Southern Charm’s Salley Carson is setting the record straight on why Craig Conover was missing from her 31st birthday party.
After celebrating with the cast on Wednesday, January 21, Salley responded to an Instagram user who asked, “Where’s Craig?”
“He was invited!!” Salley responded in the comments section. “He was unfortunately out of town.”
In case any skeptics needed a further explanation, Craig confirmed via his Instagram Stories that he was in New York City for meetings before traveling to Indianapolis for the first time to participate in the Indianapolis Replica Luxury Handbag Show with his Sewing Down South company.
Craig’s absence didn’t stop Salley from having a fun night out with her friends and a majority of the Southern Charm cast.
In photos posted online, Salley traveled to Halls Chophouse in Charleston, South Carolina, for a meal with her costars, including Austen Kroll, Shep Rose, Madison LeCroy, Rodrigo Reyes and Charley Manley.
Cast members Venita Aspen, Whit Slagsvol, Whitney Sudler-Smith and Molly O’Connell were also part of the celebrations.
“Look at us getting along for my 31st bday!!” Salley wrote via Instagram on Thursday, January 22, with photo memories from the night out.
The friendly gathering comes as Salley finds herself navigating changing relationships during season 11 of Southern Charm.
In recent episodes, Salley expressed romantic interest in Craig after his split from Summer House alum Paige DeSorbo. He later revealed to his costar that he didn’t have the same feelings and was interested in pursuing Charley instead.
“I think you’ll hopefully see my opinion on Craig change very drastically,” Salley teased on a December 2025 episode of iHeartRadio’s “Two T’s in a Pod” podcast before confirming things are “good” with Charley. “It was harder for me just because I was the one that kind of just brought [Charley] into this friend group and introduced her, and I felt like a little bit stabbed in the back at times, and I think, maybe we’ll see that. But it was more about me and her friendship more than it was about Craig, if that makes sense.”
Salley also had to navigate tricky friendships with some of her female costars, including Venita.
Although Salley initially ignored Venita’s advice to stay away from Craig, the pair appear to have moved on from any guy drama after cameras stopped rolling on the latest season.
During her appearance on “Two T’s in a Pod,” Salley said they are good. Salley added that she was simply “frustrated with some of the things I’ve seen that she’s said.”
“You’re not gonna be the person that I call to bitch about Craig to, when you’ve made this whole thing about you not wanting me to come to you when I see his true colors,” Salley explained on the Southern Charm After Show. “I know she’ll always be there, but it’s something that you never want your best friend to say to you.”
Southern Charm airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET. Stream new episodes the next day on Peacock.
