The cast for Bravo‘s In the City gathered in New York City on Monday night to celebrate the Tuesday night launch of their Summer House spinoff series, and that group included exes Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula.
Cooke and Batula, who announced their separation after a four-year marriage in January, filmed In the City in the lead up to their split, and filmed additional scenes after the Summer House cast implosion when Batula and castmate West Wilson announced their shock relationship later in March.
The Hollywood Reporter was in attendance at the In the City cast premiere party at Maison Close on Monday night, where Cooke and Batula were on good terms. They posed together during cast photos, and also took pictures just the two of them on the red carpet.
Despite the mega-spotlight on the pair — which is reaching a fever pitch as Summer House prepares to air its season finale on Tuesday night, followed by a three-part reunion over the next three weeks where the cast will address the Batula-Wilson romance scandal for the first time — Cooke remains a supportive ex to Batula, who has taken the majority of the heat (Wilson is the ex-boyfriend to Batula’s close friend and castmate, Ciara Miller).
A source close to the cast told THR that Cooke and Batula have a long history together and that Cooke still deeply cares for Batula, which is something she’s grateful for at this moment. That amicable relationship was on display during the party, and after seeing comments from critical fans, Cooke felt compelled to respond with the below message.
“Yes, Amanda and I took a picture together,” he said in a video to his Instagram on Tuesday morning. “I was just happy she showed up. She almost didn’t come to a [premiere party for] a show that she participated in. Shoot me, shoot me! But don’t call my life, my relationship, my marriage and my implosion of a marriage ‘fake.’ Guys, with all due respect, we’re all adults here and we all showed up to a premiere party. And yes, Amanda didn’t want to come and I convinced her to come. We took a photo together. Grow the fuck up.”
The In the City cast also includes Summer House star Lindsay Hubbard, Summer House alum Danielle Olivera — who just announced her pregnancy with In the City co-star Eoin Heavey — along with Summer House alum Andrea Denver and wife Lexi Sundin, Nick Barber, Yvonne Najor, Georgina Ferzil, Whitney Fransway, Kenny Martin, Gavin Moseley and Katie Arundel as they “navigate some of the biggest transitions of their lives,” per the Bravo logline.
Hubbard, Cooke and Batula lead the In The City cast, and while Batula was more muted at the premiere party, Hubbard and Cooke worked the room and expressed excitement about the spinoff to partygoers. Other Bravolebrities guests included Southern Charm‘s Austin Kroll and RHONY‘s Erin Lichy. The teaser trailer mostly centered on the crumbling of Batula and Cooke’s marriage, with the pair addressing their separation and impending divorce, but the series is set to explore this next phase for the familiar and new group as it centers around marriage, separation, parenthood, reinvention and “the reality of growing up without growing apart.”
The Summer House spinoff premieres tonight at 9 p.m., directly following the show’s season 10 finale, which begins at 8 p.m.
