Reading Time: 2 minutes
After weeks of rumors, we learned on Tuesday that Amanda Batula and West Wilson are in a relationship.
The reaction to the romance between these Summer House stars has been almost as harsh as the response to Vanderpump Rules‘ Scandoval, which comes as no surprise.
After all, Amanda just ended her marriage to Kyle Cooke a few months ago, and West previously dated her best friend, Ciara Miller.
No one cheated, exactly, but it’s a very messy situation.
But unlike the Scandoval, in which everyone wound up pissed off at everyone else, Amanda and West are already receiving support from an unlikely source.
Yes, Kyle is speaking out and defending his ex amid a tidal wave of online criticism.
Cooke is pushing back against cyberbullying directed at her following the revelation that she’s gone West.
In a video posted to TikTok on Wednesday, Cooke addressed the harassment Batula has faced since she acknowledged her relationship with West.
“I’ve talked to her before they put the statement out, she gave me a heads-up, and I talked to her last night,” Cooke said.
“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.”
He noted that he wasn’t terribly shocked “evidence started piling up” about Amanda and West quite a while ago.
Kyle added that he’s been “trying to give everybody the benefit of the doubt,” he admitted that it’s a “mental mindf— for me because there’s still so much that we’re watching [on season 10] from the summer.”
Now, Kyle isn’t claiming that everything was on the up and up with Amanda and West.
He says he’s shocked by “how handsy” Wilson was with Batula on Summer House Season 10, which filmed while Amanda and Kyle were still married and is currently airing on Bravo.
“I’m obviously frustrated. I’m obviously disappointed in her, but just hearing her and how unwell she is, [having] dark thoughts, I just ask people to maybe let off the gas a little bit with the cyberbullying and hate.”
He concluded by saying, “What she did was wrong, and she’s trying to come to terms with it, but she is not well.”
For their part, Amanda and West have remained silent following the backlash to their initial statement.
That might be for the best.
