Paige DeSorbo on Healing From Domestic Violence With Her Pet: ‘Sometimes the Thing That Helps You Feel Safe Again Has Four Paws’

Paige DeSorbo was honored with the Variety Courage Award, presented by Purina, for using her platform to advocate for survivors of domestic violence.

Following an introduction from Molly Sims, the former star of Bravo’s “Summer House” delivered an emotional acceptance speech reflecting on her experience with domestic violence and why she ultimately chose to share her story publicly. In 2024, DeSorbo opened up about her experience on an episode of her podcast, “Giggly Squad,” resonating with young female listeners and encouraging those in difficult or abusive situations to seek a way out.

In her introduction, Sims shared that Paige “told her story not to get attention, but to direct attention to an issue too many women experience in silence. She wasn’t asking to be seen as brave. She was just letting another woman know that she had no reason to feel ashamed. Paige, that might have felt like a small gesture, but it wasn’t. There’s a real power in making someone feel less alone.”

DeSorbo began her acceptance speech by detailing the moment she shared her experience surviving abuse, saying, “When you’re that young and you’re in a situation like that, you don’t necessarily have the perspective or the language to understand what’s happening. You just know that something is wrong, but you’re living inside it, so it becomes your normal. I think a lot of us walk around assuming abuse looks a certain way, that it happens to a certain kind of person, in a certain kind of relationship. But that’s simply not true. It doesn’t ask permission. It doesn’t care how polished, confident or put together you seem. It can happen to any of us.”

One source of comfort during DeSorbo’s healing process was her cat, Daphne, whom she adopted in 2024. She said Daphne’s unconditional love helped her feel safe and cared for during a period when she often felt the opposite, which Purina’s Purple Leash Project, a nonprofit initiative dedicated to creating pet-friendly shelters for survivors of domestic abuse, hopes to promote.

“That’s why the Purple Leash Project means so much to me. Leaving an abusive situation is already incredibly difficult. No one should have to choose between their own safety and the pet who has helped them feel safe, loved and less alone,” DeSorbo said. “I know that’s an impossible decision. I can’t imagine ever leaving Daphne behind. So tonight, I want to ask you to help us make sure no survivor has to make that impossible choice again.

DeSorbo said that before experiencing domestic violence at 19, she “never thought that could be me” who was caught in an abusive relationship. Now, at 33, she said she has come to understand just how many people are affected by domestic violence. She noted that more than 12 million people experience domestic violence each year, including one in three women and one in four men and said stigma can make survivors reluctant to share their stories.

For DeSorbo, however, opening up about her experience didn’t initially feel like an act of courage.

“I’ve thought a lot about what it means to call someone courageous. For me, courage isn’t necessarily about being fearless,” she said. “Sometimes it’s being afraid, being unsure of what will happen next and choosing to be honest anyway. Sometimes it’s deciding that something you’ve carried alone for years might be worth sharing if it could help someone else feel less alone.”

She concluded her speech by saying, “It didn’t feel like a major act of courage when I shared my story on ‘Giggly Squad,’ but I’m grateful to receive this award tonight and proud that I finally told my story. If sharing it means even one person realizes that what happened to them isn’t their fault and that there is a way forward, then it was all worth it.”

DeSorbo launched “Giggly Squad” with her friend and former “Summer House” co-star Hannah Berner during the 2020 pandemic. The pair took the podcast on tour last year, selling out two nights at Radio City Music Hall and co-wrote The New York Times bestseller “How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously.” They recently signed a $150 million podcast deal with SiriusXM and are developing a Netflix comedy about 30-somethings living in New York, which is executive produced by Amy Poehler.

Outside of “Giggly Squad,” DeSorbo has launched her own loungewear line, which she named Daphne after her cat. She has also hosted red carpets for Vanity Fair’s Oscar party and the Actor Awards, as well as starring in a Super Bowl commercial for Kinder Bueno and Mindy Kaling’s “Not Suitable for Work.”