Credit: Bravo
Kyle Cooke addressed a number of swirling rumors in regard to both his and Amanda Batula‘s dating lives while appearing on Tuesday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live.
As the 43-year-old Summer House star also spoke of Amanda’s prenup regret, recent cheating rumors, and his decision not to invest in Carl Radke‘s SoftBar, Kyle reflected on the trust issues in his marriage, was questioned about Craig Conover, 36, offered an update on Loverboy’s financial status, and more.
On the March 10 episode of WWHL, after being asked if he was dating Next Gen NYC star Ava Dash, 26, Kyle confirmed, “I am not.”
“That was a very friendly dinner. No, [we didn’t mess around]. We were at a family dinner doing a family blessing, holding hands. It was just a random like, drinking day in New York,” he continued of an outing earlier this month with Jesse Solomon, 32, in which Kyle and Ava were caught holding hands.
As for the allegations of a romance between Amanda, 34, and West Wilson, 31, Kyle admitted to finding them “outrageous.”
“[It’s] kind of shocking but … I don’t think there’s any merit to it,” he shared.
Regarding how he’d feel if the rumors were true, Kyle added, “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. I think Ciara would probably have something to say, but if it made Amanda happy, I think I just would have to vote ‘yay.'”
Later, on the WWHL: After Show, Kyle commented on a potential romance with Salley Carson, 31.
“We were out with multiple friends at a dive bar. This was not like a date situation. [We were] just having fun. But she’s a great girl,” he stated.
Meanwhile, back on the live broadcast, Kyle reacted to Amanda saying she regretted not having a prenup.
“I think she’s just trying to advocate for everyone having a prenup,” he clarified. “Ultimately, I think we’re gonna have a very clean cut divorce.”
Then asked about how Amanda alluded to being sent potential evidence of his cheating, Kyle insisted he was never unfaithful.
“It’s tough. There’s so much noise, but I feel bad she’s had to deal with that, and look, I can tell you I was not like, physically or emotionally unfaithful,” he said, also sharing that the images of him and other women were often friends of his who were “mistaken for random people.”
Moving on to his Summer House castmates, Kyle was asked if Ciara should give West another chance.
“I wanna say yes. You see me rooting for them. There’s something there. You know it,” he declared.
After learning that Carl, 41, was upset about his decision not to invest in SoftBar, Kyle admitted to feeling “so bad.”
“We’d been talking about it for three months. I was trying to help him, and ultimately, when it came time to invest, I was like, ‘Listen, I think I have to cut a half a million dollar check into Loverboy. Let me join your advisory board.’ So I thought we’d squared it away. I’m sorry, Carl. I always believe in you, and I want to support you,” he confirmed.
Looking back at Bailey Taylor’s comment about fellow newbie Ben Waddell, 38, potentially wanting to sleep with Amanda, Kyle said he was “never bothered.”
“I think Bailey just picked the wrong timing because we were going around the table speaking nicely about Amanda for her birthday. The timing of it all was the biggest issue, I thought … She kind of went hard in the paint,” he explained, noting that he never thought Ben actually wanted to sleep with his then-wife.
As for whether Ben overreacted, Kyle continued, “I think Ben wanted to put his foot down. I think the talk was a little more serious than I ever would have thought in that bedroom. I was like, ‘Damn.’”
While answering a series of questions about his marriage to Amanda, Kyle said the thing he missed most was having his “best friend.”
“We were very different people, but it … splitting was not something we took lightly, which is why … I think there’s been red flags and differences for quite some time, but we loved each other,” he shared.
Of his regrets, Kyle said he wished he “made a better effort” to change his ways.
“I don’t think I understood that those trust issues from, my gosh, like 2018, would have such a big impact. But I will say, to almost counter that, I never used to be a proponent of living with someone before you propose. And now I am,” he reasoned.
Regarding where they stand today, Kyle admitted that it “takes effort” for him and Amanda to remain on good terms amid the ongoing rumors about their lives.
“I couldn’t open my phone for two months cuz I was drowning in it. But she’s been very supportive. I try to be there for her, especially with some of the rumors that she’s kind of entangled with. It’s not easy. There’s no playbook on how to navigate this, but we’re trying,” he stated.
After confirming that he is “not” yet dating and revealing that he hasn’t watched Southern Charm “in many years,” Kyle dodged a question about whether Craig’s recent behavior on the show, which included going on a drunken tirade against Salley, was “unhinged.”
“No comment,” he replied.
Looking back on his own behavior, Kyle admitted to having regrets about getting upset at Amanda for swimming in a bra, since he was always running around naked.
“I have so many regrets from last summer. I regret that. I think I just was feeling a little neglected,” he explained.
Then, after joking that he should consider joining OnlyFans “now that [he’s] single,” Kyle offered an update on his beverage brand.
“I had to cut costs. We basically had way too many employees at the start of last year, so right now we’re just focused on that break-even point and looking for an operational partner or [acquisition],” he revealed. “So things are better, but every day is stressful, and we’ve lost so much distribution. People have a hard time finding it. So if you go to our website, that will help.”
Also on the live broadcast, Kyle looked ahead to In The City.
“It’s obviously not what it was intended. I think it was like, ‘Here’s the show where you can have kids and grow up.’ Now I’m like, I guess I don’t have to grow up anymore,” he shared before quickly confirming, “I’m kidding.”
“I was trying to still put in an effort to turn things around right up until the very end. And we did not know how this was going to play out until we put the statement out there and put a definitive, like, this is actually more permanent than we thought,” he added.
Summer House season 10 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.