fault."
"I mean, I still am in meetings and I'm like, 'Sorry, can you put that in terms of normal people? Cause I have no idea what to do for that.' So I am a big proponent of saying 'I have no idea,'" she added.
Learn more about the ins-and-outs of Paige's current career and the jobs she had before joining the cast of Summer House.
