Craig Conover Breaks His Silence on 'Very Unexpected' Split from Paige DeSorbo: 'I Have to Start Living Again'

Craig Conover has broken his silence one week after his ex Paige DeSorbo confirmed their breakup.

DeSorbo, 32, announced that she and the Southern Charm star had split after three years of dating on the Dec. 30 episode of her podcast, Giggly Squad, as she said she "wasn't expecting" their relationship to end.

Now, Conover, 35, is opening up about the breakup for the first time, sharing on his Instagram Story on Jan. 7, "I figured it’s finally time to check in with everyone. Sorry about the delay, this has all been very, very unexpected to say the least… But I guess I gotta start living again, whatever that looks like. Whatever my new normal looks like — I have to start."

Related: Paige DeSorbo and Craig Conover's Relationship Timeline — From Their Best Moments On-Screen Together to Their Amicable Breakup

The reality star admitted that he is trying to heed the advice he's heard over the years, saying, “‘Gratitude will get you through this, with time comes clarity’ – all of the advice, I’m trying to listen to.”

Conover went on detail how the split came as surprise to him.

"[It happened] right before the holidays," he shared. "I was very shocked. And it’s OK. It takes two people to be in a relationship and you can’t control other people, you can only control how you react to it. Remember to be kind to Paige and me and yourselves and all of that good stuff.”

"I’m still processing everything, which is normal," he continued. "It’s a three-year relationship, it’s your best friend who you talk to all day everyday, and then they’re just gone. So, you know, one day I’ll be able to talk more on it.”

After thanking fans for their "kind message" and support amid the breakup, he added, "It’s just life. I have to take my own advice… that no one is ever not better off after a breakup."

He concluded the message on a positive note, saying, "But I guess now I gotta practice what I preach and believe it and truly have faith in God that everything happens for a reason. But I love you all and I’ll see everyone on my travels this January. We got a lot coming up.”

Conover's comments come after DeSorbo elaborated on the end of her and Conover's relationship on her podcast last week. She explained, "I have so much love and respect for Craig. I think he is one of the best people I have ever met in my entire life. I will remain the biggest fan of him and want the best for him and he truly will get the best because he is the best. But with that said, I think it was just the right decision for both of us moving forward in our lives and the direction in our lives that we didn’t force."

DeSorbo said she thinks the exes "will remain friends" as there "wasn't a bad thing" that led to the split.

"I think we both were just being really mature and saying what we want and what we didn’t want, and I think that’s extremely powerful to be able to voice how you’re feeling in real-time and what you want for your future.”

Related: Craig Conover Gushes over Girlfriend Paige DeSorbo's PEOPLE StyleWatch Cover: 'You Fearlessly Lead the Way'

The couple — who began dating in 2021 after their shows overlapped on Winter House — had been the subject of breakup rumors earlier this year, though DeSorbo denied earlier speculation of a split on the podcast.

"In terms of people saying rumors like, ‘Oh, Paige was told to wait until Southern Charm came out’ or like ‘Summer House came out’ — no one can tell me what to do. Like, the network has power, but they don’t have that much power. So, that was not a real thing. Rumors of us breaking up months ago again, also, not a real thing."

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They were together earlier this month, though, as Conover told PEOPLE he'd "pretty much stopped drinking" to take his relationship with DeSorbo to the next level — and he shared their plans for the future.

"I had made a decision months before [Southern Charm season 10] started to become more of a husband and father material than just the fun boyfriend. I could see it in Paige's eyes that she saw the person I could be," he said.

Discussing their future plans — DeSorbo lives in New York while he lives in Charleston — Conover said, “We're playing the long game. It would be easy to go for instant gratification, but the foundation that we're building is so that we die together one day, not just make it fun.”

“We know we're going to get married one day, and when it happens, it'll be a lot of fun, but whenever that is, who knows?” he continued. “Once you take yourself out of that pressure cooker and have some perspective and travel, life's a little more simple. There's no reason to put pressure on it. I think people will have a lot more of our lives to watch because we're taking our time than if we were to rush it.”

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He reiterated that he was "committed to doing what it takes to make it work" with DeSorbo. "We really don't know what that looks like. We've got a couple years probably until we start having kids, and then we'll have to figure it out. But I've really taken this normal role now of being a happy wife, happy life.”

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