NBCUMV Fans will see Craig Conover’s dating life in the new season of Bravo’s "Southern Charm."
Southern Charm star Craig Conover is off the market with a serious girlfriend, and the two are still going strong. Conover first met his girlfriend Natalie Hegnauer almost a year ago in Aspen in January 2020, and the two immediately “hit it off,” Conover told People.
Shortly after meeting, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The two decided to make the most of it and quarantine together. Hegnauer spent most of quarantine in Charleston with Conover, as she got to know the rest of the Southern Charm crew.
“Learning how to be out of quarantine with each other has been the challenge,” Conover said on the Daily Dish podcast in late October 2020. “I thought if you can quarantine together, that means you’re fine. But what [I didn’t] realize is we were in the honeymoon phase in a bubble, protected from the outside world.”
Conover added to People, “And it was a lot of fun. I know for a lot of people, it added stress to the relationship, but for us, it made us closer.”
The 31-year-old Sewing Down South founder shared that while they enjoyed quarantine, the two had to adjust to more normal life. “As quarantine lifted and we got back to our real lives, that’s kind of when we faced some of the real pressures,” he told People. “We’re still happy, fortunately, but it has been a challenge.”
Fans May Get to See Hegnauer on ‘Southern Charm’
Becoming a Southern Charmer’s significant other’s comes with a few additional cameras. Past and present Southern Charm cast members Madison LeCroy, Naomie Olindo, Chelsea Meissner, Kathryn Dennis, and Taylor Ann Green all starred on Southern Charm after dating a cast member. When it comes to Hegnauer, Conover admits he’s not sure if she’s dying to be on the show.
“It’s kind of the catch-22,” Conover told People. “I’ve been doing this long enough that I know that it only works if you’re transparent, and I’m comfortable doing that. I think she’s great, and I would love to share her with the world. That’s just going to be a personal decision on her hand.”
He adds, “I don’t think she was ever planning on dating a reality TV personality, but we’re seeing what happens.”
Initially, Conover was hesitant about featuring Hegnauer on the show, telling the Daily Dish podcast she was not interested in filming “at all.” He explained, “She was more the person like, ‘Well, that’s your thing,’ which is good because you don’t really want to date someone who wants to be on TV.”
A ‘Southern Charm’ Costar Thinks Hegnauer May Be the One
New Southern Charm cast member Leva Bonaparte hinted that Conover might be settling down for the long-run. Bonaparte told Us Weekly that out of all the current Southern Charm cast members, Conover is most likely to get married next. “I’ve met his current woman friend and, yeah, she’s really sweet, really beautiful, very quiet,” Bonaparte told Us Weekly on Tuesday, October 27. “I think that’s what Craig needs.”
The Southern Charm newcomer added, “He kind of needs like a stoic strong, quiet girl, so he can be the social butterfly and, you know, feel confident and manly. I think this might be The One, I don’t know.”
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