{"id":168300,"date":"2026-04-17T06:03:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/168300\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T06:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:03:15","slug":"meija-moreno-addresses-summer-house-drama-west-wilson-rumors-and-those-viral-hair-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/168300\/","title":{"rendered":"Meija Moreno addresses ‘Summer House’ drama, West Wilson rumors and those viral \u2018hair ties\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meija Moreno did not expect to be at the center of the internet this week.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re unfamiliar with the real-life soap opera that is the reality TV show \u201cSummer House,\u201d here\u2019s a little background on how an artist in Philadelphia got ensnared in a serious Bravo television scandal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moreno is not on \u201cSummer House.\u201d She\u2019s not an influencer. She is an artist living in Philly, who works a day job as a remote receptionist.<\/p>\n

Yet, she\u2019s found herself embroiled in tabloid gossip with her name appearing numerous times in Page Six<\/a> in the past week. Cosmopolitan<\/a> put out a whole article with the headline, \u201cWho Is Meija Moreno, and How Is She Connected to West Wilson From \u2018Summer House\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

The gossip has kicked off endless podcast discussions<\/a> and articles<\/a> speculating what exactly went down and why you should be mad.<\/p>\n

To sum it up, \u201cSummer House\u201d features young (well, not so young anymore) New Yorkers spending summer weekends in a house in the Hamptons partying it up. Cast member Amanda Batula is accused of seriously violating girl code by hooking up with her best friend on the show, Ciara Miller\u2019s ex, behind Miller\u2019s back. The ex in question, West Wilson, is also a cast member. Not only this, but Batula is not yet divorced from her husband Kyle Cooke \u2014 yet another cast member.<\/p>\n

Wilson and Batula put out a joint Instagram statement confirming their relationship in late March, which only seemed to add fuel to the fire.<\/p>\n

So how does Moreno fit into all this mess<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Moreno is the creative mind behind Snarl.Studios \u2014 a brand where she makes ties out of horse hair. \u201cCan\u2019t lie, her horsehair ties are sick,\u201d Cosmo wrote. Right before everything blew up, Wilson wore one of Moreno\u2019s \u201chair ties\u201d on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend Meija made this for me,\u201d he said during the appearance.<\/p>\n

@bravowwhl<\/a> Hot or not: West Wilson’s horse hair tie \ud83d\udc0e #WWHL<\/a> #SummerHouse<\/a> \u266c original sound \u2013 BravoWWHL<\/a> <\/p>\n

Since then, internet sleuths got to work, with tabloids romantically linking Moreno to Wilson and giving her the nickname \u201cMontana girl.\u201d Fans have now speculated if Wilson was not only secretly pursuing his ex\u2019s best friend, but perhaps also dating Moreno while doing so.<\/p>\n

We chatted with Moreno to see how she\u2019s been doing, and what it means to be an artist in the center of a television scandal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a normal person,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not a part of that world. I don\u2019t have a fan base that knows me and is ready to ride for me. So when my name started getting thrown in the mix, my immediate fear was that I was going to become a scapegoat, or somehow become the villain in the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"(Courtesy of Meija Moreno)<\/p>\n

Summer House fans might know your name, but don\u2019t really know you. To start, I\u2019d love to hear where you\u2019re from and how you got to Philly.<\/p>\n

I was born in northern Idaho, of all places, and that is where I grew up. I moved to a suburb of Chicago for a year and then right before seventh grade started, we moved to Montana. That\u2019s where I did the rest of middle school, high school and college.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t know what a small town is until you grow up in a place like Idaho or Montana. The culture there is you get married, you have kids, you settle down \u2014 which there\u2019s nothing wrong with that whatsoever. But that\u2019s not something I ever wanted for myself personally. And so I was like, \u201cI think I have to get out of here. I\u2019ve got to go somewhere where things are happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

People have always asked where I\u2019m from, just because I\u2019m not a blue-eyed, blonde-haired woman. And people always assumed I was from the East Coast. And so I decided to look there. I can\u2019t afford New York, obviously. And so I was looking at other cities, and Philly was the first one that I decided to go and visit, and I just kind of fell in love when I went. I moved to Philly about a year ago.<\/p>\n

Did you always want to be an artist?\u00a0<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t study art ever, but I was just always a creative kid. I was always wanting to make things with my hands, whether it was jewelry or doing sculptures or really anything. I think growing up in Idaho and Montana made me feel even more isolated in that way. There\u2019s not really a culture for art there, so you\u2019re not seeing people that are out doing creative things and being successful at it. It\u2019s pretty rare. So I think that that always just gave me a sense of feeling like that wasn\u2019t something I could do.<\/p>\n

When I got older, I didn\u2019t really see how this was applicable as a career, but I\u2019d find myself doing it all the time for no reason at all. I\u2019m just creating things. When I moved, I made that conscious decision of, let\u2019s just move across the country and try to become an artist and really double down on that identity.<\/p>\n

Where does the name Snarl.Studios come from?<\/p>\n

I had made this little kiss lock purse, and I\u2019d embroidered it with a cougar \u2014 growling, snarling on the front of it, and then painted the words, \u201cshow me your teeth.\u201d It was right before I moved that I made that bag. I wanted the brand to be something that\u2019s animalistic and kind of bold, but not overly aggressive. Then I found myself looking back at that bag that I had originally made, and she\u2019s just, like, snarling on the bag. I was like, \u201cOh, that\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Meija Moreno holding the bag that inspired her Snarl.Studios brand. (Photo by Meija Moreno)<\/p>\n

How did you come up with the idea to create a tie out of horse hair?<\/p>\n

I got some black hair extensions, because I was thinking about using hair as fringe for my crocheted bags, and I was playing around with it at one point, and then it was just kind of by my chest. I was like, \u201cOh my gosh, wait, that\u2019s such a fun play on words to do, like a \u2018hair tie.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something so interesting about something being creepy and pretty at the same exact time. And I think the horse hair ties, in a way, are a little weird and creepy, but I think they\u2019re so elegant and pretty. I think it\u2019s also probably a little bit of an ode to my Western roots.<\/p>\n

It was all a pretty recent development. Within the past three months, I\u2019ve been working on it.<\/p>\n

Are they hard to make?<\/p>\n

It typically takes me a few days to finish one hair tie. There\u2019s a lot of braiding and sewing, and I have to process the hair and wash it, and dry it, straighten it \u2014 all of these things. Just working with hair in general, you know, it\u2019s thousands of strands of this really fine material. I love a tedious job, and I just think it comes together so beautifully.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All the ties that I\u2019ve made so far have been out of horse hair. It\u2019s the tail of horses, or the mane of horses. I get it from a company that has a horse farm over in Mongolia. It\u2019s not a slaughterhouse or anything. I contacted them to make sure. As far as I know, they are not harmed or slaughtered.<\/p>\n

How did you meet West Wilson?<\/p>\n

We both went to school in Bozeman, MSU, Montana State University. And he\u2019s older than I am, so I actually didn\u2019t hang out with him much in college, but Montana\u2019s small, so we had a bunch of mutual friends and whatnot. I definitely knew of him, and we actually met for the first time at a destination wedding in 2023 that we were going to. We kind of lived together for a week, and that was the first time we ever met, and then we kept in touch afterwards.<\/p>\n

What did he think of the tie idea?<\/p>\n

West was always really supportive of me chasing down that dream of being some kind of artist. When I told him that I thought I wanted my medium to be hair, he was like, \u201coh my god, yeah, that makes so much sense for you.\u201d He loved the idea, and was like, \u201cWill you make me one?\u201d It\u2019s kind of perfectly up his alley, being a Midwest guy with a farm and ranch background. So I made him one, and then \u201cWatch What Happens Live\u201d was coming up. And he was like, \u201cI really want to wear it on the show.\u201d He was really supportive of it.<\/p>\n

\"\"WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE WITH ANDY COHEN \u2014 Episode 23051 \u2014 Pictured: West Wilson \u2014 (Photo by: Charles Sykes\/Bravo)<\/p>\n

Like many fashion items, this one\u2019s a bit polarizing. Only 37% of \u201cWatch What Happens Live\u201d pollsters are calling it hot. Why do you think not everyone gets it? What are they missing?<\/p>\n

When West wore the tie on \u201cWatch What Happens Live,\u201d I didn\u2019t know that he was going to be able to shout me out by name. I was actually on the train going back to Philly from New York when the episode was airing, and all of a sudden I started getting DMs from people before he even mentioned my name, which was so exciting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As soon as I saw that there was going to be a poll, I was like, \u201cOkay, people who would do a reality TV poll probably aren\u2019t the same demographic of people that would be into a weird niche accessory, like a horse hair tie, because it is odd.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s an odd thing and it\u2019s weird. It really didn\u2019t hurt my feelings by any means. Anytime I\u2019ve posted them online, I\u2019ve gotten really great feedback. There\u2019s more little weirdos like me online.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was a really cool experience. I was really excited that it happened, even if it wasn\u2019t the best voting outcome for me.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of rumors surrounding your relationship with West. Do you want to clear any of that up?<\/p>\n

I would really appreciate it if we can just not.<\/p>\n

Totally, I just want to give you that opportunity in case you want to take it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I really don\u2019t want to touch it right now. I don\u2019t mind you mentioning that he obviously wore the tie and was supportive of it and whatnot. That\u2019s all fine, but anything dating-wise, I\u2019d rather just not get into it.<\/p>\n

\"\"(Courtesy of Meija Moreno)<\/p>\n

I\u2019m wondering how business has been in the aftermath of the scandal. We\u2019ve learned from \u201cVanderpump Rules\u201d that Bravo scandals are a great way to market merchandise. \u201cSummer House\u201d cast members are filming commercials and selling products piggybacking on the news. What has interest in the hair ties looked like post this \u201cSummer House\u201d scandal?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m really fortunate for the situation, but also it is so unfortunate. Obviously, it was really amazing to have my art be seen on such a wide platform, and then it turned into a really unfortunate scandal all around. It also happens to be a scandal that directly impacts me. It\u2019s kind of hard to separate the two. I don\u2019t want to miss my opportunity, but I also want to handle things in a way that I feel proud of. I have gotten quite a few orders, which has been so amazing and validating. It\u2019s kind of hard to work on them right now. Working on them just reminds me so much of this weird event in my life.<\/p>\n

Have you been able to capitalize on the attention?<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t done much since this whole scandal has happened. Nothing feels like it\u2019s necessarily a good move. People are inevitably going to have questions about the actual drama of this situation, which is totally fine. I totally understand it. It\u2019s the nature of that Bravo, reality TV sphere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just a normal person, and so I\u2019m not used to navigating that whatsoever, and I\u2019m not used to having more than five people paying attention to what I\u2019m doing. I do want to try to get a silver lining out of this really unfortunate situation, but how do I do it in a way that makes me feel morally good about it, and also doesn\u2019t come off as capitalizing on a really painful situation for a lot of different people.<\/p>\n

How are you doing? I\u2019m sure it\u2019s been overwhelming.<\/p>\n

The whole situation is really mentally hard. I feel really horrible for everyone involved, and there\u2019s just so many layers to it. It\u2019s been a really difficult thing to navigate both personally and professionally, because professionally, I would love to do this full time one day. And again, it kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier, where it\u2019s like, this is a really special and unique opportunity that I got, and a lot of artists don\u2019t get that kind of platform ever, and they definitely don\u2019t get it so right off the bat. So I was really lucky, and I felt really lucky to have that opportunity. And now it kind of feels tainted.<\/p>\n

I have not processed it whatsoever, because it\u2019s so not normal to all of a sudden have what feels like the nation\u2019s eyes on you for something that\u2019s inherently negative that you\u2019re directly involved in, but not a part of the cast. People don\u2019t actually care that much about me, but I\u2019m kind of a weird part of it.<\/p>\n

\"\"(Courtesy of Meija Moreno)<\/p>\n

Do you have people around to support you?<\/p>\n

My friends and family have been so fantastic. I\u2019m sure I seem insufferable right now to them. I have friends here, but they\u2019re all newer friends that I\u2019ve made within the past year. It\u2019s just different talking to them about situations versus talking to friends who have known me for years. My family and all those people are very far away from me right now. I guess I selfishly wish that I could be closer to them at the moment.<\/p>\n

And then the other thing I will say, it borderline brings me to tears to talk about the amount of women who have come out to blindly support me and ride for me during this whole situation. It was a huge blindside for me. As soon as my name started getting thrown in the ring, my immediate thought was \u201cthe woman never makes it out alive no matter what.\u201d I had a 48-hour panic attack about it, because I don\u2019t even know how to defend myself, because I\u2019m just one person. And again, I didn\u2019t ask for this, and as far as I knew, I was not doing anything wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So I was just really terrified, and I had so many women reach out to me and just show me support. It really makes me emotional to talk about, because that just feels like womanhood to me. So many women experience this kind of situation, obviously not on this scale, but they can relate to it in some capacity. That outpour of support was something that I wasn\u2019t really expecting.<\/p>\n

If people reading this do want to support you or are interested in your art? What is the best way for them to find you?<\/p>\n

I have an Instagram that\u2019s snarl.studios<\/a>, and that\u2019s pretty small. I kind of was rushed to make it after West wore my tie on Watch What Happens Live. I wasn\u2019t really ready to launch the brand yet, if I\u2019m being honest, because I didn\u2019t think he was going to say the brand name, and I didn\u2019t think he was even going to say my name. I wasn\u2019t ready for this kind of exposure, but I\u2019m happy it\u2019s happening. So, let me try to catch up here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And then my Tik Tok, which isn\u2019t exclusively my art, is a lot of me just talking about it and posting about it. It\u2019s just Meija.Moreno.<\/a><\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, I was used to a few people viewing my art and what I\u2019m making, and now it feels like thousands of people are watching what I\u2019m doing. I know that\u2019s going to go away once the scandal goes away, but it\u2019s just been a really cool experience that at least I can get a few silver linings out of the situation, and that part of it feels really validating.<\/p>\n

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