Photo: Jocelyn Prescod/Bravo via Getty Images
Of all the Summer House cast members to grace Andy Cohen’s stage during the three-part reunion, Jesse Solomon isn’t the obvious main character. Sure, he’s brought ample drama since his arrival three seasons ago, from a tumultuous season-nine relationship with newcomer Lexi Wood to his flirtatious close friendship with Ciara Miller. But the season-ten reunion needed to explore the fallout of the scandal that shook the fandom earlier this year, when Amanda Batula (longtime cast member and wife of Kyle Cooke) and West Wilson (Ciara’s ex and Jesse’s close friend) announced their romantic relationship.
Solomon wasn’t one of the reunion’s loudest voices, but fans were moved by his emotional reactions to the conversation, especially when speaking about the friend-group schism and West’s betrayal in part three. An extended version of the episode revealed more context for his tears: Recently, Solomon learned that a good friend hooked up with one of his exes, a situation with eerie parallels to his castmates’ drama. Both that experience and his tangential involvement in the Amanda-West drama has affected his priorities going into the upcoming season, both in his love life and his friendships. “I’ve always gone into it thinking, This is a show about partying in the Hamptons with your friends, and that’s what we do every weekend,” Solomon says. “But the most rewarding parts of the show have been the Sunrise Day Camp, and Ciara leading a conversation about race, and things that are actually more important in the world than partying in the Hamptons.”
How have you been taking in the response to the Summer House reunion and to your emotional reactions specifically?
It’s interesting that people are seeing me so devastated; I’m in such a better place than I was on that day. I just finished a 15-city tour, and it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. I’m releasing my favorite song that I’ve ever made. It’s a stark contrast to what I’m expressing on television right now. As a man, you’re taught your whole life to keep your emotions in. I wasn’t trying to cry. I was really so hurt that I just couldn’t hold it in. I’m glad it’s behind me and we can hopefully start a fresh chapter.
In the extended cut, we got the context that you were going through a similar situation with a friend and an ex. Where is your relationship with that friend now?
It has actually happened multiple times. Once was my best childhood friend, and I talked about that on an earlier season of the show in a confessional. But then it happened again more recently. I haven’t been talking to the friend, but I haven’t completely severed ties either. I’m just trying to figure it out.
Based on the reactions of Carl and others at the reunion, it seems like you confided in them about the situation.
Yeah, I told them it had happened. It’s just crazy that this is all happening on the show and also happened to me separately. A lot of my friends from the show are friends with my other friends from before the show, so it’s all diabolical stuff.
Is there anything crucial we missed during the reunion, from your perspective?
It was such a long day. I didn’t say a lot, but when you see the reunion back, I think everything I did say was included, so it looked like I was saying a decent amount. There was some newbie beef that I think was cut out, but I’ll leave it there.
A couple days ago, you posted a West-and-Amanda timeline from your perspective. What did you want to make clear by posting that?
That was just my view of how things went down. I brought the timeline in case of emergency if somebody was trying to lie about me being in on it, but nobody at the reunion was accusing me of having known, and there was bigger fish to fry.
People have been begging me for the timeline, and then Andy was like, “Jesse’s going to post the timeline tomorrow!” I was like, “All right, guess I’m posting the timeline tomorrow!” It was so long that I had to cut it down into a digestible format.
Is there any silver lining to this drama, at least in bringing you closer with anyone?
[Long pause.] Like … no? I guess the show’s doing well right now, but it’s bad for the show long term. It’s bad for the friend group long term. No part of me is happy that this happened. I would even say to West, when I was suspicious, “Dude, please, if any bit of this is true, stop and lock it up and figure your shit out.” He sure didn’t.
What would you need from West to rebuild a friendship?
I don’t know. I’m a really slow decision-maker, one of my Achilles heels. In this case, I think it’s fair to need some time. West needs to learn how to treat people, in particular women, because he treats other people in his life — friends and family — really well. I think a change there is necessary. And then just apologizing for the things that actually hurt people. I know he’s full of regret with how this all went down, so I’m hoping he can learn and grow from it and be a better person and friend.
I assume casting conversations are in full swing. Is that something you frequently discuss with other cast members?
Yeah, I mean, we’re fucking gossiping, but I’m not bringing it up all the time, because the people who are on the fringe of coming back — I don’t really want to ask. I want people to tell me. I’m just focused on music right now. I’m going to L.A. for a couple weeks and have a bunch of good stuff to do there. When I arrive in the Hamptons, I will be ready to have some fun with whoever is there, and I hope all my friends are there, but it will work out exactly the way it’s supposed to.
It must be a weird experience to see the show becoming a phenomenon and reach new heights in terms of ratings, yet feel insecure about where it’s going in the future.
Yeah, I find myself wondering, What’s going to happen this summer? Will the show still be entertaining? It’s like, that’s not my job. My job is to show up and be myself, and hopefully that translates to an entertaining show. I’m not really worried about the ratings and popularity. I’m glad more people get to see the show, because people seem to like it. The show was getting way more popular before the drama happened, it got even more popular after, and now this reunion has become must-see TV. New viewers came in for just the reunion.
What have you learned about your friendships and relationships in this past year?
I continue to grow up. As much as I thought I was mature two summers ago, you don’t know what you don’t know. I thought I had it figured out at the time, but looking back, God, I was such a twerp. Right now, I’m in such a good place, and I’m sure I’ll do something stupid this summer by accident. I’ll learn a lesson from it. I’m not excited about it, but that’s life.
During the reunion, you mentioned wanting to find something real in your next romantic relationship. What are you looking for when it comes to your love life and your friendships?
Loyal friends, people who want to talk and hang out, not just at the Summer House but during the week. Once cameras go down in the fall and winter, people get really busy, but some people make more of an effort than others, and those are the people I ended up being close with. I’m with Kyle every weekend right now.
Romantically, I’m looking for someone smart and ambitious and funny and thoughtful and kind and a badass that has her own thing going on. If she happens to be in the Summer House, definitely will take it slow. But I’m not counting on that.
Your song “Wildfire” came out on Friday. I know singing has been a longtime passion of yours and that you trained at Frost School of Music. What has your journey been like, pivoting away and back to music?
I’ve sung my whole life. I went to music school, and then I decided to work in the music business. I worked at WME for a few years and then left to start my own company and ended up working in finance. I got further and further away from music but kept singing in the shower the whole time. Then through Summer House, I was able to get back toward the entertainment world. I started writing and recording music again. At first, it was just a thing I enjoyed doing to make me happy, and now it’s the most important thing.
Do you still use a lot of the lessons from music school?
Definitely. I’ve sung in a cappella groups my whole life — not a cappella all the time, but multiple voices, and a lot of harmonies. I’m able to rip all the harmonies on my songs really quickly, and I can do them really well. But all the techniques I’ve learned in voice lessons throughout my whole life — I was in a voice lesson just now. I’m always trying to improve.
Sign up for the Vulture Daily
An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.
Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice