As Kyle Cooke once said, “Summer should be fun!” But this is not fun! It’s actually a hot mess right now!
Summer House fans know there have been romance rumors circulating about co-stars Amanda Batula and West Wilson for weeks. Well, those are not just rumors! It’s true! They confirmed it themselves this week, which is a huge deal (and betrayal)! Let’s break it down!
In January, Amanda separated from her estranged husband Kyle, who is an OG cast member of Summer House, after four years of marriage. Their breakup was a long time coming as they had been having problems for years, even before they got married. For his part, West dated their other Summer House co-star Ciara Miller, who is best friends with Amanda. Although they broke up on bad terms after he wouldn’t commit to her in 2023, he has been very flirty with her during this current Summer House season! He even has been trying to rekindle their flame! Oh, and to make this already complicated situation worse? West is also pals with Kyle!
Related: Andy Cohen Reacts To Sarah Michelle Gellar Calling Housewives ‘Boring’!
But at the beginning of March, fans started speculating that Amanda and West have been secretly hooking up. A source claimed to DeuxMoi that they spotted the pair being “openly flirty, allegedly even holding hands under the table” at an event in New York City. West then appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on March 24, where he addressed the speculation:
“She’s single now, and it’s happened with other people that she’s hung out with. We’re just hanging out in New York. She’s single. I kinda gotta show her the streets, you know? If it’s not clear, that’s a very important person to me, and I, like, care about her a lot.”
Even though West called Amanda “a friend,” the rumors didn’t stop. Two days later, Page Six reported that Amanda and Ciara are now feuding because of the fling. Fans already noticed the signs of a fractured friendship by that point. Ciara and Amanda were scheduled to do a joint Amazon Live presentation for Olly vitamins and supplements on Tuesday, but they cancelled it and ended up doing it separately instead. The women also stopped liking each other’s Instagram posts over the past few weeks — and unliked a bunch of past ones. Oh, to go back and unlike several posts is not a good sign! You know Ciara is PISSED!
Southern Charm star Austen Kroll then fueled speculation when he shared an eyebrow-raising post on Instagram on Sunday:
“Pasta and f**k your friends exes are apparently so back.”
Not subtle at all! LOLz!
Cast members (and exes) Lindsay Hubbard and Carl Radke also took to Instagram Stories that same day to post similar old photos of themselves, looking disgusted and confused, respectively. Lindsay also posted a selfie with Ciara hours later, leading everyone to think the rumors are legit. And they are!
Amanda and West released a joint statement on Instagram Stories on Tuesday to confirm they ARE dating! They wrote:
“We’ve seen the growing online speculation, so while this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity. 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.”
Amanda and West explained that their connection grew after being friends for years:
“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. Our connection grew out of a genuine, long-standing friendship, which made it especially important for us to approach this with care. As our feelings evolved, we wanted to take time to understand exactly what we were feeling. 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. We truly appreciate the understanding and respect as we navigate this.”
Read the statement (below):
Uh oh! Prepare for drama over on Summer House now — but at least not from Kyle! We hope…
Before the confirmation, Kyle addressed the romance rumors on Watch What Happens Live. Although he said he would be “surprised” and think it’s “a little reckless” if they were true, he’d also “vote yay” for the relationship, just because he wants Amanda happy. It sounds like the relationship won’t hurt his friendship with West — or even his ex-wife. He still follows both of them on IG:
Ciara, on the other hand? She is, understandably, NOT happy! She made that very clear after unfollowing both Amanda and West, seemingly minutes after their joint statement! No joke! Ch-ch-check it out (below):
Yikes!
Ciara has not said anything about the situation yet, but we can expect a reaction when the cast films the reunion soon. (Better yet, let’s hope Bravo gets Andy and a camera STAT to record what’s going on this week!) We heard her feelings on the matter loud and clear after that IG move, though! And can you blame her? This guy has been toying with her emotions for years, only to date her best friend. Her best friend also broke the girl code and got with her ex behind her back. Mind you, Ciara has been there for Amanda throughout her marriage troubles with Kyle. And she couldn’t even be a girl’s girl for one second in her single era. Ugh! We would be upset, too!
It’s giving Scandoval 2.0! Ciara should also talk to Mormon Wives star Miranda McWhorter! They have a lot in common now, all thanks to their friends and exes! What are your reactions, Perezcious readers? Do you think Ciara and Amanda’s friendship is over for good? Sound OFF in the comments (below)!
