Paige DeSorbo accepted the Variety Courage Award, presented by Purina, for using her platform to advocate for survivors of domestic violence. The honor follows her decision to speak openly about her own experience of abuse on an episode of her podcast, "Giggly Squad," in 2024 — a disclosure that resonated with young female listeners and encouraged those in difficult or abusive situations to seek a way out.

Actor Molly Sims introduced DeSorbo at the ceremony, saying the former Bravo "Summer House" star "told her story not to get attention, but to direct attention to an issue too many women experience in silence." Sims added: "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."

In her acceptance speech, DeSorbo described the disorientation of experiencing abuse at a young age. "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," she said. "You just know that something is wrong, but you're living inside it, so it becomes your normal."

She pushed back on assumptions about who experiences domestic violence. "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," DeSorbo said. "It doesn't ask permission. It doesn't care how polished, confident or put together you seem. It can happen to any of us."

DeSorbo, now 33, said that before experiencing domestic violence at 19, she "never thought that could be me." She cited the scale of the problem: more than 12 million people experience domestic violence each year, including one in three women and one in four men, and noted that stigma can make survivors reluctant to share their stories.

A central comfort in her healing, she said, has been her cat, Daphne, whom she adopted in 2024. Daphne's unconditional love helped her feel safe and cared for during a period when she often felt the opposite. That bond connects directly to Purina's Purple Leash Project, a nonprofit initiative working to create pet-friendly shelters for survivors of domestic abuse.

"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 reframed what courage means. "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 closed with a measure of her impact. "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," DeSorbo said. "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."

The award caps a run of professional milestones for DeSorbo. She launched "Giggly Squad" with her friend and former "Summer House" co-star Hannah Berner during the 2020 pandemic, took the podcast on tour last year with two sold-out nights at Radio City Music Hall, and co-wrote the New York Times bestseller "How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously." The pair recently signed a $150 million podcast deal with SiriusXM and are developing a Netflix comedy about 30-somethings in New York, executive produced by Amy Poehler. Outside the podcast, DeSorbo has launched a loungewear line named Daphne after her cat, hosted red carpets for Vanity Fair's Oscar party and the Actor Awards, and appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Kinder Bueno and in Mindy Kaling's "Not Suitable for Work."

With the Variety Courage Award and her backing of the Purple Leash Project, DeSorbo has turned a private disclosure into a public campaign — one aimed at ensuring no survivor has to choose between safety and the pet that helped them survive.