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.
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 can’t imagine ever leaving Daphne behind.
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