Why Amanda Batula married Kyle Cooke despite Paige DeSorbos warning
Explore More
Paige DeSorbo supported Amanda Batula as the latter “Summer House” star navigated her journey from “I don’t know” to “I do” with now-husband Kyle Cooke.
While promoting Loverboy, Inc. in an exclusive joint interview with Page Six, the couple reflects on DeSorbo’s warning to Batula, 30, after a particularly volatile fight with Cooke, 39, played out on the Season 6 premiere.
“Paige is a very good friend of mine. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding. She’s one of the few people who’s also on a TV show, so we’re able to relate on a level that a lot of people can’t,” Batula says.
“She knows me really well and she knows that I don’t share too much. I do keep things bottled up sometimes and when she sat me down, what she was trying to tell me is that it’s OK to have these thoughts and feelings.”
As fans will recall, DeSorbo, 29, earnestly told Batula that “calling off a wedding is less scary than, in 15 years, hating your f–king life,” adding, “You can’t make people change no matter how much you love them.”
“She was doing her job as a good friend and looking back at it, I watch that moment and it just makes me appreciate our friendship even more,” Batula says of her Bravo bestie, who is currently dating “Southern Charm” hunk Craig Conover.
“I couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been for her to say that to me. I will always appreciate that moment. I wish it didn’t have to happen, but it was really special.”
Though DeSorbo could have potentially prevented their nuptials, Cooke appreciates the fashion contributor for raising her concerns to Batula.
“I get it,” says the businessman. “It’s kind of like the question no one wants to ask and she fell on the sword. It was tough to watch.”
Though Cooke’s alcohol-fueled decision to stay out late and party without Batula — along with his failure to answer dozens of her calls — caused explosive arguments at the start of filming, the pair ultimately chose to move past their issues with the help of therapy.
“There’s so much more that they couldn’t show because there’s only so many minutes in an hour,” Cooke says. “It’s going to seem incredibly dramatic, but three or four days later, we’re sitting down with a therapist and we’re like, ‘Alright, yeah, here’s what we need to work on.’”
Batula says that she and her partner found themselves in a “great place” before tying the knot in September. Since then, the duo has regularly booked two-on-one sessions to maintain a healthy marriage.
“That’s not a reason to stop going to therapy,” she notes. “I think that’s a reason to continue, so you’re reinforcing those behaviors and those communication skills and practicing them.”
Batula, now confident in her decision to commit to Cooke, tells Page Six that DeSorbo — and the rest of her “Summer House” gal pals — never pressured her to leave the relationship or make it last.
“They always made it very clear that no matter what I decide, they’re supporting me and not telling me to call it off or go through with it,” she says.
“They’re just here to be a sounding board and to help me with whatever decision that I make. They’ve always made it very, very clear to me that they’re just going to have my back no matter what happens — and that’s what you want in your girlfriends.”
“Summer House” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
ncG1vNJzZmiokZyytLXXZ5qopV9nfXN%2BjmlpaGhoZMSpxYyapJqmlJZ6o63TrqOaZZ2Wv7O1xJ1kpLGcmnqku86knGaclai9qsDEZqeaoZeaeqWx0qipm6ejYsSivs2ipaBn