According to Summer House‘s Amanda Batula, West Wilson began laying the groundwork for their romantic relationship before she and Kyle Cooke announced their marital split in January.
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While sitting down with Lindsay Hubbard on Season 10’s special bonus episode, Summer House: The Aftermath, Amanda insisted that West is the one who “pursued” her, despite his alleged claims to the contrary. “He was actively texting me to hang out all the time, and I would always say no,” she revealed, adding that, initially, his proposed get-togethers were always in “group settings.”
“He would invite other people too. Like, it wasn’t just me,” Amanda added. “And then there was like that one time I guess Ciara [Miller] saw me at his apartment [on Jan. 17]. … Which was, again, him being like, ‘Come over [for] the game.’ It was in a group text, like other people. We were there. We had, like, pizza.”
RELATED: Amanda and West Reveal When They Really Got Feelings for Each Other: “That Was Special”
Though Amanda said that she previously declined the majority of West’s early invitations, she changed her approach following her and Kyle’s split announcement that they released on Jan. 19. “I’m, like in a different head space where I’m like, ‘OK, like, I need to meet people. Like, I need to get out. Like, I can’t be, like, sitting in my apartment anymore. I can’t be, like saying no,'” she explained. “So then, like, West would be like, ‘We’re going here, we’re doing this. Like, come’… I’m like, ‘OK, yeah. Yes, yes, yes.'”
Amanda continued, “And then when he brought up that, like, ‘Is there something happening?’, it’s like this, like, door opened and I’m like, ‘Wait, what the f–k is going on? Like, are these feelings more than just, like, enjoying hanging out with him, like, as a friend and, like, having fun?'”
Amanda Batula details the early days of her and West Wilson’s romantic relationship
From there, Amanda still maintained that there was “nothing physical going on” between her and West, as they began to process their potentially romantic feelings for each other in February 2026. “It was just conversation,” she claimed. “We’d text and we’d talk about it, and I’d be like… ‘What the f–k is happening?'”
In the interim, Amanda said that she she’d begun to re-discover herself while spending more time with West and his friends. “I think maybe I confused, like, going out with West and, like, falling in love with myself again and, like, remembering who I am with, like, feelings,” she admitted to Lindsay in their conversation which was filmed on May 13, exactly 20 days after the Summer House reunion.
“Hanging out with him and his friends brought out a side of me that, like, I never thought I would see again,” Amanda added. “Like, this person that, like, wanted to have fun, wanted to go out, like, loved life again, didn’t feel lost and alone and scared anymore. Like, I felt such a euphoric feeling. It was hard to, like, think rationally or logically through any of that.”
RELATED: How to Watch Summer House: The Aftermath, Season 10’s Surprise Bonus Episode
Lindsay, meanwhile, questioned why Amanda didn’t “shut it down” amid her confusion. “Why not, at that point, say, ‘No, I’m not doing that to Ciara?'” she asked.
Amanda responded, “Because I was so selfish and so focused on, like, my happiness and, like, feeling good for the first time. … It overwhelmed me, this feeling of just, like… someone caring about me.”
Later, she added, “I just think, like, getting that attention from West, I felt like, oh, maybe this is my person. Like, we start as friends. … Like, we get along so well. Like, there’s these feelings here. Like, he cares about me. Like, he’s saying all the right things. Like, I was afraid that I’d be alone for the rest of my life. Like, I felt unlovable for so long.”
Inside Amanda Batula and West Wilson’s plans for their future together
After opining that West had “manipulated” Amanda during the bonus June 16 Summer House episode, Lindsay asked for more details on the early conversation that sparked the romance they publicly confirmed on March 31. She also wanted to know whether or not Amanda and West had discussed what the future might hold for them.
“I knew the severity and the gravity of the situation,” Amanda recalled. “And I was like, ‘OK, like, if you really care about me, like, if what you’re saying is true, like, if this is how you actually feel, like, this couldn’t be casual. You’d have to see a future. Like, you’d have to know that, like, I would, like, would want to have kids, like, soon.”
After clarifying that they actually “haven’t talked about having kids” together just yet, she continued, “I’ve had these conversations where I’m like, ‘This is my life and, like, if I’m your friend and, like, you have these, like, feelings for me, like you need to be aware … of all this stuff. We’ve had conversations about this, which is also why I felt, like, safe in it.”
Now that Summer House Season 10 has come to an end, don’t miss a new update on Amanda and West’s relationship today.
