Amanda and West Discuss Their Love Story on Summer House: What Happened Next
West Wilson and Amanda Batula opened up about their contentious relationship on Summer House: The Aftermath, providing insight into their situation.
Amanda, 34, engaged in a heartfelt conversation with Lindsay Hubbard on May 13, which was just 20 days after the reunion for season 10 was filmed. Meanwhile, West, 31, spoke to Amanda’s estranged spouse Kyle Cooke on May 20, as he sought to articulate his feelings for Amanda.
During a special episode that aired on Tuesday, June 16, Kyle directly asked West, “Do you love her?” referring to Amanda, whom he was married to for four years before their split in January.
“Yeah. I mean, I said I love her the night I left your guys’ room to her,” West disclosed, reminiscing about a moment in August 2025 in the Hamptons featured on Summer House, where he told Amanda, “Amanda, I love you, OK,” after a confrontation between Kyle and Amanda while they were still married.
West elaborated, “I genuinely care for her, a great deal.”
West clarified that he started developing “feelings” for Amanda that were “beyond friendship” in February, which was a month before they publicly acknowledged their romantic relationship. He reiterated that nothing physical transpired between them in 2025, but their bond deepened amid Amanda and Kyle’s marital difficulties.
“I haven’t reached the point of declaring to her or myself that I’m in love or not. But I do love her and I have for a long time,” West shared with Kyle.
While West confessed his love for Amanda in the summer of 2025, he seemed to be making efforts to rekindle his past relationship with Ciara Miller throughout season 10 of the Bravo series, a fact Kyle unabashedly pointed out.
“The things you did to draw Ciara back in were sometimes so obvious on screen,” Kyle remarked, mentioning that West’s behavior toward both Amanda—while she was married—and Ciara during the summer of 2025 was inappropriate.
West admitted that the situation had been a “learning lesson” for him, disclosing that he and Ciara, 30, did briefly reconnect after the summer.
“We did kiss, I believe twice,” he remembered, adding that he attended her birthday party in December 2025 because he “wanted to be a good friend.” He noted that he didn’t go out afterward because he was “trying to do the right thing a number of times.”
Scroll down for the most significant insights from Summer House: The Aftermath:
Amanda Acknowledges Her ‘Poor Decisions’
Lindsay confronted Amanda during their May 13 discussion, stating, “You and West made a mature choice, and now you must face the mature consequences that arise from it. You can’t just bury your head in the sand.”
“I am experiencing and feeling it every day,” Amanda acknowledged during the episode. “I made some poor choices.”
Amanda elaborated that after enduring a “toxic relationship” with Kyle, she “lost” her sense of self. “[I] didn’t recognize myself anymore. I felt like a shadow of my former self. I just wasn’t who I used to be,” she reflected.
Amanda expressed that when she began socializing with West and his friends, “I felt young and fun again, like I was in my 20s. Maybe I confused my excitement about going out with West with falling in love with myself again and rediscovering who I am.”
She remembered rekindling her love for life and not feeling “lost and alone” any longer, describing the onset of her relationship with West as “euphoric.”
“It was challenging to think rationally or logically through all of that,” she admitted.
Lindsay responded, “There’s validity in what you’re saying… but that doesn’t justify pursuing the one person who has broken Ciara’s heart repeatedly and then got back together before breaking it again.”
Amanda Asserts West ‘Pursued’ Her
“I didn’t pursue him; he pursued me,” Amanda asserted, rolling her eyes with a slight smirk.
Lindsay claimed that West told Ciara that Amanda was “the one obsessed with him.”
“You were the one who had a crush on him, and nothing physical had transpired at that point,” she alleged. “That was March 6.”
“That’s f***ing ridiculous. That’s amusing. He was persistently texting me to hang out, and I consistently declined,” Amanda countered. “It was usually in group texts… I always said no.”
A Shift Occurred After Amanda’s Split From Kyle
Amanda stated that before her breakup with Kyle in January, West would send group texts inviting her out, but she turned him down. She indicated that once she announced her breakup with Kyle, her perspective changed.
“West would invite me out, and I began saying yes because I needed to escape,” Amanda recounted.
She mentioned that when he implied, “Is something happening?” it was like a door opened, and she questioned, “Wait, what is going on? Are these feelings more than just enjoying time with him as a friend?”
When Lindsay asked, “So he manipulated you?” Amanda replied, “Those aren’t my words.”
Amanda affirmed that initially it was “just conversation” between her and West, but she didn’t end it because “I was being selfish.”
“I was focused on my happiness and feeling good for the first time. Overwhelmed by the feeling of someone caring about me, a guy,” she admitted.
Amanda Feared Being ‘Alone’ Forever
Amanda shared that after realizing she wouldn’t be with Kyle forever or start a family with him, the “attention from West” gave her hope, as in, “Oh, maybe this is my person.”
“I was terrified of being alone for the rest of my life. I felt unlovable for a long time,” Amanda stated.
Lindsay observed, “You are deriving your self-worth from Kyle’s lack of attention, which damaged you. Now, you’re doing that with another guy.”
“I think I was confusing a lot,” Amanda replied.
Have West and Amanda Discussed Their Future?
Amanda revealed that she and West have “partly” discussed a future together. “I was aware of the seriousness and gravity of the situation. If what you’re saying is valid… this couldn’t just be casual,” she recalled mentioning to West. “You have to envision a future. You have to know that I want to have kids soon.”
Although Amanda noted that they “haven’t discussed having kids,” West, as her “friend” with “feelings” for her, understood this was a long-term goal for her.
Lindsay Accuses West of Cheating
“West, he’s already out there embarrassing you. Do you know who he was on the phone with this morning? Meija [Moreno],” Lindsay accused, referring to West’s ex, with whom he was in a relationship during the summer of 2025 through March, when he went public with Amanda.
Lindsay claimed, “He slept with Meija in March. He cheated on you and on her.” Amanda simply replied, “Yeah.”
“This man is ruining your life,” Lindsay added. “Yeah. Which I’m starting to realize,” Amanda acknowledged. “I wake up worried that I’ve ruined my entire life every single day.”
Emotional, Amanda expressed, “What’s so hard to confront and comprehend is I just want love. I fought so hard for that with Kyle, and I felt it so much from West. I just feel incredibly foolish.”
Lindsay warned Amanda, “The only way to safeguard yourself now is to distance yourself from the sinking ship that is West Wilson. Be the Rose on the Titanic. Let go of the hand.”
West Admits to Leading Meija On
“She 100 percent believed we were in an exclusive relationship, while I was not,” West confessed to Kyle about his ex Meija during their May 20 dialogue. “That’s unfair and sucks. I absolutely led her on.”
West continued, “She wanted me to spend Christmas with her family, and I said, ‘No, that’s not where our relationship is.’ It was easier than telling her, ‘I don’t want to be with you.’ I thought that was the right thing to do. I realize now that nothing I did was the right move.”
Why West Believes His Relationship With Amanda Is Unique
“I want her to be happy, man,” Kyle expressed to West about Amanda. “I’m concerned that you might break her heart.”
West acknowledged Kyle’s worries, explaining, “Let me clarify, every other relationship I’ve had hasn’t been good — but my relationship with Amanda is the first time it’s genuinely emerged from a solid three-year friendship. There’s nothing performative about it.”
West emphasized, “I regret many things. The one thing I won’t regret is my feelings for Amanda.”
Meija Was Seeing West When He Kissed Ciara on ‘Summer House’
In the latter part of The Aftermath episode, Ciara met with Meija for a discussion filmed on May 27.
Ciara apologized for the Summer House season 10 clips showing her kissing West, realizing afterward that he was still involved with Meija during their encounter.
“That was definitely a shocking revelation for me,” Meija remarked, adding, “You weren’t obligated to inform me.”
Meija explained that when West was away in the Hamptons, she would sometimes stay at his place over the weekend, and upon his return, they would discuss their experiences, but “clearly not everything.”
Meija Had a 6-Hour Phone Call With West Post-Reunion
“We hadn’t spoken for weeks. After the reunion, he texted me, ‘You win,’” Meija shared. “Following that message, it took him about a week to call me. We had a six-hour conversation.”
Meija noted, “A lot of our discussions now happen over the phone owing to her,” referencing Amanda.
She also mentioned that West informed her he was going to Italy for a wedding alone, “Then I discovered that Amanda was attending too.” (Both West and Amanda attended a wedding together in June during the airing of the three-part reunion in the U.S.)
Meija expressed feeling that West going to Italy with Amanda was “a blatant slap in the face to everyone involved.”
“It felt like a big f*** you to me for being there to talk things through with you,” she added.
Secret Affairs Can Be Quite Enticing
Ciara remarked that if Meija “wasn’t that important to him, he wouldn’t be reaching out to her.”
“If he’s in this happy relationship and trying to make it work—can you just admit you all ruined your entire lives for a fling?” Ciara questioned about West and Amanda. “We know West. The thrill of secrecy was intoxicating for him. That’s why he enjoyed it.”
In a moment of honesty, Ciara confessed, “If I’m being real, secret affairs are exciting. I’ve never been in a situation where I was like, ‘I’m hooking up with my best friend’s ex.’ How devious!”
Meija disclosed that a “significant part” of her relationship with West was concealed, which she initially thought she was a part of, only to later realize she was not.
“Also, same,” Ciara conceded. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, we might be hooking up again and nobody knows,’” she added, referring to her and West’s reunion in fall 2025.
West’s exes concluded by stating they are “trauma bonded” at this point and, for better or worse, appreciative.
“West and Amanda are trauma bonded,” Meija stated to Ciara. “I feel like ours was more fun. We are going to outlast their relationship. I’m being completely serious.”
