As a devout “Bravoholic” for more than a decade, I thought I’d seen everything the reality TV network could throw at me: jailed Housewives, hurled wine glasses, and faked cancer stories. But I never thought we’d see another “Scandoval.” The portmanteau refers to the 2023 scandal surrounding Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval, who blew up his life when he cheated on his longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix with their castmate — and her best friend — Rachel Leviss. The affair became such a pop culture obsession that “Scandoval” quickly entered the reality TV lexicon, turning Sandoval into TV’s ultimate villain and earning him The New York Times Magazine distinction of being “the most hated man in America.”
Surely other reality TV stars — especially Bravo’s own — would learn from his mistakes, right? Wrong. Summer House star West Wilson is making a strong case to steal Sandoval’s crown.
The hit reality show — now in its tenth season — follows a group of friends, exes, and hookups spending their summers partying in the Hamptons. Wilson, 31, is at the center of a messy love triangle after breaking ex-girlfriend Ciara Miller’s heart — again — by dating her former best friend and fellow Summer House star Amanda Batula.
Batula, 34, announced her split from husband and longtime co-star Kyle Cooke in January, ending one of Summer House’s most talked-about relationships after years of cheating rumors and televised fights. Wilson, meanwhile, was already dealing with backlash from the messy fallout of his brief 2023 romance with Miller, 30, which also played out on the show.
Then came the bombshell that sent Bravo fans into meltdown: Batula and Wilson confirmed in late March of this year that they were dating. It came just days after Wilson denied there was anything romantic going on with Batula on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “I really, really, really regret the lying part of it,” Wilson said on his podcast recently. “Because now it’s like, no matter what happens or what I say I have not a lot of ground to stand on.”
Indeed, questions about when their relationship actually began have continued to follow them ahead of Tuesday night’s reunion episode, with some bloggers claiming the romance started before filming wrapped on the latest season.
The whole situation is awfully reminiscent of “Scandoval.” In the immediate aftermath of Sandoval’s affair being exposed, fans rallied around Ariana Madix in much the same way they’ve recently backed Miller. While Madix turned heartbreak into opportunity with brand deals, TV gigs, and a career resurgence, Sandoval became the face of reality TV shame. “It pretty much destroyed my life,” Sandoval said of the incident last year.
Seeing the Wilson-Miller-Batula triangle play out in real time on Summer House and the new spin-off series In The City almost makes Scandoval look tame in comparison. Viewers weren’t piecing together clues after the fact — they were watching them unfold. The lingering hugs, whispered “I love you”s, forehead kisses, and obvious chemistry between Wilson and Batula now read very differently in hindsight, despite the pair insisting in matching Instagram statements that their relationship was a “recent development.”
What makes the fallout feel even more brutal are the promises viewers watched Wilson make to Miller along the way. During the May 19 Summer House finale — potentially while already romantically involved with Batula — Wilson insisted: “The last thing I want is her f***ing heart broken.”
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For her part, Miller — a model and ICU nurse — has said she is focusing on “survival” ahead of the reunion airing, though she did promise there would be no reconciliation on the horizon for her and Batula. She told Glamour in her first big interview following the news: “I just never would think that it would come from someone like Amanda, who has been what has felt like in my circle and in my corner for so long. I think that’s the craziest part… to be disregarded in such a disrespectful way … I’m at a loss for words sometimes.”
Let’s be clear, Batula is also at fault here and is paying the price with intense backlash and the loss of her Edie Parker brand deal only hours after it launched. In the trailer for the Summer House reunion, she makes a sad attempt to defend herself and Wilson, saying, “No one in this world has ever been in a situation like this before?” I mean, has she ever heard of girl code?
What makes this really sting is that Summer House is, at its core, a show about friendship. A group of pals heading to the Hamptons each summer weekend for laughs, parties, and sunshine; it’s a wholesome premise and has endured largely due to the genuine bonds it was built upon. Now, watching those relationships dissolve over Wilson and Batula’s deceit is heartbreaking both for those involved and for viewers who have spent years following them (and clamoring for an invite to one of those legendary backyard bashes).
In the Summer House reunion trailer, Wilson’s close friend Jesse Solomon broke down in tears, saying, “I feel like I’m losing a brother. I mean, I hope that you can somehow improve and prove us wrong, but it doesn’t look good.”
Miller, too, had her moment to tear into Batula and bury any shred of hope that their once-tight friendship could recover. “Over the past six years, I have been your f***ing champion,” Miller told Batula in the trailer. “I couldn’t fathom that I would be sitting here pissed that you’re f***ing my ex. He wants to embarrass me; he wants to get his last little words in. And I hope it works — because he’s with you to spite me.”
Whether or not that proves to be the case remains to be seen. But, as Solomon said, it doesn’t look good for Wilson; he has, to many, eclipsed Sandoval in his villainy. The only real consolation is that Miller, much like Madix before her, appears poised to come out of the wreckage with her head held high and the possibility of a career breakthrough on the horizon.
