Paige DeSorbo is opening up about why she chose not to join the upcoming “Summer House” spinoff — and her reasoning is surprisingly grounded.
In a candid new interview, the 32-year-old reality star shared why she felt it wasn’t the right time to return to reality TV, addressed rumors about a cameo in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” discussed the so-called “Bethenny Clause,” and revealed what’s next for her career.
Why Paige DeSorbo Turned Down the ‘Summer House’ Spinoff
DeSorbo told The Zoe Report on October 8 that she didn’t want to rejoin the “Summer House” world so soon after exiting the original series. “I felt like that would be the [just-graduated] senior coming back to high school, flinging her keys around,” she explained. “I’m like, ‘Not yet. Maybe you guys do a season, but I don’t think it’s for me right now.’”
She also emphasized that she didn’t want to take a spot from “a girl that should be starting out her career in the same way I did when I was 25.”
“There will always be reality TV,” she continued. “If there really is a time in my life where I’m like, ‘What about waking up with cameras again?’ I don’t see it for right now, but you have no idea what life is going to be … It truly is a full-time gig … [And] there was always an expiration date.”
Leaving the show after seven seasons wasn’t easy. “It felt so weird,” DeSorbo admitted of stepping away from a series that had been a major part of her adult life.
The ‘Giggly Squad’ Podcast Host on Life After Reality TV and Future Plans
DeSorbo is currently enjoying life outside of the cameras — especially when it comes to dating. “It’s so interesting to get out of ‘Summer House’ and to know I’m going to date someone and the whole world isn’t going to be like, ‘I don’t love it,’” she said. “It feels like what dating at 32 should be.”
She also addressed whether she considered the “Bethenny Clause,” which allows Bravo to take a percentage of non-TV business earnings launched on the show, before her exit. “Everyone has the Bethenny Clause,” she said. “Contracts are so intense and so scary … It’s kind of like when you think of a prenup — you’re doing it preemptively to protect what you have. But Bravo is also not a bitter jealous ex trying to be like, ‘Well, actually, b*tch’… So no, it wasn’t a factor.”
DeSorbo credited Andy Cohen for pushing her to think about her career beyond the network. “In earlier seasons, he’d be like, ‘You’re saving your money, right? And you’re making good financial decisions and you’re building things outside of it?’ It would be like seeing your dad and him being like, ‘And let me see your report card,’” she recalled.
That advice stuck. DeSorbo has built a thriving podcast and brand with her longtime collaborator Hannah Berner. “Doing our live show, we’re scripting that … We wrote a book. We can write what we think is funny. I feel like in 2025, there are no boundaries anymore,” she explained.
She also named Victoria Beckham as a major inspiration for her next chapter. “She’s an inspiration career-wise in how she was like, ‘… and I’ll pivot. I can wear a little Gucci dress and hold a microphone, but I can also give you the best silk cami you’ve ever seen in your life,’” DeSorbo said.
Fans can relive Paige DeSorbo’s best “Summer House” moments on Peacock.
