Amanda Batula and West Wilson at the 'Summer House' season eight reunion. Jocelyn Prescod/Bravo/Getty Images The cast of Summer House is reacting to news of Amanda Batula and West Wilson’s newfound relationship, with Batula’s husband Kyle Cooke being the most outspoken of the group — so far.
The DJ spoke with TikTok creator Adam Glyn on the streets of New York City, and the impromptu interview was posted in three separate parts. In the first clip, posted on Wednesday, Cooke said he was “really worried about Amanda,” and pointed out the fact that Wilson has seen a bump in followers amid the controversy while his wife has been “cyberbullied.”
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“I understand people have all sorts of opinions, and I’m not justifying any behavior, but from where I’m standing, she’s kind of getting cyberbullied,” he said. “West seems to be the kind of guy playing multiple women at the same time, and I just looked, and somehow in all of this, 50,000 people have decided that West deserves their follow. And meanwhile, they’re just lighting up Amanda. I just feel bad.”
On Tuesday, Batula and Wilson released a joint statement confirming their new relationship after weeks of rumors claiming that their friendship had turned romantic. Batula and Cooke announced they were separating in January, while Wilson notably formerly dated Ciara Miller, one of Batula’s close friends and their fellow Summer House co-star.
As gossip about their romance swirled around the Bravosphere in March, Batula and Wilson denied the claims. Cooke even defended the duo during a March 10 Watch What Happens Live appearance, where he called the rumors “outrageous.”
In the third part of the interview published Thursday, Cooke was asked a few hard-hitting questions about the time of Batula and Wilson’s relationship, which has been speculated about online. The Summer House OG said he is still unsure about details, but that he’s prioritizing being there for Batula.
“There’s a little murkiness as to our separation and when we put the announcement out that I think we’ll have to address at the reunion,” he said. “Right now, I’m just honestly more concerned about Amanda’s mental health than I am trying to get to the bottom of it, because I am worried about her. I don’t think West is in a place to offer her what she needs. I’ve been caring and providing for her for 10 years. It’s a weird position to find myself in.”
“West kind of positioned himself to be this knight in shining armor for women, standing up for Amanda, checking me [on Summer House,] and I watched that. And for him to say what he said in his confessional and double down on Watch What Happens — I was like, ‘Something’s up,'” Cooke added, continuing by claiming that Wilson “piling on” him on the Bravo series was strategic.
“West is smart enough to know who the audience is and he knows clearly what to say to women to win them over. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh my God, look at his redemption arc,’ and he was just piling on strategically, for sure,” the reality star said. “We film these confessionals after the fact. He knew what he was doing. He hitched his wagon on Amanda’s horse during her glow-up and made me look even worse with some of his comments.”
When asked how his cast members are reacting to the news, Cooke added, “I think they’re all super disappointed, and I know that, just given we had a 10-year relationship and she’s been friends with Ciara for, what, six years, I know that she is probably getting the brunt of it. But again, I really think West is capable of manipulating any female. My wife included, because we’re not divorced yet.”
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Wilson’s reps for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Miller herself has not yet directly responded to the controversy, though she did unfollow Batula and Wilson after they shared their statement on Instagram Tuesday. However, she did post to her Instagram feed on the same day her co-stars confirmed their relationship, sharing a video of her interviewing the cast of Your Friends & Neighbors.
“If you can’t trust your Friends & Neighbors, who can you trust?” Miller captioned the post.
Sources have told THR that cameras will not pick up to capture the fallout from the scandal, and that the reunion will film in a few weeks. In the past, Bravo has resumed filming when controversies including its shows have arisen, most notably with the Vanderpump Rules season 10 cheating scandal called Scandoval.
In the days leading up to Batula and Wilson sharing their joint statement, the cast of Summer House shared subliminal posts to their Instagram Stories, leading viewers to believe the later confirmed rumors. On Sunday, Lindsay Hubbard posted a selfie with Miller to her Instagram Stories, and a second still of herself from Summer House with a shocked reaction.
Many other cast members posted several meme-style reaction posts, including Carl Radke and KJ Dillard. Southern Charm star Austen Kroll also chimed in on Sunday as well, sharing an Instagram Story that read, “Pasta and f* your friends exes are apparently so back.”
On Thursday, Hubbard shared another Instagram Story post which blankly read, “Welp… I’m about ready to throw my phone today…”
Jesse Solomon replied to an Instagram account questioning if he knew of Batula and Wilson’s relationship prior, comparing the situation to what occurred with the Vanderpump Rules scandal when Tom Schwartz knew that Tom Sandoval was being unfaithful to Ariana Madix with Rachel Leviss. “I heard the rumors, but they were denied to me multiple times,” Solomon wrote in the comments section.
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