Naomie Olindo may have hooked up with ex-boyfriend Craig Conover ahead of season eight, but their rendezvous wasn’t prompted by a desire to reconcile their past romance.
During a new interview, the Southern Charm cast member is sharing how she got “triple closure” on her split from Craig, offering updates on where she stands with ex-boyfriend Metul Shah and co-star Kathryn Dennis, and revealing if she tried to get Cameran Eubanks to return for season eight alongside her.
“He was like, ‘I really don’t want to tell this story without your input because you’re half of it,’” Naomie recalled during a July 17 interview with Us Weekly, sharing how Craig approached her about being part of his book. “And I really appreciated that and I spent a long time giving information like recounting things and stuff and that also was pretty therapeutic. You can say Craig and I have triple closure at this point — I think that’s why we’re able to be just buddies.”
According to Naomie, “other people” made her and Craig’s hookups “a much bigger deal” than they were to the two of them, including Kathryn.
“What Kathryn said is not true. She would be the last person to even be [in the place] to talk about that,” Naomie confirmed after being asked about the rumor that she told Craig she loved him post-hookup.
As Southern Charm fans well know, Craig’s hookups with Naomie took place at the start of his relationship with Paige DeSorbo, prior to the couple becoming exclusive.
“As the season progresses you’ll see Paige and I have a few conversations where we’re not understanding each other because there’s a lot of different people in people’s ears and one person was saying one thing, another person was saying the other so some of it was just a misunderstanding,” Naomie explained of her initial dynamic with Craig’s girlfriend.
Now, however, Naomie said she and Paige get along well, adding that she’s “very supportive” of the couple and their potential next step.
“I think that would be great,” she confirmed. “I think whatever makes them happiest is great.”
As for her own love life, Naomie said she’s “dating” and having a “great time.” That said, she’s unwilling to share her new relationships with the cameras — at least at this point.
“My personal experience with sharing relationships on TV so I think moving forward I would probably opt out of that,” she noted.
Though Naomie’s split from Metul feels like ancient history and she has “no bad feelings” toward her ex, she said they are no longer in touch.
“I don’t really know what we’d talk about but there are no bad feelings there,” she shared. “[The breakup] really ended up being the best thing that could’ve happened. I didn’t know that at the time. At the time I hated it but now, hindsight’s 20/20 and I’m very thankful for exactly the way that everything went down.”
After returning to Charleston following a brief move to New York City with Metul last summer, Naomie decided to return to Southern Charm — but she knew she’d be doing so solo. While Cameran left the series at the same time as Naomie (after season six), Naomie knew Cameran wouldn’t be on board with returning to season eight alongside her.
“I think I know her well enough and I know [Chelsea Meissner] well enough that it’s like, I mean, never say never but I don’t think this was the year,” Naomie explained.
When Naomie was then asked about her current status with Kathryn, she confirmed, “There is no relationship.”
“You don’t have to have everyone in your life. And you don’t have to be friends with everyone. I’ll always be cordial to her no matter how much she tells me to ‘F off’ but it’s not really of interest to me,” she said of the friendship.
She also suggested that trouble was ahead when asked if she felt Shep Rose would eventually marry girlfriend Taylor Ann Green.
After revealing she doesn’t know how much she can say, Naomie added, “You’ll have to watch what happens with them this season.”
Southern Charm season eight airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Bravo.