Bravo Star Paige Desorbo Shares How She and Boyfriend Craig Conover Are Travel Opposites

Nothing ever phases Bravo star Paige DeSorbo when she travels thanks to a secret weapon she keeps close at hand: boyfriend Craig Conover. 

“It’s a non-sexual hot thing that men do when they walk up to the Delta desk,” the TV personality told Travel + Leisure on a recent Zoom call. “He’s just taking care of a situation.”

Even when she’s traveling solo, the minute something goes wrong she calls Conover.

“He’s right on the computer, figuring out my next flight,” she said. “No one loves calling Delta more than this man — and I’m better for it.”

That said, she did initially have doubts.

“I thought he was a serial killer because every time we would get on a plane, he would be in jeans,” the 31-year-old said of her partner’s fashion faux pas when they first started dating. “I would be like, ‘I’m not with him,’ like, this is so embarrassing for me.”

But then Rag & Bone came to the rescue with sweats that look like jeans. “Now I’ve been wearing them on planes and I’m like people probably think I’m in real jeans,” the New Yorker said.

One thing that she won’t be able to adapt to though? Their travel routines.

“He wants to go and do it all, and we just love watching him,” she said of her boyfriend since 2021. “Sometimes I feel like I have a child and am like, ‘How am I going to keep him occupied today because I’m laying in this chair all day.’ I need to think of activities for him.”

That’s not the only way her partner stands out. While traveling with DeSorbo’s family in Italy last year, “He had the audacity to say, “What is a rigatoni? I can’t remember that shape,” she recalled. “I thought my dad had died right then and there. It was like having an alien with us, but we keep him around for comedic relief.”

That said, her first visits to Conover’s hometown of Charleston were actually quite chill. “We just hung out with each other at his house, and I joked like the only place he ever showed me was the DMV,” she said. 

However she came to learn that the South Carolina town’s idyllic charm “literally looks like a movie set,” — a distinct change for the city girl.

“I’m used to honking horns and people yelling on the street — and I’m like that comforts me,” she said. “But Charleston is picture perfect.” 

DeSorbo is also beloved for her Giggly Squad podcast — and it’s perhaps no surprise that she and co-host Hannah Berner clash with travel, too.

“We could not be more opposite in terms of luxury — I am a budgeting queen, but when it comes to comfort, there’s no expense that I will not spend because I enjoy being comfortable, especially when I travel,” she said. “And Hannah just like could not care less. She doesn’t bring headphones on an airplane, so already we’re starting off really poorly and I just can’t relate to it.”

That said, the juxtaposition does provide tons of laughs “because so many things just happen to go wrong.”

Regardless whether you’re a Paige-coded or Hannah-coded traveler, finding your genuine personality in any setting is something DeSorbo is passionate about — and why she teamed up with Malibu for its Vacation You campaign, which encourages relaxation through a collab with ResortPass and traveling with the trendiest looks, including a limited LSPACE Malibu tote.

“Vacation me is very different in certain situations,” she said of her penchant for itinerary-free getaways. “I still stay true to myself, but I’m not a sightseer. I don’t care about it. I’ll look it up on the internet. I’ll have someone send me a picture of it.”

There’s only one thing on the agenda when she’s away. “I really love going and laying in countries I’ve never laid in before,” she said. Even when she’s home in New York City, she slips into vacation mode by seeking out rooftop pools. “In girl science, I feel like you get tanner when you’re on a rooftop because you’re closer than people that are down on the ground,” she said. Among her favorites are the Royalton in Manhattan. 

While she’s flexible about where she catches her rays, she doesn’t waver when it comes to fashion. “There are a few rules that I abide by in life and it’s that my nails have to be the same color as my toes and my travel bag must match my travel outfit,” she said. “That’s pretty much all I care about.”

She also fills her coordinated bag with all sorts of travel-sized beauty essentials, like mini Rare Beauty blush and YSL mascara. Other “non-negotiables” always packed: hand sanitizers, headphones, and Aquaphor.

With everything super organized in pouches, she quickly settles into her airplane seat. “I put my headphones on, I shut my window because I don’t want to make anyone hot, and I mind my own business,” she said. 

Needless to say, Conover does not do that. “My boyfriend is a chatterbox,” she said. “I’m like, again, you might be a serial killer. I’m putting my headphones on!”