Craig Conover Would’ve Proposed to Paige DeSorbo Prior to Breakup ‘If It Was Up to Me,’ But She Changed ‘Her Mind a Lot’

Craig Conover would’ve put a ring on it.

In the Jan. 23 episode of Southern Charm, he spoke with Shep Rose after they went fishing with Jarrett “JT” Thomas about the status of his relationship with Paige DeSorbo.

“If it was up to me, we would just be engaged, but she changes her mind a lot about stuff. Ya know?” Craig, 37, said to Shep, 45. “One day she’ll text me and say, ‘Let’s build a f—ing farmhouse in the middle of nowhere,’ or like, you know, ‘I’m moving to Charleston.’ But then she’ll have a good day in New York and be like, ‘I love it up here.’”

Shep asked the Sewing Down South founder how that made him feel.

“It gets confusing,” Craig admitted to Shep while they made dinner in his backyard. “I think that’s life, right? It’s a bunch of decisions and compromise.”

Craig had previously spoke to Shep and Austen Kroll earlier in the season about how Paige, 32, wanted to wait a few years to have kids, and how he froze his sperm as a result. “Me waiting a few years to have a kid, not a big deal,” Craig said in a confessional interview in the Jan. 23 episode. “But what I’m risking is, what if Paige wants to turn those couple years into 10 years?”

Last month, Paige announced on her Giggly Squad podcast that she and Craig broke up after three years together.

“I have so much love and respect for Craig,” the Summer House star said on the Dec. 30 episode of Giggly Squad. “I think he is one of the best people I have ever met in my entire life. I will remain the biggest fan of him and want the best for him and he truly will get the best because he is the best. But with that said, I think it was just the right decision for both of us moving forward in our lives and the direction in our lives that we didn’t force.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Craig later said on his Instagram Stories that he “was very shocked” by the breakup, which happened right before the holidays.

“I’m still processing everything, which is normal,” the Pillow Talk: What’s Wrong with My Sewing? author continued on Jan. 7. “It’s a three-year relationship, it’s your best friend who you talk to all day every day, and then they’re just gone. So, you know, one day I’ll be able to talk more on it.”

While speaking to PEOPLE in November, Craig felt certain he and Paige would walk down the aisle and start a family.

“We know we’re going to get married one day, and when it happens, it’ll be a lot of fun, but whenever that is, who knows?” he said. “Once you take yourself out of that pressure cooker and have some perspective and travel, life’s a little more simple. There’s no reason to put pressure on it. I think people will have a lot more of our lives to watch because we’re taking our time than if we were to rush it.”

With Paige living in New York City and Craig residing in Charleston, S.C., he admitted they didn’t know exactly what that future looked like. However, “I’m committed to doing what it takes to make it work,” he said.

The Bravo star also explained that he and Paige planned to wait a few years to have kids while they focused on their careers.   

“The goal is when we do start to have kids, we’ll be able to stay home with them as much as possible,” Craig said. “We had to make the decision: do we go live a traditional life with someone that’s not each other and I find someone in Charleston or not? We decided finding your person is the hard part and then we’ll figure it out after.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Southern Charm airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.