Summer House stars Paige DeSorbo and Amanda Batula won’t let anything come between them.
As DeSorbo’s boyfriend, Craig Conover, and Batula’s husband, Kyle Cooke, feud over business investments, DeSorbo, 31, exclusively told Us Weekly that she and Batula, 33, will “always and forever” be on good terms.
“It would be really hard for Amanda and I to fight at this point in our friendship,” DeSorbo explained while promoting her partnership with La Marca. “I’d be like, ‘OK, we’re over it now.’”
DeSorbo had Batula’s back during season 8 of Summer House when Batula and Cooke, 42, butted heads over Cooke’s company, Loverboy. After Batula told Cooke, whom she married in 2021, that she wanted to take a step back from Loverboy and start a company of her own, DeSorbo warned Cooke to take his wife’s desires seriously.
“I don’t want to have this conversation in five years that she’s leaving you. You’re starting [down] that slippery slope. She’s gonna get so unhappy,” DeSorbo said during a May episode. “You’re going to lose your marriage because of a company? You’re at a really big life crossroad.”
Batula confirmed to Us in April that she’d taken “a slight step back” from Loverboy, noting that she was “still very much involved” but not in the “everyday capacity” as she was when serving as the company’s creative and branding director. She admitted that working so closely with Cooke “wasn’t great for [the pair’s] relationship.”
“I think that we were at a place where I would be frustrated about something happening on my end, and he would take it very personally,” Batula explained. “Or he’d complain about something that I approved, and I made a decision on, and I would take it personally.”
Loverboy is also the cause of the rift between Cooke and Conover, 35. During a June appearance on Jason Tartick’s “Trading Secrets” podcast, Cooke claimed that Conover never showed interest in a Loverboy investment before deciding to invest in one of Cooke’s competitors, Spritz Society. He alleged that Conover “sprung” the deal on him and told him it was “too late” when he asked if he could make a counter-offer.
Conover, however, shut down Cooke’s claims.
“Craig is deeply disappointed and saddened by Kyle’s abrupt accusations,” a rep for Conover told Page Six in June. “The truth only hurts one person in this instance, and it’s not Craig. Therefore, he will not comment further on this matter nor be drawn into an unprofessional arena.”
Whether it’s drama with Cooke or his Southern Charm costars, Conover keeps DeSorbo in the loop, even when he’s in Charleston and she’s in New York City.
“Craig doesn’t miss a chance to tell me something juicy,” DeSorbo told Us, noting that she “got the gossip immediately” about everything that went down during the upcoming season of Southern Charm.
As for her own show, DeSorbo noted that there is “a very different vibe” as she and her Summer House costars film season 9. She cited Lindsay Hubbard’s pregnancy as one of the reasons for the dynamic shift.
“We have a pregnant woman, and I have used every excuse that Lindsay has used. I’m like, ‘We’re pregnant. I really can’t play kickball today,’” DeSorbo quipped. “‘We’re pregnant, we’re not going to the club tonight.’ So, that’s been really helpful for me staying in bed more. And so for that I’m forever thankful to her.’”
Hubbard, 38, might be taking a break from night life as she prepares to welcome her first baby with boyfriend Dr. Turner Kufe, but DeSorbo is partnering with La Marca to offer one winner and three friends a three-night stay at the La Marca Summer Villa in Venice, California. To enter for a chance to win a getaway that includes a personal chef and a dedicated personal butler, fans can visit @LaMarcaProsecco on Instagram and leave a comment about how they celebrate friendship.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
