Summer House Recap: A House Divided

by

Kyle Cooke’s famous line, “Summer House should be fun. Kyle and Amanda? Not fun!” feels particularly true right now. For the past two episodes, the fallout from their breakup has been dragging everyone down and making the show less enjoyable. It’s clear they’re completely done with each other – truly, irrevocably over. They’ve moved on, and the drama is starting to feel exhausting.

Honestly, this episode was just relentlessly awful to watch. Kyle is completely losing it over Amanda swimming naked, which is so frustrating because they’ve clearly done that before as a couple! And then he starts complaining about her to the guys right in front of her – seriously? Amanda completely shuts him down, ignoring him when he asks where she’s going and refusing to talk about their problems unless he brings them up first. When he does try to talk about it, he does it in front of everyone, and she just glares at him, even after he apologized! It’s just a disaster, and I was cringing the whole time. You know, Bailey actually nailed it. She said they’re at this point where nothing either of them does is right in the other’s eyes, and they’re so mad at each other that anything sets them off. She’s right, someone needs to give in, but they’re both just stubbornly refusing to budge, and it’s painful to watch them both dig their heels in.

As a strong supporter of Kyle Cooke, it’s difficult to watch this situation unfold, but I believe both he and Amanda share responsibility. While Kyle is likely more at fault – he’s struggled with this behavior for years, and Amanda’s account of him getting heavily intoxicated and passing out at a fan’s house is concerning – he hasn’t changed throughout their relationship. Amanda has consistently tolerated this, and she’s now understandably reached her limit.

It looks like the dynamic between Amanda and Kyle has completely flipped. In the beginning, Amanda was constantly trying to please Kyle, who wasn’t interested in commitment, and she always gave in to keep him around. He didn’t take her concerns seriously – like her asking him to drink less or stay home more – because she’d always backtrack. But now, Amanda is much more self-assured and has realized she deserves better. She’s stopped constantly texting him when he goes out, which shows how much she’s grown. Now Kyle is the one trying to win her back, making efforts to change, but Amanda isn’t interested at all.

Kyle appears to be attempting to explain his perspective, possibly to justify his actions. Following the July 4th party, the group went to Southhampton Social, where Kyle confided in the guys about problems with Amanda. He claims she uses marijuana nightly, leading to a significant decline in their intimacy. He also describes her as messy, to the point where he needed his mother-in-law to help clean their apartment. Later, while talking to Carl, Kyle revealed that Loverboy was facing financial difficulties, having stopped paying himself a salary and relying on his DJ earnings – reportedly around $10,000 per gig – to cover rent, not just for entertainment.

The main issue appears to be a lack of open communication. While Kyle was sharing his feelings with his friends, Amanda secretly approached, causing everyone to fall silent except for KJ, who offered Kyle support. It’s a strange moment, especially considering I was trying to enjoy my lunch! Amanda quickly realizes something’s wrong and asks Kyle what’s going on, but he avoids the real issue and instead complains that she hasn’t been making time for him. He still won’t be honest about what’s bothering him or what he and the others were discussing.

Kyle and Amanda are both confiding in friends about their relationship troubles instead of talking to each other. Kyle vents to Carl about issues with their life together, and Carl encourages them to reconcile, noting they seem to disagree on everything. Amanda discusses things with Ciara and Lindsay, and Lindsay reveals that Kyle told her he felt lost and isolated in the relationship. Amanda then shares the story about the incident that happened at 6 a.m., which has been a closely guarded secret since the show’s preview. However, they still haven’t addressed what happened during their first weekend together, and there’s no sign of them resolving their issues.

The problem isn’t just about who has control, but also about both Amanda and Kyle feeling unheard. We often saw Amanda complain Kyle ignored her, and she was right to feel that way. Now the roles have reversed, and Kyle feels ignored too. It’s hard to say who started this pattern or who’s to blame – we probably never will. While Kyle may have contributed to the issues, we can’t fully understand their relationship from the outside. It’s a complicated situation, but even when Kyle made mistakes before, he always tried to make things work. He still loves Amanda, as he told Carl, but this time, Amanda has decided she’s done. She’s ended the struggle, and Kyle is left desperately trying to hold onto something that’s no longer there.

Everyone in the house is feeling the strain, especially since they just want to enjoy themselves. We’re starting to see a little improvement, though. Ciara brought her friend Mia, who’s stunning and used to work at The Box – the same place Riley Burruss spent $14,000 in a single night (that’s like one and a half DJ gigs for Kyle Cooke!). Bailey is really interested in Ben, our attractive Australian friend, but both she and Levi are confused by him. He’s so friendly and makes good eye contact that they can’t tell if he’s flirting or just being nice. Ciara had a meaningful conversation with KJ about the challenges their parents faced raising Black children in mostly white communities and how their families have been shaped by divorce. Ciara is starting to warm up to West, and getting goats for the party seemed to help, even though one of them accidentally stepped on Levi’s face.

Ciara, Amanda’s close friend, is heavily involved in the ongoing conflict between Amanda and Kyle. When she arrives late, Amanda expresses how much she missed her, and Bailey and Levi offer her company, but Ciara feels isolated. Kyle points out that he’s there for her, but Ciara acts as if Amanda and Kyle are already over, seemingly convinced that nothing Kyle does will make a difference. While Carl hopes they can resolve their issues, it’s clear Ciara hasn’t gotten the message and believes the relationship is unsavable. We don’t know what Lindsay told Kyle, but Ciara isn’t optimistic.

During dinner at the end of the episode, Kyle tried to apologize to the group for involving them in his issues with Amanda. Ciara immediately interrupted, sarcastically asking if the toast was about her – which it was. Even though Ciara clearly dislikes how Kyle treats Amanda, she could have waited until he finished his apology before making fun of him. Amanda also reacted poorly, telling Kyle he should have apologized to her privately first. This led to a bigger argument, leaving Kyle feeling embarrassed and like no one understood or trusted him. He stormed off, slamming the door so hard that a painting, a plant, and some pottery fell and broke. For the rest of the night, everyone was tense and careful in the kitchen, worried about upsetting things further, like stepping on broken glass or triggering another outburst.

Read More

2026-02-11 04:57