Shep Rose Has Some Choice Words for Paige DeSorbo

Any fan of Bravo knows the After Show is the best source for behind-the-scenes gossip about their favorite reality series. Whether it’s the cast of The Real Housewives franchise, the hit share house series Summer House, or the gang from Charleston on Southern Charm, the After Show is where viewers will get unfiltered opinions from the cast once they start viewing back what their co-stars said about them as the current season airs. These additional confessional interviews, often filmed in the company of their closest allies, offer the cast an opportunity to weigh in on the most dramatic moments from the season as they prepare to revisit everything at the reunion.

After the most recent Southern Charm episode, cast member Shep Rose felt confident airing his opinions on the recent break-up of his friend Craig Conover and his girlfriend of three years, Paige DeSorbo. In a heated moment with co-star Austen Kroll, Shep went on a tirade about Paige and her refusal to participate in the Southern Charm cast trips (and presumably, this season’s reunion). Although Shep’s anger initially seemed rooted in concern for his heartbroken friend, it became clear pretty quickly that there were deeper issues underlying the outburst.

Shep Rose Had a Lot To Say About Paige DeSorbo on the ‘Southern Charm’ After Show

Shep began his rant on the Southern Charm After Show with a few choice expletives before voicing the opinion that he felt it was unfair that Paige had refused to integrate with the cast while she was in a relationship with Craig. It’s true that with her busy schedule running a successful podcast, filming her own reality series, completing a nationwide tour, publishing an upcoming book, and branching into the world of high fashion, Paige did not have very much time to dedicate to the gang down South this season. However, Paige isn’t a cast member on Southern Charm anyway, so what is really at the heart of Shep’s vitriol?

One potential reason is that, by handling her break-up quietly off-camera over the winter holidays, Paige managed to avoid being grilled by Craig’s cast members the way Shep was during his break-up with Taylor Ann Green. Shep’s pettiness was made apparent when he observed on the After Show that if he had a girlfriend he wouldn’t be allowed to “get away with” keeping her off-camera during filming. Shep and Craig have always had a competitive and petty dynamic in their friendship, so Shep’s complaints about Paige could simply be more of the same between the dueling Peter Pans. But given the series’ history with old-world misogyny, there is definitely something to be said about how comfortable Shep was directing his expletive-filled irritation toward Paige instead of targeting Craig, or the series producers, with his concerns.

‘Southern Charm’ Has Always Been a Boys’ Club

The real misogyny started to show through once Shep started to sum up what he thought was an accurate description of Paige’s work schedule, suggesting she should have put aside her “stupid ass talk show” to accommodate her partner’s filming schedule. Shep showing his ignorance about women is one thing Bravo viewers are quite familiar with, but the persistent misogyny on Southern Charm is really starting to age poorly.

The series has always prioritized the male perspective, but the imbalance is starting to feel aggressive. A significant portion of scenes with the female cast this season either appear in flashbacks or in moments where they discuss the male leads as romantic interests. The space made for Shep’s misogynistic tirade about Paige on the series’ After Show, where he both reduces and dismisses the effort she has put into building her own career, starts to make the misogyny in the series too overstated. Paige was well within her right to avoid filming with the cast of Southern Charm this season if she didn’t feel up for it, since she wasn’t a cast member on the series. She has her own cast to answer to on this season of Summer House. Otherwise, Shep simply used Craig’s break-up with Paige to channel his irritation with his friend towards a target he felt more comfortable aiming at.