Craig Conover admitted he struggles with alcohol and called himself an “addict.”
The “Southern Charm” star came to the realization during Thursday’s episode while sitting down with his close friend Austen Kroll to analyze their fractured relationship.
Kroll explained that he was struggling with Conover staying home and not spending enough time with him and asked him to “loosen the reins a little bit.”
“But I can’t because I don’t have any leash on myself — that’s any addict,” Conover replied. “I was like, f–k, me trying not to be an alcoholic is now affecting my friendship with Austen.”
Conover and Kroll, both 37, became emotional over the revelation, with the former expressing how he was “in the trenches” by himself while “trying to better” his life.
“And then you were like, ‘Oh, you’re never with me anymore,'” he said through tears. “I’m like, ‘Dude, I can’t. I gotta stay on my couch because if I leave my couch, I’m gonna drink a bottle of Jäger and do dumb s–t.'”
Kroll continued to tear up and told Conover that he had “never” heard him use the word “addict.”
“No, I’ve never said it out loud,” Conover said, later adding, “I’m really lucky, dude. I’m lucky I got out of it.”
The Sewing Down South founder credited his then-girlfriend, Paige DeSorbo, for helping him get through it and fight his addiction.
“She was right with me this entire time,” he gushed. “There’s a reason that me and Paige are so close. I just could not imagine being closer to someone. Like, I’m so lucky that she chose to be like, ‘I see someone there.’ She helped me beat this demon.”
Kroll then reflected on Conover’s past addiction to Adderall and said the new information “explains a lot.”
“Craig’s addiction doesn’t excuse him from being an a–hole,” he began in a confessional. “It doesn’t excuse him from being an angry f–king person.”
“It doesn’t excuse a lot of things, but it is a starting point, and it definitely is not what I expected him to say, and I have to give him grace for finally being as open and vulnerable as he is with me right now.”
The friends later hugged it out, shared how much they love and appreciate each other and apologized for the roles they played in their strained friendship.
“Man, is it freeing just to be transparent,” Conover reflected in a confessional. “If we would’ve just had this conversation sooner, it would’ve saved us a lot of heartache and grief and frustration.”
Conover previously shared that he had given up drinking liquor and stuck with beer and wine. However, he later told People that he “pretty much stopped drinking” altogether.
It is unclear where Conover, whose breakup from DeSorbo made headlines late last year, currently stands in his sobriety journey.
“Southern Charm” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo and is available to stream on Peacock the next day.
