Kyle Cooke’s Loverboy drinks brand is on the verge of bankruptcy.
The “Summer House” star founded the business in 2018 and brought on his now estranged wife Amanda Batula as the brand’s senior design and creative director.
But after the pair announced their split in January, Bathura, who is now dating mutual co-star West Wilson, revealed that the ex-girlfriends had no prenup, sparking speculation about the fate of the failed company.
The topic of romance came up on last night’s episode of Summer House, which was filmed months before Batula, 34, and Cook, 43, officially ended their four-year marriage.
In a conversation with co-star Carl Radke, who also worked on Loverboy, Cook shared some alarming news about his business.
“Last month, we lost $175,000 before paying the loan. The loan payments are $50,000 a month,” he admitted.
When Mr. Radke asked Mr. Cook, “What happens if he doesn’t find another business partner in the next few months?” the businessman replied, “Loverboy will go bankrupt.”
“At the rate I’m going, I have three months to live. I’m here to have fun. I have three months to live,” Cook explained. “Brother, that seems like the most stressful thing you can imagine. I don’t think Amanda understands or appreciates the current situation.”
Later in the episode, Batula admitted she felt “lost” and “numb” to Cook’s financial problems.
“But we have separate bank accounts. Even when we got married, we didn’t become a partnership,” she said.
“It’s always been him, like, he does his thing and I do mine. But whatever’s going on right now, I know it’s not good.”
Ms. Batula claimed to producers that Mr. Cook did not consult her when he recently obtained a small business loan to save Loverboy.
“This man is an entrepreneur, a businessman, he went to business school. How could I ever question his business decisions? I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything,” she said.
On the March 24 episode, Cook said he had scheduled a call with investors to discuss Loverboy’s current cash reserves, which he said would last “six months at the most.”
“We had to put in $500,000 to save the business,” Cook continued. “Oh, by the way, I stopped paying myself at Loverboy. So that’s one of the reasons I started DJing, to pay the bills.”
Mr. Cook also elaborated on why he did not invest in Mr. Radke’s business, Soft Bar, and acknowledged that Loverboy was in its “worst situation ever.”
Cook added, “I try my best not to lay off any employees, so instead of literally laying off my entire team, I put aside $500,000 to cover payroll.”
Last month, Batula appeared on Jason Tartick’s “Trading Secrets” podcast and admitted he had not worked for Loverboy “in a while.”
She also promised not to take away the company from Mr. Cook in the divorce.
“That’s his baby,” she said. “I’m not going to steal something that he’s put his heart and soul into and worked hard for. So I’m not going to take away half of his business.”
Batula shared the same sentiment during an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” on Feb. 3.
“It’s his baby, his bread and butter,” she said. “That person has been more committed to that business than to our relationship.”
Cohen responded, “You worked hard at that business,” and his co-star and then-best friend Ciara Miller agreed.
On Tuesday, Batula and Wilson, 31, set the internet abuzz with a joint statement confirming their secret “connection” after weeks of speculation and mounting evidence.
Miller, 30, dated Wilson for several months in 2023. Miller has also been overly supportive of Batula in his drama with Cook.
Minutes after Batula and Wilson released their shocking statements, Miller was photographed collapsing on a New York City sidewalk and being comforted by an unidentified male companion.
Meanwhile, Cook has not directly spoken about his estranged wife’s new romance.
But sources told Page Six that the Summer House cast is “outraged” and “disappointed” by the shocking news.
