Roxanne 
Kyle Cooke is opening up about just how close his company Loverboy came to financial disaster and how the shocking romance between his estranged wife Amanda Batula and their “Summer House” costar West Wilson unexpectedly changed everything.
During the Monday, May 11 episode of the “Trading Secrets” podcast, Cooke revealed that the timing of Amanda and West’s relationship announcement led to a massive wave of fan support for his struggling beverage brand.
“As luck would have it, the episode where I talk about the financial stress of the business, was the same exact day — can’t make this stuff up — that Amanda and West put out their joint statement,” Kyle said.
“Fluke timing. It was actually my birthday, I’m in that old guy [costume]. I was wearing prosthetics. It was August 2, which is two days before my actual birthday. And it just created this outpouring of support.”
The “Summer House” star explained that fans rushed to support Loverboy through merch sales and preorders after the headlines surrounding his split exploded online.
“Literally, everybody that went on drinkloverboy.com and bought something or bought a presale item, helped cash flow the business so I didn’t have to put more of my money on the line,” he shared.
“I’m not joking, the support from our fan base saved Loverboy.”
Cooke then made a shocking admission about the company’s financial situation behind the scenes.
“Because I was like, ‘I could put more money in but that doesn’t go to paying down the loan. Or, I could basically start the bankruptcy process.’ That was literally my reality a month and a half ago.”
Amanda Batula, 34, and West Wilson, 31, confirmed their romance in March, just two months after Batula and Cooke announced their separation following four years of marriage.
The relationship instantly became one of the biggest talking points among Bravo fans, especially because Wilson had become close with both Cooke and Batula during recent seasons of “Summer House.”
The drama also sparked another viral moment after Cooke described castmate Carl Radke as a “mess” while discussing the fallout from the breakup.
Instead of backing away from the attention, Cooke turned the phrase into a merch opportunity.
“We did a ton of presales for merch,” he explained. “I asked Carl, I’m like, ‘Have you seen how viral this is going?’ He’s like, ‘Honestly, it’s the only little bright light in all of this’ because he’s like, ‘It’s making me laugh.’”
“To me, that sounded like he kind of opened the door to me doing a merch run. Like, I wanted him to be OK with it.”
Cooke said both he and Radke also agreed to use part of the proceeds to support Release Recovery, the mental health organization Radke works with.
“We actually had the same exact idea at the same time to do a portion of proceeds for Release Recovery,” Cooke said.
He added that presales for new Loverboy products also helped keep the business afloat during the difficult stretch.
“The fact that we were able to presale that merch, because we did not have it ready to go obviously. And then we also did a presale for Limoncello and Espresso Martini. So people being willing to put their money down and wait for something, literally saved the business.”
While the personal drama surrounding the “Summer House” cast continues to dominate headlines, Cooke is making it clear that the unexpected fan support may have kept Loverboy alive at its lowest point.
