Summer House’s Kyle Cooke Answers Burning Questions About Bravo (2024)

Summer House star Kyle Cooke did not hold back while dishing about Bravo — and Loverboy — on the “Trading Secrets” podcast.

Back in 2018, Cooke launched his alcohol brand, Loverboy, with the help of his now-wife, Amanda Batula, and pal Carl Radke.

While Loverboy has made plenty of cameos on Summer House through the years, Cooke set the record straight about whether he forces his costars to drink the beverage on the Bravo series.

“I’ve never pushed this on anybody,” Cooke told host Jason Tartick on the Monday, June 3, episode of the podcast. “Yeah, do I hope that they wouldn’t bring my competitor’s products into the house? Sure.”

Cooke has been a cast member on the Bravo series since its premiere in 2017. He also was part of the spinoff series Winter House, which premiered in October 2021.

Scroll down for more bombshells from Cooke’s “Trading Secrets” interview:

Is Bravo Connected to Loverboy?

In short, no, Bravo is not connected to Loverboy. “No, they’re not in cahoots,” Cooke said. “Technically speaking, they’ll get a piece of my takeaway. If there is some type of acquisition, and I’m still on air.”

Cooke added that the network doesn’t want people to think they are collaborating.

“If anything, they tell me to tamper it down,” he said. “They’re like, ‘Kyle, please take off the Loverboy shirt.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean? That’s what I do. I wear my merch. My wife designed it.’ [They’ll ask,] ‘Hey, can you put those drinks in cups?’ If anything, they don’t want it to look like an infomercial because they don’t want people thinking we are in cahoots. So it’s quite frankly the opposite.”

Cooke said that Bravo “would never be in cahoots with one big brand” because then it “rules out the opportunity for others to advertise.” He added, “That’s why you’ll never see one particular mass-produced alcohol all over one show, because alcohol is arguably one of the biggest buyers of ads on Bravo.”

Does Kyle Cooke Force the ‘Summer House’ Cast to Drink Loverboy?

While Cooke said he “never forces” his friends to drink Loverboy, he did admit that he hoped they would choose to sip on the beverage.

“I always want my friends drinking it because they want to reach for a Loverboy,” he said. “There have been plenty of times this season where I wasn’t even in the house, people arrive, they grab a Loverboy.”

Does the Cast of ‘Summer House’ Pay for Their Alcohol?

Cooke shared that he and his other cast members pay for all of their groceries — including alcohol.

“I’ve given the house about $100,000 worth of booze over the years. That’s for us, that’s for our friends, that’s for parties,” he said, adding that the show doesn’t pay “a dollar.”

Cooke noted that if the group goes to a restaurant on the show, they’ll have a “$50-per-head type thing because that’s them asking us to go to dinner or whatever it might be.”

Did Amanda Batula Put Up the Money to Start Loverboy?

Cooke debunked the rumor that his wife had put up the money to start Loverboy.

“I think there was a miscommunication between Amanda and Paige [DeSorbo],” he said. “Paige kind of went on air saying she not only paid the bills when I was starting this because I didn’t have a source of income but she also put up her own cash for that initial pre friends and family capital requirement to start the business.”

Cooke noted that Batula “graciously” put in her time to help him “nail the branding.”

“I’ve always had multiple sources of income. I personally, like I said, funded that first $100,000 while continuing to pay our bills,” he said. “But I couldn’t have done it without Amanda. She had such an impact. Her fingerprints are all over the initial branding and are still today.”

Does Kyle Cooke Help With Casting or Story Direction in ‘Summer House’?

When asked whether he had a role in the show other than being a cast member, Cooke laughed.

“I know there’s still people that think I got Hannah [Berner] fired,” he said. “It’s actually quite the contrary. I told producers that I would film with her. And I have zero input on casting.”

Cooke, however, did help with casting for season 1 of Summer House. “That’s why I feel so proud of this show,” he said. “I put in hundreds of hours making season 1 happen because there was a very good chance this was never going to happen, period.”

Cooke added that he “helped bring in” everyone on season 1 besides Stephen [McGee].

Summer House’s two-part reunion special begins on Bravo Thursday, June 6, at 9 p.m. ET. The second episode airs on Thursday, June 13, at 9 p.m. ET.