For as much grief as we give them, it can’t always be easy to be a reality TV star. The majority have had no previous TV experience. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine going from living my life normally to being followed by cameras everywhere. I don’t believe I’d always be on my best behavior. Nor would I always be ‘on’ enough to be entertaining.
According to Page Six, that is precisely why Southern Charm‘s Craig Conovor was unable to film for the longest time without taking Adderall. Craig’s Adderall addiction isn’t exactly ‘new’ news. He openly talked about it during the Season 6 reunion.
Addiction on its own, certainly isn’t a new topic for the Southern Charmers. Much of Thomas Ravenel and Kathryn Dennis‘s contentious custody battle has to do with addiction. And just who is or is not addicted and exactly to what. But I digress.
On the aforementioned Southern Charm reunion Andy Cohen specifically asked Craig about his Adderall usage. Craig explained he started using during law school. The ADHD medication helped him focus, study, and stay awake longer. Which makes sense. What doesn’t, is taking that medication to party while filming a reality TV show. Even Cameran Eubanks found him to be an addict.
When Craig took his soul searching, letting go of Naomie Olindo, Bahamas trip, part of his self-reflection was quitting the pills. Or so Craig led us to believe on the reunion show. In his new book, Pillow Talk, Craig goes into a little bit more detail about the addiction, and when he actually quit for good.
Craig wrote, “in those early seasons, I often blamed my internal demons on the outside pressures I was facing. The need to finish my work caused me to take Adderall. The anxiety of needing to ‘be on’ when I went out to the bars caused me to take more Adderall. And so on.” So much so, that by the end of Season 3 he was up to 3 pills a day and “hopelessly hooked.”
Craig‘s break up with Naomie didn’t help matters. He kept taking more pills to cope with his depression and numb his feelings. Not realizing he was compounding his depression. And that’s when the Bahama trip came into play.
Craig was unable to hold his breath underwater for long periods of time, due to the Adderall he was taking. That’s fine and dandy. If you’re not spearfishing. And you aren’t able to warn your friend about approaching sharks. Spoiler Alert. He was. However, that incident led to a period of time where he ditched the pills completely.
Unfortunately, once filming started up again, so did Craig‘s Adderall usage. He, “simply didn’t know how to film without being on Adderall.” Yikes.
Craig founded his sewing company when Season Six wrapped filming. That made all the difference. “That kind of sounds dark, but it gave me purpose, and Sewing Down South has just turned into this incredible part of my life. Finding that business finally just allowed me to have that purpose and something to work for instead of getting validation from going out or other unhealthy means that I may have done.”
This makes me genuinely happy for Craig. Plus, he’s found his forever boo in Summer House‘s Paige DeSorbo, so things in Craig’s life have definitely changed for the better. Good on him. Here’s hoping the positivity continues.
TELL US- WOULD YOU WANT TO BE FILMED FOR A REALITY SHOW? HAVE YOU NOTICED A DIFFERENCE IN CRAIG? ARE YOU PROUD OF CRAIG FOR DITCHING ADDERALL?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]