Summer House’s Ben Claims Amanda ‘Retracted’ Sexual Allegations
Summer House’s Ben Waddell is clarifying the situation after Amanda Batula alleged that he expressed a desire to be intimate with her while she was still married to Kyle Cooke.
“There’s no group text; it’s entirely false,” Ben, 39, stated via Threads on Monday, June 1, in response to a fan’s inquiry regarding Amanda’s claims from season 10 of the Bravo show that he wanted to be intimate with her during their trip to Italy and that “there was a whole text chain about it.”
Ben elaborated that Amanda “retracted her statement at the reunion,” referencing her on-camera comments, which he has consistently claimed were completely untrue.
“[She] admitted she ‘over-exaggerated’ that account. Hope that clears it up 🙏🏼,” Ben concluded.
During the Summer House season 10 premiere in February, Amanda shared how she met Ben, the new cast member. She recounted that mutual friends were getting married in Italy during the summer of 2024.
“We were up. Yeah, we stayed up,” Ben coyly told his new housemates about his initial encounter with Amanda. Amanda added playfully, “It was great.”
West Wilson then posed the question everyone seemed to be thinking: “Did you guys go to an orgy or something?”
Both Ben and Amanda exchanged expressions, but she later revealed to the cameras, “Ben and I met at my best friend’s wedding in Italy, where we were skinny-dipping.”
She clarified that Kyle, 43, her husband since September 2021, was present during the skinny-dipping incident. (Kyle and Amanda announced their divorce in January after four years of marriage.)
“How do I explain this?” Amanda pondered before stating, “We ended up, me, the bride, and Ben skinny-dipping in the pool, while Kyle was playing music and walking around the pool. We really connected at that moment, fully nude.”
Amanda and Ben’s past became a hot topic in episode 6, aired in March. During this episode, cast members expressed what they cherished most about Amanda in celebration of her birthday.
Before Ben could respond, newcomer Bailey Taylor interjected, saying, “‘Ben’s going to talk about how he wants to definitely sleep with you.’ Definitely saw that coming.”
Ben denied the accusation, but Amanda later claimed on camera that he did indeed desire to be intimate with her during their time in Italy. Ben indicated that this would be addressed at the reunion.
As summer wrapped up, Ben began officially dating Sabrina Belle, whom he had been casually seeing before joining the show. Amanda confirmed in March that she and co-star West, 31, are in a relationship, following his 2023 romance with her former best friend Ciara Miller.
Part 2 of the Summer House reunion airs on Bravo Tuesday, June 2, at 8 p.m. ET.
