In the immortal words of Kyle Cooke, “Summer. Should. Be. Fun.,” and this summer definitely was. Coming off of arguably their best season yet, the cast of Summer House reunited on Wednesday night (May 6) for the Season 4 reunion hosted by Andy Cohen as part of Watch What Happens Live At Home.
Though it only lasted a single hour, the virtual reunion offered no shortage of hot-button issues following the the Housemates’ rave-themed season finale: What’s the status of Luke Gulbranson and Hannah Berner? Did Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard ever get their friendship back on track after an ill-advised attempt at dating in the first half of the season? Has Kyle‘s engagement to Amanda Batula survived the pressure of quarantining together in a tiny New York apartment? Buckle up for the answers to all those questions and more as we break down the biggest moments from the Summer House Season 4 reunion.
Kyle Cooke “Wouldn’t Wish” Quarantining with Amanda Batula on Anyone
Wearing his brightest blue hoodie in a nod to Carlito, Andy kicked off the reunion by taking aim at reigning house couple Kyle and Amanda about their constantly volatile relationship. While Amanda blamed the bulk of her relationship drama over the season on being “miserable” in her personal life and job, Kyle quickly insisted the couple has worked through their issues and the wedding is still on for later this year.
However, when Andy pressed the engaged lovebirds about whether their sex life has improved since filming wrapped, they both admitted that, while it got better at first, living in quarantine in the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on their day-to-day life together. “We’re full time, all day, all night,” Kyle said of being in lockdown with Amanda. “I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”
Carl Radke Admits He’s Seeking Treatment for a Drinking Problem
Next, Carl had more than a few things to answer for, from the way he handled his breakup with Lindsay early in the summer and rebounding with Friend of the Housemates (and his and Lindsay’s mutual BFF) Danielle Olivera in the finale to his fear of commitment and the way he spiraled throughout the season. By the end of the summer, the Loverboy salesman’s closest friends in the house were growing more and more concerned about his constant partying, and at the reunion Carl dropped a major bombshell about his relationship with alcohol.
“I think I’ve got to take ownership of the drinking in my life and how that’s affected my relationships; I get angry, if I’m stressed in a relationship, I tend to hit the bottle. And I want to say I’ve actually been sober,” Carl revealed. “And I’m gonna continue that and I think I’m kind of excited to show everybody how I really am when I’m sober all the time.”
Carl went on to explain that he’s been sober essentially since the pandemic started (he’s currently quarantining in the Hamptons) and he’s since entered into an unspecified alcohol therapy program. “It’s something I never really addressed: I do have a drinking problem and I’m trying to hit that head on,” he said.
Jules Daoud Cops to Physically Hitting Luke Gulbranson Off-Camera
In perhaps the most unexpected moment of the reunion, the season’s two newbies, Luke and Jules Daoud, faced off regarding accusations of physical violence in a heated off-camera moment. It all started when Luke was less than sympathetic to Jules being ostracized by the rest of the house, saying she couldn’t blame her bad blood with the rest of the Housemates solely on her relationship with now-evicted Summer House alum Jordan Verroi.
“For me personally, I had some experiences, clearly, with Jules that weren’t so pleasant. I think a lot of that had to play into it,” Luke said before explaining that the drama between them happened at an off-camera Fourth of July barbecue he hosted in the city.
Jules quickly fired back with her side of the story, calling the hunky hockey coach a “misogynistic asshole” for getting mad at her for refusing to hook up with his friend. “Jules, I can’t even talk to you ’cause you’re going to deny everything and that’s fine, ’cause you hide under a rock, tuck your head in like a turtle,” Luke shot back before dropping an even more scandalous accusation.
“You weren’t necessarily a good person to me. You physically hit me and did things to me,” he said as the rest of the Housemates sat in stunned silence. “I don’t like you and when people are saying that the people in this house are rude and mean because everybody wasn’t warm to you, there’s reasons, Jules.”
According to the Jordanian spitfire, the whole moment was an accident, and she meant to drunkenly hit the back of Luke‘s seat while riding in an Uber. “My hand slipped, I ended up hitting you, I apologized profusely for it and I thought that we moved forward from this,” Jules countered. However, it’s pretty clear from their exchange that the two Summer House rookies won’t be becoming friendly any time soon.
(On a side note, Jules confirmed during the reunion that she and Jordan did, in fact, have sex after a date back in the city but admitted he “never satisfied her” sexually, and boy oh boy, do I wish Jordan had been invited to the reunion to share his side of the story…)
Luke Gulbranson Loves Hannah Berner, But He’s Not “in Love” with Her
Finally, it was time to discuss the storyline that dominated the entire season: the relationship between Luke and Hannah. But unfortunately I have bad new for shippers of the pair’s dramatic romance: like every good summer fling, it didn’t last through the fall.
Luke admits that “things trailed off” once the summer ended, and Hannah never took him up on his offer to go home to Minnesota with him and meet the family. “I love Hannah, I genuinely care a lot about her,” the hockey stud admitted, leading Andy to press whether he’s in love with the hilarious podcast host. “No,” he said with a laugh. “In love and love are two different things.”
Hannah‘s answer, however, proved more revealing about what happened between the two after filming wrapped. “I think there’s a difference between, like, chemistry and compatibility,” she said. “He wanted to like talk all the time on the phone and FaceTime and hang out, but not have sex. And I only can do that for so long, and I think ultimately I got a little bored. Now I love him, I care about him, I think he’s a great person, but I don’t know if I could trust him as, like, boyfriend material…I can’t be worried about my man messing with other women all the time. I can’t do it.”
The pair also revealed to Andy that they never had, in his words, “actual sexual intercourse,” but hey, there’s always next summer…
Paige DeSorbo and Lindsay Hubbard are “Different Type of Friends”
Moving on from Hannah‘s faded romance with Luke, Andy turned his attention to the podcast host’s relationship with her besties Amanda and Paige DeSorbo. Throughout the season, Lindsay constantly accused the the latter two of being cliquey, stirring up drama and accusing them of gossiping behind Hannah’s back about her relationship with Luke, but according to Paige, the Giggly Squad is still as solid as ever.
During the segment, Lindsay doubled down on calling the other girls a clique, accusing them of being “exclusive” while she, Carl and Danielle are “inclusive” (I mean, clearly…) and even busting out a random quote by Brene Brown in the process.
Paige was having none of it, however, and managed to calmly eviscerate the Hubb House publicist’s bizarre standard of friendship all while simultaneously apologizing for reading her for filth in the season’s penultimate episode. “Anything I said behind anyone’s back, I’m more than willing to say to their face, which I did to Lindsay. So calling us a clique, I just don’t see that,” the fashionista said before dealing the final blow. “And yes, you and Danielle are very different type of friends than I am with Amanda and Hannah. I would never hook up with the same guy that my best friend is back and forth all summer. So you’re right, we are not the same type of friends.” How’s that for getting activated, hmm?
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE REUNION? WHICH HOUSEMATES DO YOU WANT TO RETURN FOR SEASON 5?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
