Paige DeSorbo opens up about abusive relationship as she urges: ‘Domestic violence can truly happen to anyone’
Paige DeSorbo has vulnerably opened up about an abusive relationship she suffered during her college years.
The Summer House star, 33, sat down for a new interview with Variety in which she spoke about how ‘domestic violence can truly happen to anyone.’
DeSorbo, who left the show in 2025 after an impressive seven seasons, said that having built up a loyal audience over six years on her Giggly Squad podcast, she now feels more comfortable tackling heavier topics.
She has previously opened up about her struggle with panic attacks and her need to take beta blockers for anxiety.
But more recently she discussed her experience in a physically and mentally abusive relationship as a student more than a decade ago.
The TV personality said that for years she ‘didn’t talk about it ever, to anyone, except maybe a couple close friends and then family.’
‘I felt like ‘”How could I let this happen to me?” I didn’t want them to think less of me,’ she told the outlet.
‘I thought that way for the rest of my 20s, and I just really never brought it up.’
Paige DeSorbo has vulnerably opened up about abusive relationship she suffered during her college years
But, after going to therapy, she wants to share her experience with her listeners in the hope it gives others courage to speak out in difficult situations.
‘I think my “character” on Summer House was strong and confident, and the number one thing about domestic violence is it can truly happen to anyone,’ she said.
‘I felt like I was a good example of, “She doesn’t take s**t from anyone she’s dating.”
‘I felt almost a little fraudulent not saying that I had been through this, because it shaped a lot of how I did date in my later 20s.’
DeSorbo, who did not identify her former partner, is set to be honored for her advocacy efforts by the Purina Purple Leash Project, a charity that creates pet-friendly shelters for survivors of domestic abuse.
The onscreen star is now in a happy relationship with Joe D’Amelio, the senior vice president at football marketing company Klutch Sports Group.
She has largely kept details of their romance under wraps but revealed elsewhere in the interview that she was not in any rush to settle down and start a family.
‘I’m lucky, because I don’t have parents who pressure me into getting married and having a child. I don’t even think about society pressuring me.
DeSorbo’s career continues to go from strength to strength despite leaving Bravo’s Summer House (pictured) behind
She recently took her Giggly Squad podcast, which she hosts alongside best friend Hannah Berner (pictured together), on nationwide tour
‘I really only think about my own eggs pressuring me, and I froze them, so they’re fine,’ DeSorbo shared.
‘So until I wake up one morning and I’m like, “Today would be better if I had a baby”… I have not woken up yet and had that thought.’
DeSorbo’s career continues to go from strength to strength despite leaving Bravo’s Summer House behind.
She recently took her Giggly Squad podcast, which she hosts alongside best friend Hannah Berner, on nationwide tour and signed a podcast deal with SiriusXM reportedly worth $150 million.
The pair also wrote the New York Times best-selling book titled How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously and are currently developing their own Netflix comedy series.
