BATULA, BALL AND BREAK-UP BLUES

The Lead-Up to the Break-Up

It is has finally happened. After 10 long years of watching Kyle Cooke mistreat Amanda Batula on Bravo’s Summer House, the couple has finally called it quits, and I personally could not be happier for Amanda.  If you are an avid Summer House watcher you have seen the countless ways Kyle has spent the last 10 years sabotaging his relationship with Amanda – from acting like they weren’t even together in the early days, to cheating on her, to not giving her credit for her role in growing Lover Boy, to belittling her career goals – this break up has been a long time coming.

Similarly, if you have been an avid watcher of the WNBA (the “League”) over the last 10 years, you’ve seen the League undervalue the Players despite the immense growth they have brought to the League over this past decade. Just like Ms. Batula, the Players have rightfully had enough, and I am standing ten toes down in full support of every single thing they are asking the League for. Over the past decade viewership is up with the 2025 season being the most-watched season in history and the 2025 playoffs up 30% from the previous season, even with fan favorites like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Napheesa Collier missing time with injuries.

Paige and Unrivaled Ahead

Last year, we saw Paige Desorbo call it quits with her own toxic ball and chain, Craig Conover.  While we watched Paige gracefully navigate this in the public eye while her brand and career exploded in other areas (think Giggly Squad and Daphne), Amanda also got a front row seat to the newer, freer and happier Paige. In my opinion I think Amanda seeing Paige take the leap to do this for herself to get to a better place was the final push Amanda needed to make the same decision. It’s time for Amanda to shine sans Kyle – she has launched a super successful swim line (Amanda Batula Swim) and without having to waste time showing up to watch a 43-year-old man start a DJ career, the sky is the limit for what Amanda can achieve going forward!

Like Amanda with Paige, the Players in the League had a brand-new shiny example last year for how much better things could be as a player, if the league they were playing for properly valued them – enter Unrivaled. Unrivaled shook up the women’s basketball scene last January 2025 during the launch of its inaugural season and was wildly successful. Founded by Players, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, it is a league for the Players by the Players.  Right away, the salaries were higher in Unrivaled than those in the League. For example, 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Paige Bueckers, is making $350,000 for one season of Unrivaled, which amounts to about 9 weeks of play), but is making $348,000 total for her entire 4-year Rookie Contract in the WNBA. With Unrivaled as an example of how good things could be, the Players recently opted out of the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (the “CBA”) and are now pushing the League for more, namely a serious percentage in gross revenue sharing.

If the Players and League do not come to an agreement soon (the CBA extension deadline expired January 9, 2026) we could be facing either a lockout (initiated by the League) or a strike (initiated by the Players) for the 2026 WNBA season, and while none of us want to see Kyle and Amanda reconcile, I would absolutely love for the League to give the Players what they need and deserve so we aren’t facing a season long break up this summer.

Back-up Plans

While Amanda’s break-up is super fresh and she does not need a man, it is clear she’s not going to be hurting for any back-ups. We already saw Jesse Soloman basically fall head over heels for her the second he entered the House and savvy viewers did not miss all of the times Jesse left cutesy comments on Amanda’s Instagram.

Just like Amanda, the Players aren’t hurting for a back-up either. Natasha Cloud (of the Phantom) recently alluded to the potential of Unrivaled continuing on longer amid a lockout and the emergence of Project B (which I will delve into in another post) as playing options if the League doesn’t get it together before the 2026 season.

Where to Watch

Unrivaled:

·      Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on Tru TV, TNT and streaming on HBO max.

·      Full schedule is linked here.

·      If you are in the Greater Philadelphia Area I hope to see you all January 30^th at Unrivaled Philly at the Xfinity Arena!

Summer House:

·      All seasons of Summer House are streaming on Peacock so hurry up and get caught up because the new season airs February 3, 2026 on Bravo and February 4, 2026 on Peacock.