Kyle Cooke Has More to Say: That Explosive “Summer House” Reunion, Facing His Flaws and What Comes Next After West and Amanda (Exclusive)
Kyle Cooke Has More to Say: That Explosive “Summer House” Reunion, Facing His Flaws and What Comes Next After West and Amanda (Exclusive)
Colleen KratofilWed, June 10, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC
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Kyle Cooke photographed at the People Inc studios on June 2, 2026Credit: David Needleman
Summer House star Kyle Cooke settles into a plush armchair on June 2 for his first interview after the show's dramatic reunion and quips, "There are a couple topics we could cover."
He's not wrong. It's been a wild few months of change for Cooke, who has starred on the Bravo show, about a group of New Yorkers who share a vacation house in the Hamptons, since 2017.
On Jan. 19 he and his wife of four years, Amanda Batula, announced their split. Viewers have watched their romance play out since season 1, from weathering scandals (Cooke, 43, admitted to cheating on Batula, 34, in 2018) to their 2021 wedding which was filmed for Bravo cameras. But no one was expecting the biggest twist: After weeks of speculation, on March 31, Batula and costar West Wilson announced on Instagram that they were dating.
The news was seismic: Wilson, 31, previously dated their castmate Ciara Miller, who was Batula's close friend. "Sometimes it doesn't feel real until I see them together," Cooke tells PEOPLE. "I considered West a really good friend, and this is just not something I can fathom doing to anybody that's close to me. We're a close-knit family, it's like he's banging his sister."
Kyle Cooke photographed at the People Inc studios on June 2, 2026Credit: David Needleman
Cooke has come face to face with both Batula and West since the news broke. He shot scenes with Batula for the new spinoff, In the City, which filmed in New York City last fall after the stars returned from summering in the Hamptons. Later, he sat across from Batula and Wilson at Summer House'sthree-part reunion, which taped in late April. Still, he says, "I'll never really understand what the motives were."
As fans — and Cooke — attempt to find answers, the reality star gets reflective in his first interview since the reunion filmed. He breaks down every burning topic from timelines to cheating allegations — and reveals if any more Bravo hookups are in his future.
Despite the "spidey senses" of his castmates, Cooke says, he was "oblivious" to rumors about Batula and Wilson. His realization came days before their relationship announcement, when he noticed Batula's phone location — not yet turned off since their separation — which confirmed she spent the night at Wilson's apartment. "I couldn't sleep," Cooke says. He reached out to Miller, 30, who insisted they meet in person. "Ciara is a homebody. She wants to drag herself to my apartment to have a huddle? I had a sinking feeling in my stomach."
They compared notes, and, indeed, signs pointed to a relationship. The weekend before the news broke, Cooke found another clue. Batula had traveled to Los Angeles for work and quickly, sightings claimed Wilson was with her. "I'm looking at her location and she's at an Irish dive bar in Southern L.A. I'm like, 'That does not sound like a spot that Amanda would normally go to. She's with West. There's no other explanation,'" Cooke says.
A day before the news went public, Cooke says Batula told Miller first via text. "Ciara immediately called me and I finally heard from Amanda nine hours later."
"Even though I already had so many pieces of the puzzle, I was still in disbelief," Cooke says of his conversation with Batula. "That'd be so reckless and thoughtless and irresponsible, and Amanda is not usually any those things."
Another timeline Cooke clears up is what happened at the end of their marriage, which fans are beginning to see play out on In the City. After Batula told Cooke she was moving out (during their four-year anniversary dinner filmed on Sept. 25), it actually "took a while" for her to exit their apartment, Cooke says.
"She doesn't move out until the beginning of November," he reveals. "When she finally did move out, we were creating separation, to make an effort with one another. So the idea was we go to couples therapy and we go on a date every single week. Well, none of that happened. We weren't really putting in any more effort or work into the marriage."
Kyle Cooke photographed at the People Inc studios on June 2, 2026Credit: David Needleman
He says busy schedules and the holidays didn't help. A tipping point was when Batula "bailed" on attending a New Year's Eve event with him, after they got into a fight over a brand partnership earlier in the day. He admits he stayed out late to spite her. "I'm not saying that was the right way to handle it, but at that point, I guess I was just almost pushing her away," he says. "And I guess that set the wheels in motion for her."
The week of Jan. 12, they decide to tell fans what was really going on. "She took the first stab at a statement and I read it and I'm like, 'Oh, we're splitting up.' I sent it to my mom and my mom's like, 'This kind of looks like you guys are closing the door and not even leaving it open.'"
During the reunion, Batula claimed that Cooke "stepped out" in their marriage, which he refutes. "I never stepped out physically in my marriage," Cooke says. "Am I guilty of inappropriate behavior? Absolutely. But I'm talking about leaning in to talk to someone at a loud, noisy club. I'm a very personable, extroverted, flirty guy. I'll own that. Too flirty for a married man, yes. I acted out by staying out too late, it was not a physical affair."
Cooke says he drove a car filled with items to Amanda's new apartment, but six months after their split, she still has belongings in his home. "I'm trying to be as patient as can be, but I think my patience has run out. I think she has a boyfriend that can come over and probably help pack up a car," he says, adding, "I will not be there."
Kyle Cooke photographed at the People Inc studios on June 2, 2026Credit: David Needleman
The two still speak regularly. "I ironically talked to her on the way here," Cooke says during the interview. They were discussing sitters for their two rescue dogs, Reese and Ryder, who they share.
Cooke says he's "trying to somehow, some way have an amicable split." Adding, "There's still a lot of love there, still a lot of regrets. I think the part that hurts is when she talks about our marriage and our relationship like there were no good times." He refers to a moment in part 2 of the reunion, when Batula says she never liked going out with him. "I'm like, 'That's like population of one. I'm a good time.'"
Reflecting more on the reunion, Cooke says he felt "betrayed" and "expected to learn more" from Batula and Wilson, but their attitude was "more defensive than remorseful." He later met with Wilson one-on-one, which will air in a bonus episode on June 16.
"I finally got him to own up to some things I needed to hear him say," Cooke says of Wilson, while adding that he frustratingly needed to "steer" their conversation at times. "I was discouraged that he didn't come prepared to be 100% honest about everything. He was still lying about his girlfriend [Meija Moreno] and the reality of his exclusive nature of that relationship, which boggled my mind."
Looking back, Cooke is confused what their chat accomplished. "It was one of those conversations that I was like, 'I don't know what we just talked about for two and a half hours.' I'm not saying we talked in circles, but maybe I was too easy on him."
Kyle Cooke photographed at the People Inc studios on June 2, 2026Credit: David Needleman
As to why Batula and West coupled up in the first place, Cooke isn't sure but ponders a few possibilities.
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"I think West is no dummy, I think he realized Amanda's going to have this big PR moment," Cooke says. "I think he realized it last summer. I think that's part of the reason why he's pulling his chair up next to Amanda. He's like, 'I'm going to be the white knight here and stand up for Amanda because, well, the internet's going to love her and therefore the internet's going to love me.'"
Instead of jumping in a new relationship, Cooke thinks that Amanda "would have been well served being single and working on herself and going to therapy." He adds, "I think that was one of my biggest issues over the last couple of years is there's talking about mental health and depression, then there's like doing something about it. I think she was probably lonely for a long time because I was lonely for a long time, and I think that West immediately filled a void. I can understand it in a vacuum, right?"
In the aftermath, Cooke has gained sympathy from fans — especially for how he's been protective of Batula's mental state — though it follows his own contentious season. On two occasions on Summer House, he lashed out at Batula., yelling "F--- you."
I'm really disgusted with myself with how I spoke to Amanda," he admits. "Just because they end up in this relationship doesn't erase my flaw, my mistakes and my regrets. I've done my best to apologize and learn from it."
He admits even though he has started to "feel less misunderstood," he's quick to add, "I'm not trying to say that this negates anything. My bad behavior is on tape, it's not going anywhere."
Watching himself on camera, particularly now on In the City, is the "toughest part."
"I'm reminded of how low and upset and depressed I was feeling," he says. But he's appreciative that he was able to show a side of his life fans haven't seen before. "What I love about In the City is you're just getting a glimpse into our life that was really missing on Summer House. Don't get me wrong, I love parties, love themes, love the Hamptons, but there's a lot of layers to me, and to my city life. It's easy to hide behind a theme party and put a fake smile on, but where the rubber hits the road is going back to the city, facing the realities.
He adds with a laugh, "It's not all about sending it on the weekend, believe it or not."
Credit: David Needleman
He says after he films the In the City reunion, which will be a pared-down version at the Watch What Happens Live clubhouse, he hopes he gets some closure and puts this "in the rear-view."
"I'm just doing my best to stay busy and stay positive," he says of his outlook today. That's not hard for the booked and busy entrepreneur-and-DJ. He's been reviving his sparkling hard-tea business Loverboy, which was "hemorrhaging cash" last summer and had to reduce its staff from 19 to three employees. Cooke say says after Batula's relationship with Wilson went public, there's been a spike in sales. "That's just been so encouraging because it felt like the world was caving in on me."
He's also ready for his "single era." Though he's been spotted with fellow "Bravolebs," including former Real Housewives of Orange County star Meghan King and Southern Charm's Salley Carson, he calls both "just friends" before adding, "But I think they're both amazing."
When pressed if he's looking to date anyone else on the network, he says his own show drama has kept him plenty busy. "I don't even know who's single, who's not. I'm in my own little world at the moment," he says.
Cooke's not looking for anything serious right now. "I'm traveling a lot, so I'm not even really in a position to date in New York. I'm having fun. I will 100% be single this summer because I'm looking at my calendar and I'm like, 'Yeah, there's no chance for me to even date locally.'"
Kyle Cooke photographed at the People Inc studios on June 2, 2026Credit: David Needleman
But one day, he says he's "looking forward to having another shot at finding love and happiness." And this time, he says he will live with his future wife first. "I kind of poo-pooed that, and quickly realized Amanda and I have very different ways of cohabitating and living our life."
As for next steps in their separation, he says the plan is to do a "walkaway" divorce "in lieu of a prenup," and reveals it was actually Batula who took the first step forward in the legal process. Cooke says he received an email from her lawyer in mid-March right when rumors of Batula and Wilson started swirling. Looking back, he says for "someone who doesn't take a lot of initiative," he thought "it was kind of weird. I'm like, 'Wait, is there some ulterior motive in terms of why she's all of a sudden expediting the divorce?'"
Summer House has been renewed for season 11, but no cast announced have been made yet. Cooke says "if they come knocking, I'll answer" — even if Batula and Wilson are in the picture.
"Hopefully we can still coexist peacefully," he says. "I feel like life's too short. Have I forgiven [West]? No. I'm just not the kind of guy that wants to close someone out of my life, particularly if they played a big part in it. I'm doing this the best that I can. There's no playbook."
To watch his full interview, visit the PEOPLE App.
Credits
Photographer: David Needleman
Cinematographer: Paola Esquivel-Oliveros
Set Design: Jacob Burstein
Groomer: George Kyriakos
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
