The world of reality television was turned on its head on Tuesday, March 31 when Summer House stars Amanda Batula, 34, and West Wilson, 31, announced their controversial relationship to social media.
The confirmation of their relationship stirred up drama due to Amanda’s recent separation from her husband of 10-years and fellow reality TV star, Kyle Cooke, and West’s past relationship with fellow Summer House star, and Amanda’s close friend Ciara Miller.
“We’ve seen the growing online speculation, so while this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity,” the statement wrote. “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.”
© InstagramAmanda wrote that she wanted to return back to normal
Over a week later, Amanda finally broke her silence on Friday, April 10. The reality television star shared a photo to her Instagram of her dog with the message: “Hi guys, I’ll keep this short and sweet. I’ve obviously been MIA, but I wanted to come back on and say that I’m truly sorry to everyone I’ve disappointed and hurt, especially those I know personally who I’ve reached out to individually.”
She went on: “For the sake of my mental health, I’m going to try to start living life with some sense of normalcy. If you see me out or posting online, please know that this still weighs very heavily on me. I’m not ignoring what’s happened or what’s unfolded.”
She added: “I’ll be at the reunion and will be addressing any and all questions honestly and directly there.”
© Getty ImagesJust before the reality television drama went public, Amanda landed a deal with Buffalo Wild Wings
Reactions to Amanda’s apology
Opinions on Amanda and West’s relationship have been shared far and wide on social media. The former star of Vanderpump Rules, Stassi Schroeder, gave her thoughts on the situation to her podcast Stassi with Tay, saying: “I can’t defend her. It’s indefensible and it’s disappointing.”
Stassi added: “[It doesn’t] define [Amanda] as a human being, [but] it’s looking like she acts this way with men everywhere. It’s very pick-me.”
© Getty ImagesAmanda and her ex-husband Kyle are set to appear in a new Bravo show, In the City
Aside from reality stars, fans of Summer House have thoughts of their own. One person wrote to Threads: “Who is the apology to? There is no public and direct apology to Ciara, the woman she wronged.”
Another person added: “She’s doing too much. Just.. like.. be about it or be quiet.”
© InstagramCiara and Amanda first met in 2020, when Ciara joined the Summer House cast
While it seems the internet is against Amanda, her ex-husband is standing by her side. During a lengthy street interview with reporter Adam Glyn, Kyle said: “Amanda deals with mental health issues. Before cyber-bullying her and then giving West a follow, maybe think twice.”
He added: “I’ve talked to her — before they put the statement out, she gave me a heads-up, and I talked to her last night.I understand people have all sorts of opinions, and I’m not justifying any behavior, but from where I’m standing, she’s kind of getting cyber-bullied.”