It’s no big secret that the relationship between Southern Charm's Craig Conover and Naomie Olindo was pretty rocky (as all of the show's hookups tend to be at some point or other). Near its conclusion, Olindo would infamously mock her then-boyfriend’s pillow-sewing aspirations frequently on camera, and Conover would point-blank tell her to shut up in company. They eventually went their separate ways romantically in 2017 yet continued to share screentime until Olindo's exit in 2019. But the two reunited for filming of the show’s eighth season, and Conover got candid about working with his ex again.
Following revelations that her last partner, Metul Shah, had cheated on her, Naomie Olindo herself claimed that she had to beg to make her return to the reality series. The drama also, as a result, prompted her to have to make nice with her former Southern Charm co-stars. Surprisingly, Craig Conover told Us Weekly that he and Olindo have been kindling a friendship since the Shah split and that he even advocated for her Season 8 return with the powers-that-be. The Bravo alum said:
I think she enjoyed coming back. I think the viewers will like to see her and it should be a positive journey for most people. … You’ll get to see a lot of it on Southern Charm, but it was conversations that were long overdue, and I wish her the best. There’s no negativity there.
Season 8 will also mark the show's first look at the star in his new relationship with Summer House star Paige DeSorbo. As he would tell the outlet, from his perspective, it was a “wild situation” and not exactly “normal” to be hanging out with both his ex and new girlfriend simultaneously. But he also claimed that the dynamic between DeSorbo and Naomie Olindo is “fine.”
What is more in store for Bravo fans with the “Cramie” reunion is closure. Craig Conover shared that his ex actually apologized for those old criticisms about his sewing, which has since turned into an apparent million-dollar pillow company called Sewing Down South. He continued:
[Naomie] was like, ‘You always believed in this, and you would’ve always ended up here. I was the one that didn’t see it.’ It was nice to hear, and it was just kind of a mending of fences and closing of chapters.
Even though Craig Conover and Naomie Olindo seem to now be on better terms, the same cannot be said for the rest of the cast. Conover will likely have to answer for his insinuations last year that co-star Madison LeCroy had cheated with MLB superstar Alex Rodriguez, allegations of which other co-star Leva Bonaparte has lately indicated are true. That situation – along with the added tense circumstances of her filming again with her own ex, Austen Kroll in Season 8 – are probably why LeCroy isn’t inviting several of them to her upcoming wedding.
Meanwhile, cast member Kathryn Dennis has again been dealing with custody issues and her own breakup of late. Shep Rose seems to be grooving along, per usual. So, really, Season 8 is giving serious old-school Southern Charm vibes, with the added bonus of a couple new players entering the mix. Time will tell how it plays out in the new season supposedly airing in the spring, but Bravo fans can still revisit Naomie Olindo and Craig Conover’s disastrous romance from the earlier seasons with a Peacock Premium subscription.
