Kyle Cooke Defends Vacation at Mexico Resort Where Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard Planned to Wed tram

After Lindsay Hubbard and Carl Radke called off their November wedding in Mexico, some of their Summer House costars still opted to take the trip.

Kyle Cooke, who was one of them, tells PEOPLE enough of the former couple’s friends wanted to enjoy a getaway that it just made sense to still go.

“Carl worked with the venue and gave everybody the opportunity to get their money back, but there was enough people that had taken time off of work, set those dates aside and were looking forward to it,” Cooke explains.

“When the critical mass started to approach like 30 friends, I mean we're just like, ‘This is going to be a great time. It's an adult-only resort. All inclusive. Why not??’” he adds.

Cooke says it was around September when he and other Bravo stars from the canceled wedding’s guest list began texting one another asking, “Should we still go?”

Plus, he adds, this isn’t the first time it’s been done.

“I know of friends where their weddings have [been] called off and people did just that,” he says. “They still went. If it was a destination wedding and people are already taking time off from work or bought plane tickets, hopefully it's not looked at as disrespectful. It turned a wedding vacation into a vacation.”

During the weekend of Radke and Hubbard’s scheduled wedding date, Cooke and his Summer House costar Gabby Prescod posted Instagram Stories from their vacation at Unico 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya, as did Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay and her husband, Brock Davies. Carl's mother, Sharon Radke, and stepfather, Lou, also joined the group.

Cooke shared footage of himself at a club with Shay, Davies and Prescod. Prescod, who joined Summer House for season 7 earlier this year, could also be seen enjoying cocktails at the beach.

In a photo posted by Shay, she and Cooke pose with Carl’s mom, Sharon and her husband, Lou, whom she married in 2020.

Shay previously shared that she'd still be taking the trip during a conversation with Summer House alum Hannah Berner and current cast member Paige DeSorbo on the Oct. 6 episode of her podcast, Scheananigans.

"I'm still going," she said. "We didn't take a honeymoon, and when we got the email saying, ‘If you all still want to go, go,’ I texted Kyle and Amanda [Batula, Cooke’s wife], and they're like, 'We're still going.'"

Carl and Hubbard officially canceled their wedding in September, after getting engaged in August 2022.

In a letter to family and friends obtained by PEOPLE, Carl announced the news and apologized for any confusion or inconvenience the change of plans may have caused.

"Words cannot possibly express how difficult the last two weeks have been for Lindsay and I," he wrote. "We are so incredibly sorry to all of our guests for the confusion and lack of communication. We were left trying to figure out how this all exactly happened before we could even have the opportunity to determine the path forward amongst ourselves."

"There have been a lot of false narratives and misunderstandings that have made this all the more painful but sadly at this time we are not moving forward with the wedding," he continued. 

"The fact of the matter is Lindsay is devastated and I'm crushed with how all this transpired. I graciously ask for some patience and grace to heal and recover while we navigate this extremely difficult time."

Earlier this week, Radke told PEOPLE he's stayed single since his engagement ended.

“I don't feel like it's responsible or fair to try and pursue a new relationship when there's still some entanglements, and [we're] having to relive the breakup publicly on TV,” Radke said. “I personally feel like it's best for me to take some more time, really focus on myself, my career, my family, my friendships. I think, as I keep working towards that, something will happen on the dating side.”

For her part, Hubbard says she's focused on moving forward.

"I am highly focused right now, and I am really busy at the moment," Hubbard told PEOPLE. "I think after everything was said and done, after last year, I thought my future in life was going to go one very different direction for this year. Then, when it didn't, I decided to focus on my own individual successes and what I deem as a personal success in my life. That was OK."