Kyle Cooke took aim at Craig Conover, 35, over his investment in Ben Soffer‘s spritz brand — a rival of Loverboy, and spoke of the currently airing demise of Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard‘s relationship on Thursday night’s Watch What Happens Live.
While also reacting to Jesse Solomon‘s recent flirtations with Amanda Batula, 32, looking back on his past claims about her laziness, and suggesting Gabby Prescod, 33, is the least fun housemate, the Summer House star, 41, explained Carl’s biggest mistake with Lindsay, 37.
Kyle was asked about Craig on WWHL, and he weighed in on Craig’s deal with Spritz Society.
“There’s really no bad blood. I think this is being blown out of proportion,” he began. “I don’t really think there was an investment. Look at the numbers. We sell five times more spritz [and] we’re not a spritz company.”
Kyle then said that while he wishes Craig “the best,” he doesn’t appreciate how he handled the partnership.
“[It] really rubbed me the wrong way and I’m just trying to take the high road. He has a reputation of lying and he lied to me,” he stated.
Later, during the WWHL: After Show, Kyle elaborated on his business drama with Craig after Andy asked him why the company enlisted Craig to be their spokesperson.”
“The founder took me out to dinner days before they inked the deal and failed to mention any of that, and milked information from me. So, really shady operation,” Kyle explained. “And then … I think Craig had already signed the deal when he confronted me and then he claimed that he didn’t know I have a spritz. He thought I just had sparkling hard teas. And I’m like, ‘Bro, we launched our spritz line a year and a half before this company.’ It was just like, the whole thing … I was like, ‘Man, first of all, it’s not a rivalry if you’re not doing anything. They‘re basically riding you for your Instagram and then all the articles that come out are about Loverboy,’ about his involvement. They already have a big following so if they couldn’t do it without him, are they gonna be able to do it with him? I don’t know. I don’t wish anybody ill will but the way they went about it was really, it really rubbed me the wrong way.”
Then asked if Craig had a habit of lying, Kyle admitted, “That’s what I’ve been told.”
“We launched our espresso martini while we were filming Winter House. He knows we don’t just do teas. He was there. He’s had all these products,” Kyle noted. “So don’t tell me you thought we were just a tea company … If anything, the company you just invested in took a page out of our book and launched a copycat a year and a half later.”
“Craig and I … The way he went about it, whenever someone says, ‘Kyle, it’s just business,’ that’s to basically justify something they did that was kind of wack,” he added.
When it came to Carl and Lindsay, Kyle suggested Carl was scared of his ex-fiance.
“I think what you see is someone who, despite being 6’5”, is very scared and struggling to communicate. I wish he could’ve been more open with all of us, with Lindsay, but we’ve all kind of been in his shoes so I also understand,” he explained on the May 23 episode of WWHL.
Although Carl, 39, has been accused of having commitment issues, especially after the reveal of another called-off engagement, Kyle clarified that the circumstances were very different.
“This is when he was 20-something years old. He was a kid. It’s like apples and oranges. Everyone’s team Carl, team Lindsay. There’s no teams. They just were not meant to be. They’re both my friends. They’re better off,” he shared.
Kyle even defended Carl for leaving Lindsay’s luggage behind after their latest spat on Summer House, stating that it was “justified.”
“There’s a long history,” he noted.
As for Jesse “flirting” with Amanda, Kyle took no offense.
“The internet loves looking for things that aren’t there. I think he’s kinda playing with it, having fun. I’ve honestly been so busy, I’m not even in the know, I’ve seen little bits and pieces but it’s pretty harmless from my perspective,” he insisted. “If he thinks my wife’s hot, sweet.”
Throughout season eight of Summer House, Kyle and Amanda have been at odds over her involvement at Loverboy — and her desire to pursue other passions. And amid that, Kyle lashed out at Amanda’s work ethic.
“I want to correct what I said … She’s not lazy so let’s just set that record straight. She was fundamental to the brand. She kind of brought the creative vision, the voice,” he revealed.
Then, after Andy Cohen, 55, asked why he was speaking in “past tense,” Kyle said he was “trying to create as much freedom for her to pursue what she wanted.”
“I was just worried that if she pulled back anymore, it would basically just mean she was no longer working with us,” he added.
But it didn’t land that way.
“This was after a long day of drinking [and] I’m so embarrassed with my reaction,” Kyle admitted. “It was horrible and at the end of the day, I want to support my wife. I want her to be happy. I don’t want to lose her involvement at Loverbody, particularly at a pivotal time. It’s not that she’s lazy and it’s not that she’s so vital I can’t lose her, I don’t want to lose her.”
As Amanda took a step back, Kyle made a return offer to Carl, which Lindsay was quite vocal about.
“[She’s] like a drill sergeant. I set the bar low in terms of what I was willing to offer because we’re not just trying to hop back into this intense role where he has a ton of responsibility. I was trying to make this as no strings attached as possible,” he explained.
During a game, Kyle was asked a series of rapid-fire questions, during which he said he’s a better businessperson than Danielle Olivera, 35, calling her a “wackadoo” for labeling herself a CEO, and named Gabby as their “least fun” housemate.
He also said that Paige DeSorbo, 31, wears the pants in her relationship with Craig, asking, “Does Craig own pants?”
Summer House season eight airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
