MILES OF A CIARA SUMMER AHEAD

DIAMONDS OF THE SEASON

We’re not even officially through the June 2026 Summer Solstice and it is clear our diamonds of this Summer 2026 Season are poised to be Ciara Miller, of Summer House, and Olivia Miles of the Minnesota Lynx.

While Ciara undoubtedly had a less than ideal spring dealing with the backlash around what Amanda and West did behind her back, her summer is shaping up to be one for the books.  She’s been everywhere and has looked absolutely flawless while doing it.

She gracefully and beautifully put Amanda and West in their place on the Summer House Season 10 reunion, she effortlessly stared in Shaboozey’s new music video for Cowgirl, she stunned on the cover of Glamour magazine, she dazzled at the Met Gala, she of course won the Allison Williams Cool Girl Award at the 2026 Las Culturistas Culture Awards, she’s going to compete on Dancing with the Stars and will appear on Love Island USA Season 8 as the Love Island Aftersun co-host.  

Whether or not Ciara returns to Summer House for Season 11, the sky is the absolute limit for her, and I am selfishly hoping for a Ciara and Venita Spinoff centering around Ciara’s new house in North Carolina.  Andy – call me if you are feeling this idea!!!!

Likewise, Rookie Olivia Miles, drafted second overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx, has been having one hell of a summer.  I remember sitting at The Shed, in Hudson Yards, at the 2026 WNBA draft and Holly Rowe asking Olivia how she was going to impact the Lynx this season.  With the utmost confidence Olivia responded by saying: “I think I have the highest IQ as a guard, my feel for the game is unmatched” – and yes, Olivia it absolutely is.  Even Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve had a similar sentiment about Olivia stating, “She’s special.”

Olivia is currently averaging 18.3 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, 5.6 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game while doing all the other intangibles on both ends of the court.  The media is already contending that she is this year’s Rookie of the Year and I have to agree.  She is putting up Paige Bueckers like performances and set the record for most points generated by a player in the first 15 games of their rookie season in WNBA history. 

If her stats weren’t enough to show you how truly special this Rookie is, the Lynx’s 5x WNBA All-Star, and 2019 Rookie of the Year, Napheesa Collier has been sidelined the entirety of this season thus far with injury, yet the Lynx are still leading the Western Conference at 13-3, and Napheesa has given a lot of credit for the Lynx success to Olivia.

Also, quick personal thank-you to Olivia for giving us Jersey girls a good name while Amanda has literally done the opposite.

FROM DIAMONDS TO DUDS?

With the diamonds set, that begs the question – who appears to be the least fortunate gems this summer? The answer on all our minds is Amanda Batula; and the other, I think, is the Amanda Batula of the WNBA this season, Miss Caitlin Clark.

Amanda and Caitlin both started off their respective careers as somewhat underdogs and then quickly became fan favorites who got used to getting their way. Amanda started out as not even an actual cast member of Summer House, but fought her way on through her relationship with Kyle Cooke becoming an official cast member in Season 2.  From that point forward, we all pretty much started rooting for Amanda – rooting for her to get her dream relationship with Kyle, to finally make friends in the house and to follow her dreams.  By the time her separation with Kyle was announced, Amanda was so loved that every Bravo commentator, professional and amateur alike, rushed to the inter-webs to celebrate the end of the most toxic marriage since Tamra and Simon, of Real Housewives of Orange County.  But then Amanda blew it, she flew too close to the sun, thought she was too big to fail, and threw away years of friendship for West (or as Cash Jumbo calls him “WES-T-D”) and we all know how that story ends.

Similarly, Caitlin Clark hit the women’s basketball scene as a bit of an underdog.  While not coming from a mid-major (which is true underdog mentality), Iowa is not one of the major WNBA feeder schools and so deciding to stay in her home state and make a major splash from there is initially what drew a lot of people into Caitlin.  She was a star pretty much from the moment she stepped foot onto the court in Iowa. Her star-power rose in perfect step along with introduction of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for college players, and of course she was drafted first over all in the 2024 WNBA draft.  By the 2024 WNBA Draft Caitlin was at the pinnacle of her notoriety and even went on to win Rookie of the Year in the that 2024 season.  However, the 2025 season plagued Caitlin with injuries and her ever competitive and at times, overly flopping tactics began to overshadow her skill.  By the beginning of the 2026 Season, the internet had started to turn on Caitlin – from clips of her yelling at her 5x WNBA All-Defensive First Team Assistant Coach, Briann January, to her yelling at Head Coach Stephanie White, ignoring high fives from teammates on the way out of the huddle, and the constant flopping, the public perception around Caitlin has shifted, and fans aren’t thrilled with their once favorite golden girl.

So, what happens now for Amanda and Caitlin? Is there a path back to being fan favorites again? Caitlin’s path seems slightly more realistic because her fans seem to support her through thick and thin and her actions, while giving entitled, haven’t been as egregious as blowing up friendships for a fleeting fling.  Whether Amanda returns to Summer House or even gets a second season on In the City, remains to be seen.

CATCH ALL THE ACTION:

You can catch Ciara Miller in Love Island USA Aftersun which airs on Peacock every Saturday and you can catch Amanda Batula in In the City which airs on Bravo on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET and streams on Peacock the next day.

You can catch Olivia Miles tonight (Sunday, June 21) at 6:00 p.m. ET taking on the Washington Mystics or Caitlin Clark tomorrow night (Monday, June 22) at 8:00 p.m. ET Taking on the Phoenix Mercury.