Amanda Batula shed new light on the intimacy issues that plagued the reality TV star’s marriage to Kyle Cooke, revealing the estranged couple’s sex life all but disappeared years before they split.
Months after announcing their separation, Batula and Cooke opened up about their lack of intimacy at the “Summer House” reunion in June. The estranged couple later revealed more about the challenges they faced behind closed doors during the “In the City” reunion Tuesday.
Batula hinted there were issues with emotional intimacy long before the two tied the knot in 2021, revealing sex was a topic of discussion during couples’ therapy ahead of their wedding. The swimsuit brand founder also attributed the lack of physical touch to her depression.
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“I wasn’t getting courted,” Batula admitted, according to People. “There were no dates.”
“He would work all day, work all night, then come to bed, tell me an email and then try to have sex with me,” she explained. “It felt like there was no foreplay. There was no emotional intimacy. There was no conversation. There was nothing else happening in the relationship.”
“I felt like I was just an object at that point,” Batula added. “Then the depression hit also, and then it was just an unfortunate storm. Then he would still go out. He would still do these things. We get into big fights —”
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The former couple has been open about the struggles in their marriage, and it’s no surprise to fans that Batula struggled with the amount of time Cooke spent pouring into his business, Loverboy, and later becoming a DJ to help move his company out of debt.
“Can you imagine? Like this is not like a guy-girl thing, but like we get married, and there’s just like we never have sex,” Cooke interjected during the reunion.
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Cooke admitted his focus on building their future came at the expense of their relationship.
“One of my issues, like every single thing we ever did, was only because I arranged it. So, like every date we ever went on, trip, getaway, I’m putting in the hours now or then, so we can provide for a family later,” he explained to host Andy Cohen.
Batula said Cooke’s explanation only reinforced her argument that she had been “put on the back burner.”
“It takes a toll on our romantic and intimate relationship,” she claimed.
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“Your solution was for me to read a book on how to date an entrepreneur, and I wanted you to take me on a date,” Batula said. “So like you’re literally saying exactly what I’m saying is that you worked really hard for our future, but it did have an effect on our marriage and our relationship.”
Batula and Cooke announced their separation in January after roughly four years of marriage. The two first met while filming “Summer House” in 2015.
By March, Batula announced she was freshly dating “Summer House” co-star West Wilson after weeks of speculation.
