Another scandal is heating up the Bravosphere.
On Tuesday, “Summer House” stars Amanda Batula and West Wilson confirmed their romance via their Instagram stories. After about a month of speculation, the pair said they “wanted to provide some clarity” on their relationship.
“It was never our intention to purposely hide anything. Given the complicated relationship dynamics involved and the scrutiny that comes with being on a reality show, we need a little space to process things privately before speaking on it,” the couple wrote. “We’ve shown up for each other as friends over the years, through all the highs and lows, and what’s developed recently was the last thing either of us expected.”
Now in its 10th season, Bravo’s “Summer House,” which premiered in 2017, follows a group of New York City friends who travel to the Hamptons to spend the summer together. Batula and Wilson are key members of the show whose relationship is intertwined with other castmates. Batula and her husband/co-star, Kyle Cooke, divorced in January; several fights over Cooke’s lifestyle were featured on the show. Meanwhile, Batula’s close friend and fellow cast member Ciara Miller previously dated Wilson.
While there’s no evidence of cheating, many fans have drawn comparisons to the “Vanderpump Rules” Scandoval controversy. Three years ago, “Vanderpump Rules” stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix split after nine years when Madix learned that Sandoval had been having an affair with their co-star and friend Raquel Leviss for seven months. Sandoval’s admission of cheating drew massive attention outside of the “Vanderpump” fandom.
Who’s involved?
Since Season 2 of “Summer House,” Batula and Cooke have captivated audiences with their tumultuous relationship. Batula was introduced to the show in 2018 as Cooke’s girlfriend. Cooke admitted to cheating on Batula at the beginning of their relationship, but the two continued dating, went into business together and eventually married in 2021. The show’s 10th season, which is currently airing, documented their increasingly turbulent partnership. Batula and Cooke announced their separation in January on Instagram amid rumors that the pair was no longer living together.
Miller joined “Summer House” during Season 5 and quickly became friends with Batula. Wilson entered “Summer House” in the eighth season and began dating Miller. However, the pair split less than amicably in June 2024. This season of “Summer House” has shown Wilson and Miller making amends to continue their friendship.
During a March interview with Marie Claire, Batula credited Miller and Wilson’s support with helping her handle her relationship lows with Cooke.
“It would have been a very difficult summer to get through without Ciara. She is one of the kindest, most loving, loyal friends I’ve ever had,” Batula said. “It’s also meant so much to me how supportive West has been throughout the season, sometimes in ways I wasn’t even aware of when filming. It’s not performative; it’s just really authentic to who West is.”
What happened?
Rumors began swirling that Batula and Wilson were casually dating in early March, with fans reporting that they saw the pair holding hands in New York City. According to Page Six, the speculations about the romance caused a “feud” between Batula and Miller, who were particularly close in Season 10 of “Summer House.”
In February, Batula and Miller appeared together on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen,” where Batula said she would not take any flirtations by her “Summer House” male co-stars seriously.
During a March episode of “Watch What Happens,” Wilson insisted that Batula was just his “home girl.”
“We were just hanging out in New York. She’s single, I gotta show her the streets a little bit,” Wilson said. “But if it’s not clear, that’s a very important person to me, and I care about her a lot.”
Jesse Solomon, from left, Kyle Cooke, West Wilson, Paige DeSorbo, Ciara Miller, Amanda Batula, Lindsay Hubbard, Lexi Wood and Gabby Prescod on “Summer House” Season 10.
(Ralph Bavaro / Bravo)
Batula and Wilson then shocked “Summer House” fans by confirming their relationship Tuesday, explaining that they hadn’t meant to begin dating, and waited to publicly disclose their relationship “to take time to understand” what they felt.
“Our connection grew out of a genuine, long-standing friendship, which made it especially important for us to approach this with care,” they wrote.
In their statement, the pair also acknowledged the “complicated relationship dynamics involved.”
“We also recognize that this has had an impact beyond just us and never wanted our actions to cause any hurt or be perceived as careless,” Batula and Wilson wrote.
Have Cooke or Miller responded?
Miller has not formally responded. However, on Monday — before the news publicly broke — while interviewing stars on the red carpet at the Season 2 premiere of “Your Friends and Neighbors,” Miller told actor Jon Hamm that she’s “been better” when asked how she was (Hamm has since weighed in). Additionally, she captioned the interview, “If you can’t trust your Friends & Neighbors, who can you trust?” Deuxmoi also shared a photo of Miller sitting on the street in New York City, seemingly distraught, shortly after Batula and Wilson‘s announcement.
During an on-the-street interview on Wednesday, Cooke said Batula gave him a heads-up before the statement was posted, and that he learned of the relationship this past weekend when “the evidence just started pilling up.” Cooke added that he is “actually really worried about Amanda.”
“All I know is West seems to be the kind of guy playing multiple women at the same time,” Cooke said. “I just feel bad because Amanda knows that what she did was wrong, and she’s trying to come to terms with it, but she is not well.”
When asked about the potential couple in early March on “Watch What Happens,” Cooke shared that while he thought the rumors were “outrageous,” he would be supportive of Batula.
“It would certainly catch me by surprise and feel a little reckless. And I think I’d probably be the last person people would be worried about,” Cooke said. “But if it made Amanda happy, I think I just would have to vote ‘yay.’”
Amanda Batula and West Wilson will be in the hot seat during the upcoming “Summer House” reunion.
(Jocelyn Prescod / Bravo via Getty Images)
How has the public responded?
Fans have taken to scouring “Summer House” episodes for clues about when the pair started seeing each other. Viewers have been circulating clips of Wilson reaching for Batula’s hands in one scene and consoling her in the bathroom as she cried in another.
Miller has also received major support, with #TeamCiara trending on X. Many of Miller’s co-stars have made their stances clear, with “Summer House” cast member KJ Dillard sharing a Spotify screenshot of the song “Back Stabbers” by the O’Jays on his Instagram story. Miller’s “The Traitors” co-star Rob Mariano posted a photo of the duo and captioned it “Team Ciara.” Former “Summer House” star Paige DeSorbo, a close friend to Miller and Batula, shared on her cat’s Instagram an edited photo of three cats with the caption “Karma is a cat.” DeSorbo was a bridesmaid at Batula’s wedding and vocal from the get-go about her disdain for Cooke.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy even added his two cents, tweeting, “Yawn. [Brianna] Chickenfry told me this at the Super Bowl. Old news.”
Will this be addressed on the show?
Since “Summer House” Season 10 was filmed during the summer of 2025, the scandal will not be included in the current season. However, Andy Cohen shared on X that his team is preparing for the “Summer House” reunion, and requested questions from fans. The reunion will take place after this season concludes, likely in late April or early May.
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