The tension between Amanda Batula and Kyle Cooke reached its boiling point in Tuesday night’s (Feb. 10) episode of Summer House, making for yet another “awkward” moment for newbies Bailey Taylor and Levi Sebree, who joined the show in Season 10.
In their first weekend back to the Hamptons, Cooke complained to the guys that Batula smokes weed every night and leaves their apartment smelling and looking like a frat house. When they returned for Weekend 2, he attempted to deliver an apology to the table for bringing their marital issues to the group, prompting Batula to call him out for failing to apologize directly to her in private.
The confrontation made for another tense moment between the estranged couple, who announced their separation last month, as Cooke flipped his chair backward and stormed out of the scene.
“It was a little awkward,” Taylor said of joining the show at one of the most contentious times in Cooke and Batula’s relationship — second to the one summer Cooke admitted to infidelity, of course.
“The category is awkward,” Sebree added. “I think that’s the best way to describe it because everyone wants to be calm and civil, but at the same time, it’s not a normal experience. It’s not normal, the fighting all the time.”
When the two best friends stopped by DECIDER’s studio this week, they revealed that the Summer House veterans would often apologize for “impacting” everyone else’s summers with their constant fighting, though both women were complimentary of their ability to keep it real even when cameras were rolling.
“I appreciated that they were being themselves,” Taylor said. “We’re all in a house together and we’re all living together for the summer, so it’s inevitable that things are going to happen and come out. So I appreciated the honesty and the vulnerability.”
Sebree added, “I also think both of them were trying to be really respectful to the other people in the house. But it was awkward. It was definitely awkward at times. But they were always considerate, like, ‘We’re so sorry if this is impacting your summer,’” to which Taylor joked, “I cry at the dinner table so I don’t really have a leg to stand on,” referring to her first night in the house when she broke down in tears telling the group about getting broken up with at Sweetgreen.
According to Taylor, Batula and Cooke seem to be in a much better place now that they are no longer together.
“They’re in a good place. We’ve seen them and talked to them, and we’re happy they’re in a good place,” she said. “We respect their desire for privacy. We were at the premiere party all together. It was great. They’re in a really good place and that’s all we care about is that they’re happy and we just want them to be happy. So if they’re happy, we’re happy. Truly. “
Summer House airs Tuesday nights at 8/7c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.