Kyle Cooke revealed his honest feelings about Amanda Batula moving out of their shared apartment during In The City‘s Season 1 premiere, which was filmed several months prior to their eventual split announcement.
Upon returning to New York City from the Hamptons after Summer House Season 10 wrapped, Amanda went directly to a hotel to get some space. Her time away from home lasted only a couple of days, but later, Amanda informed Kyle during their fourth wedding anniversary celebration that she planned to move out for a longer span of time.
After listening to Amanda’s full explanation (more on that below), Kyle responded, “It’s a lot to swallow. But, like, I’m trying to be, like, open-minded, and I understand.”
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From there, he began to ask Amanda if she could “promise” him something, should he agree to the trial separation, but she cut him off to underscore that she’d already made up her mind and was not asking for his “blessing.” So, Kyle relented and simply told her, “It’s all you,” prior to opening up more in a confessional.
“I don’t know if there’s a playbook. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel or act,” Kyle shared with a producer. “So, I’m just trying to embrace this idea and be supportive. It feels extreme, and I’m not sold on this being the solution. I’ve never heard of a couple physically separating, but not “separating,” and using that as a tool to get back together. But maybe this is what we need.”
Why Amanda Batula decided to move out of her and Kyle Cooke’s apartment
As the seasons transitioned from summer to fall, Amanda and Kyle continued to attend couples therapy sessions. Before long, however, Amanda said that even their counselor agreed that they appeared to be “moving backwards” in their progress. She specifically mentioned Kyle continuing to stay out late after his nighttime DJing gigs, as an example.
Regardless, as they kicked off their anniversary celebration later on, Kyle admitted that counseling hadn’t been “a walk in the park,” but still insisted that, for the first time in weeks, he and Amanda were “both optimistic” about their future together.
Amanda seemed to be on an entirely different page, however, telling him that she did not feel as though they were “moving forward in therapy.” From her perspective, she and Kyle had actually just slipped back into old patterns of going through the motions of their daily lives without actually addressing any of their underlying marital issues.
RELATED: What to Expect From Amanda Batula on In The City as She Battles “The Demise of Her Marriage”
“I struggle with that a lot,” Amanda explained to Kyle. “It’s not going the way that I really want it to. I’m gonna move out.”
That said, Amanda assured Kyle that she was not, by any means, suggesting a “permanent” separation. “This is like a month,” she claimed. “This is not to end the relationship. This is something I think needs to be done to help us. I want to, like, date again. I want to get together and, like, spend time like this.”
Amanda continued, “It’s difficult to explain. I’m not doing this to run away. I’m doing this because I want this to work out. I’m not saying this is like we can’t see each other for a month. This is like you come to my place, I go to your place, we have movie nights and date nights. It’s still spending time together.”
Amanda Batula said Kyle Cooke initially suggested that she “should move out”
Earlier in the May 19 series premiere, Amanda had opened up more to Lindsay Hubbard about her and Kyle’s couples therapy sessions and the possibility of her moving out of their apartment. First, she revealed to a stunned Lindsay for the first time that she’d stayed in a hotel after they left the Hamptons.
“I didn’t want to fall into the routine of going back to the apartment, diving into the same old business, nothing ever gets discussed,” Amanda elaborated. “Now that I’m back home, obviously, we’re going to couples counseling right now. But [our therapist] made a comment to us in therapy where she was like, ‘You guys hate each other.'”
Then, Amanda recounted how she and Kyle had talked in a park after a recent therapy appointment. “He, like, made a comment to me, like maybe I should get my own place,” she told Lindsay.
That’s when a clip rolled from that very conversation, which had taken place three days earlier, showing Amanda telling Kyle, “I feel stupid for wanting someone to change who’s showed no hope and still doesn’t understand what my issues are with them.”
After Kyle replied, “I can’t be around, in our home, around you, if it continues how it’s going,” Amanda asked, “Your solution is that I should move out?” The flashback ended before he could answer, however.
What’s more, Amanda also told Lindsay that Kyle had asked her to pay him $117,000 in back rent from the past three years. Instead of making periodic payments, Amanda said that she agreed to just give him the “lump sum” before officially deciding to relocate.
As they continue to navigate their relationship issues on Season 1 of In The City, get more details on where Kyle and Amanda stand today.
