Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo Get the Last Giggle

Letter from the Editor

The Muse Issue is one I look forward to every year. It marks the transition to fall, my favorite season, and highlights the people, products, and pieces bringing influence and revelation.

Our cover stars offer just that and then some. It is with so much excitement that I introduce Byrdie’s first-ever cover duo—our Muses of the Moment—Paige DeSorbo and Hannah Berner. Hosts of the wildly popular podcast, Giggly Squad, the pair parlayed reality TV fame into lasting impact. They sold out live shows across the country. They published a New York Times bestseller. Berner dropped a Netflix special and DeSorbo launched loungewear. And they giggled through it all. Success is so much sweeter with your best friend there to revel in it too, right? 

Together with The Wellness Shop at Ulta Beauty, we’re bringing you their thoughtful interview, as well as other stories on fall fashion, beauty trends, and more. You’re going to love it x

-Hallie Gould, editor in chief

Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo are re-emerging from a “summer of rest.”

Emma Trim. Paige: Isabel Marant bomber jacket, Malina lace skirt, Alexandre Birman heels and Wyld Box rings. Hannah: Maje trench coat, Aquazurra heels and Christina Caruso earrings.

To casual listeners of their podcast, Giggly Squad, or those who know them only from their time on Bravo’s Summer House, this news may not seem revelatory. They love relaxing. They love their beds. They love relaxing in their beds. But the Gigglers—a.k.a. the millions of listeners who helped turn Giggly Squad into one of Apple’s top 10 comedy podcasts—know better. Their gals are booked and busy.

It’s been quite the journey for the Gigglers in Chief and best friends, who first started Giggly Squad as an Instagram Live series in 2020. Five years later, they’ve built a full Giggly universe: They embarked on a five-month tour, hosted the Vanity Fair Oscar Party red carpet, released a best-selling book, How to Giggle, went on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (twice), and were named to the Time 100 Creators list. And that’s all just within the last 12 months.

Emma Trim. Hannah: Maje trench coat and Christina Caruso earrings. Paige: Isabel Marant bomber jacket and Wyld Box rings.

Then there are their individual achievements: Berner’s first standup comedy special, We Ride at Dawn, debuted last summer on Netflix, and she won the Rising Comedian honor at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. In May, DeSorbo launched her own pajama line, Daphne—named in honor of her cat, naturally—which promptly sold out, and she won the equally prestigious “Allison Williams Cool Girl Award” at the Las Culturistas Culture Awards. Oh, and Berner also got her New York State Driver’s License. “As a New Yorker, if I can get it at 33, you can do anything you want,” she tells me.

Emma Trim. Hannah: Maje trench coat, Aquazurra heels and Christina Caruso earrings. Paige: Isabel Marant bomber jacket, Malina lace skirt, Alexandre Birman heels and Wyld Box rings.

They didn’t take the summer off, exactly. Berner was in prep mode for her “None of My Business” standup tour, which will run from September to March. And DeSorbo was spotted on the set of The Devil Wears Prada 2—details tightly under wraps, of course. Throughout it all, they kept the Gigglers fed, recording the podcast virtually. “A lot of podcasts do a season, then they’re like, ‘Okay, we’ll be back in a couple of months.’ We’ve just never done that,” says DeSorbo, who says that it’s “not good for us mentally” to take a break. “It’s our therapy,” adds Berner. “We just need help from Gigglers.”

For fall, they’re back in full force. They were just spotted giggling at the U.S. Open, and they’re next scheduled to giggle on Hot Ones Versus. When we catch up over lunch in a brightly lit café in New York’s Flatiron District, they’re dressed stylishly but approachably: DeSorbo is in a little black dress and pointy Prada slingbacks, while Berner has on a Tory Burch tennis dress and—it must be said—Crocs. (“They’re a platform loafer, they’re kind of sick.”)

Having the summer off was especially unusual for DeSorbo, 32, who announced in June she wouldn’t be returning to Summer House, the show that first made them both famous. “I am assimilating back into society,” she jokes. “I’m like, what do people do on a Saturday night in the summer?”

Her departure sent shockwaves through the Bravo fan pages. But after an emotional last season that showed her grappling with the decision to end her relationship with now ex-boyfriend Craig Conover, she knew it was time to pack up her theme outfits.

Emma Trim. Meruert Tolegen dress and Black Suede Studio heels.

“I just had this overwhelming sense that I couldn’t go back,” she says. “I know I would’ve been doing a disservice to [the show]. They expect a certain level of showing up, and I couldn’t give them that.”

Still, it wasn’t a decision she made lightly. “I definitely had to get over the [feeling] that my career would be over,” she says. But DeSorbo didn’t need to look far for confirmation that there is, in fact, life after Bravo; Berner’s comedy career has thrived since moving on from the show in 2021. “There’s an element of thinking you need that show and network, and Hannah was reminding me they’re not in charge of where you are in your career,” DeSorbo says. 

Berner, who did three seasons of Summer House, has had more time to reflect. “It’s very interesting to have been in [reality TV] and out of it, and be able to have those two perspectives,” she says. “We just hate being put in a box.”

Emma Trim. Norma Kamali dress, Stuart Weitzman pumps, and Mega Mega Projects huggies earrings.

The pair didn’t actually meet on the show, but once briefly before in a New York City office. It was an otherwise run-of-the-mill meeting: DeSorbo was there for an interview, and Berner greeted her at the elevators. As luck would have it, they happened to both be cast on the show, in which hot, young New Yorkers go to the Hamptons to blow off steam and have their every messy moment filmed for our entertainment.

DeSorbo, who is originally from Loudonville, N.Y., a small hamlet near Albany, quickly bonded with Berner, a born-and-bred New Yorker. They ended up as roommates, and their bedroom became their homebase. “The truth is that on reality TV, if you stay in your own bed, you can’t fight with people,” claims Berner.

That plan may have gone south (spoiler: They still got in fights with their castmates), but their commitment to their room earned them a “lazy-girl edit” that stuck. “It’s funny that it has become our personas. We’re ‘sleepy girls,’” says DeSorbo. “I cannot tell you the last time I rested a full 24 hours.” But rather than fight it, she embraced it—and after years of brainstorming the perfect brand, her loungewear line Daphne came to fruition.

Emma Trim. Paige: Malina top and pants. Hannah: Self Portrait shortsuit.

“They’re for everyone, not just me,” says DeSorbo of the styles. “Pajamas are so low stakes. You can buy something to feel good in and not leave the house.” When it comes to the future of Daphne, she says the sky’s the limit: “I see it growing with my life. When and if I have children, I’d love to do kids pajamas or kids clothes. Or bedding.”

The first Daphne drop features an oversized sleep shirt, “The Hannah Tee,” a nod to her cohost’s sporty, laid-back style. Berner grew up in Brooklyn and trained as a tennis player, eventually ranking 15th in the nation for juniors. The sport still influences just about every facet of her life, including her fashion sense. “I used to think if I’m better than you at tennis, it doesn’t matter what I’m wearing. If I’m funnier than you, it doesn’t matter what I’m wearing. But if you feel confident in what you’re wearing, it does help,” she says of her approach to style.

Having a bona fide fashion influencer like DeSorbo around her doesn’t hurt. She often gives—or withholds—her approval on Berner’s outfits. “Even if I didn’t want her to, she would,” Berner says. “She’s very good at being like, ‘I don’t get it, but I love that for you.’” DeSorbo weighed in on Berner’s look for her Netflix special, and perhaps more memorably, earned the coveted credit for her spray tan. “She painted me like Michelangelo,” Berner jokes.

The two share a love of fashion and beauty, and although they don’t swap clothes—save for one pair of Zara heels that DeSorbo would very much like back, thank you—but hair products are a different story. “We’re both Italian and we love hairspray,” says DeSorbo, who was named Tresemmé’s very first year-long brand ambassador in March.

Emma Trim. Hannah: Adeam dress, Alexandre Birman boots and Wyld Box earrings. Paige: Self Portrait dress and Bea Bongiasca ring.

When it comes to skincare, they’re polar opposites. “Hannah has the best skin ever. She’s never done a skincare routine—definitely never done more than four steps,” says DeSorbo. “And I’ve never, in my almost 10 years of being friends with her, I’ve never once seen a pimple.” DeSorbo, on the other hand, is a full-on skincare enthusiast. “In another life, I would’ve been an esthetician,” she says. And although she does treatments like lasers and facials, she still has no immediate plans to do any injectables. “I think I might forgo Botox and just get a facelift when I’m 45,” she deadpans.

In a sense, it’s actually fashion that solidified their friendship. While filming Summer House, Berner once noticed that DeSorbo was upset—not due to any on-set drama, but because of what she was wearing. “We were out somewhere, and Hannah was like, ‘You’re not having a good time, are you?’ And I was like, ‘No,’” recalls DeSorbo. “She was like, ‘Do you want to go home because you hate your outfit?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah,’ and she goes, ‘Let’s go home.’”

It’s the kind of mind-reading moment you can share only with a best friend. And their styles are starting to meld over time, too; on the Giggly Squad tour, they had to come up with 60 outfits each. “Not one time on our multi-city, five-month tour did we ever call each other and say, ‘What are you wearing this weekend?’” recalls DeSorbo. “And every single show, we matched. It was so scary.”

Emma Trim. Norma Kamali dress and Mega Mega Projects huggies earrings.

As Berner gears up for her “None of My Business” tour, she says it may feel strange not to have her bestie by her side. “Standup is very lonely,” she admits. But again, she says tennis prepared her for life on the road. “I’ve trained for this since I was 11 years old.”

Now 34 and married to fellow comedian Des Bishop since 2022, Berner’s work is maturing, too. “It’s a little more personal and reflective of where I am now,” she says of her material this time around. “I question whether I should have kids. I talk about if I’m in the right career.”

Being vulnerable on stage is “kind of scary,” she says. But Berner wants to keep building up women in comedy, and credits the internet for helping more female comedians find their audience. “These crowds are the fucking best girls out there.”

Another reason to look forward to the tour? She’s filming another special. “I want that hour to be for the girls to forget all their problems and make fun of mine,” she says.

Emma Trim. Meruert Tolegen dress and Black Suede Studio heels.

That unserious, self-deprecating quality is part of what makes so many people connect with them on Giggly Squad. “It’s truly me and my friend navigating our lives together. That’s why so many girls relate, because they’re going through the same exact thing, or went through it, or are about to go through it,” says DeSorbo.

The magic boils down to their joint chemistry. And even though their friendship was undeniable on Summer House, according to them, some of their finest moments were left on the cutting room floor. “We’ve had people [from the show] verbatim say to us, ‘We don’t want to focus on your friendship this season,’” says DeSorbo. “That was why we started Giggly Squad, because we were like, ‘We have more things to say, and no one is listening to us.’”

On the podcast, they have no shortage of topics, from taking beta blockers to nail shapes to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, nothing is off limits. The difference is, now they can discern for themselves what’s for private and public consumption.

“Being on reality TV, there’s a level—this is a harsh word—of, like, brainwashing,” says DeSorbo, explaining that she felt pressure on Summer House to say everything that popped into her head. “That’s not real life. You’re not stopping people on the street and being like, ‘I just had a thought that I hate my boyfriend.’”

Of course, their personal lives are very much fodder for the podcast, and they’re still establishing what they want to share and when to share it with their audience. But now they have the luxury of taking a beat first. “It allows me to process things first, and then tell the Gigglers,” says DeSorbo.

“I think we say more on the pod because we know how it’s going to be put out,” says Berner. “Whereas when you’re on TV, you can say something personal, but you don’t know how it’s going to be framed and in what context.”

Still, she admits there’s been a “learning curve” to sharing personal details. “There’s always going to be people that are like, ‘She doesn’t share enough about her life,’ and then there’s people who are like, ‘I know too much about her,’” she says. “You’re never going to make everyone happy, and you’re the only person that has to fall asleep with you at night.” 

Emma Trim. Fendi full looks and Malone Souliers heels.

Even with their growing fame, they have no plans to say goodbye to the Gigglers anytime soon. 

“I want to do Giggly Squad until I’m 102,” says DeSorbo. “She jokes that she’s going to be like, ‘I found the new denture glue that you guys can try,’” chimes in Berner, adding, “As long as we’re having fun we’re going to keep going with it.”

On paper, such a commitment may seem complicated: best friends who are technically in business together. But they insist it’s simply not that deep. 

“I had a boyfriend once, and he worked with one of his friends,” DeSorbo says, without naming names. “He was very adamant to me about how it’s not easy working with your friend. He would always be like, ‘It’s a clear boundary. Once a week you have a phone call where it’s just the two of you, just talking about work stuff.’ I was like, ‘What are you, our principal?’” 

Safe to say the pair disagree. “We’re co-parenting,” says DeSorbo. “The podcast is our baby. We have agents, and managers, and all of that—and they can all talk to each other and be doing their jobs. But at the end of the day if something is fucked up we’re the only two people talking.”

It helps that they share a unique experience, and can help each other navigate this career that they basically helped pioneer. 

Emma Trim. Fendi full looks and Malone Souliers heels.

“10 years ago, I couldn’t tell you, ‘Oh, I’m a standup, podcaster, content creator,’” says Berner. “It’s a made-up thing.” As she said, they don’t like to be put in a box, and getting out of reality TV was just the beginning. “Once you start accomplishing your goals, you realize it’s not the end-all,” says Berner. “I always just say I want to keep creating. Whether it’s a new fashion brand or acting, whether it’s a children’s book, who the fuck knows. We just like to create.”

Berner, who also hosts the podcast Berner Phone with Bishop, clearly has no issues blurring the lines between personal and professional. “Honestly, I do a podcast with the two funniest people in my life and that’s all I want to do,” she says of working with her husband and best friend. “They’re [both] Scorpios. They’re really protective of me. They’re hilarious. They’re smart. I found people I enjoy, and I talk to them.”

If anything, their strong connection may actually hinder DeSorbo’s dating life. She recalls going to her mom for dating advice, and finding herself comparing the man to, well, Hannah. 

“I’m like, ‘Yeah, he’s cool. I don’t laugh with him the way I laugh with Hannah.’ And she’ll be like, ‘Paige, Hannah is your best friend, okay? It’s going to be different with your husband.’ I’m like, then I don’t want it. I’m not interested then.” 

They don’t like to get all sappy—DeSorbo famously doesn’t even like to hug Berner—but their bond is one of a kind. Well, almost. “Other than Snooki and JWoww, I really don’t know who has a friendship like us,” says DeSorbo.

Berner credits her friend for both challenging her and standing by her. “Honestly, this journey in life is pretty crazy,” she says. “I think if I did it all alone it would’ve gone differently.” 

Sure, being genuinely funny is half the battle. But maybe the takeaway is that—against all odds—working with your best friend can actually be a good thing.

“I really feel like it’s a cheat code,” says DeSorbo. “We’ll talk to important people or do something scary, and there is always a level where I’m like, ‘But I’ll be fine because Hannah will be there.’”

Emma Trim. Hannah: Fendi top. Paige: Fendi dress.