The Valley star Tom Schwartz is weighing in on the drama between the Summer House cast amid Amanda Batula and West Wilson’s controversial — and confirmed — romance.
“I hope it’s not crashing down, because they have such a beautiful dynamic in that house,” Tom, 43, exclusively told NewsPlop of his fellow Bravo stars at The Valley season 3 press event on Monday, March 30, one day before Batula, 34, and West, 31, confirmed their platonic relationship had turned romantic.
Tom continued, “There’s a lot of love, a lot of history. And yes, they have arguments, and they hold each other accountable, they call each other out. But they have such deep-rooted, beautiful friendships. And I don’t want to see it crumble.”
Amanda and West made headlines in early March when celebrity gossip account DeuxMoi reported that the pair had begun dating. The report came two months after Amanda announced her separation from husband Kyle Cooke after four years of marriage.
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The romance rumors reportedly caused friction between Amanda and best friend Ciara Miller, who dated West in 2023.
“I like those guys,” Tom told Us of the Summer House trio. “I’m friends with West, I’m friends with Ciara and Kyle and Amanda. I hope that … I don’t know. The optimist, the rose-colored lens of Schwartz wants to think it’s not true. I don’t think it’s true. I think it’s been blown out of proportion.”
Tom then compared the drama to Vanderpump Rules’ infamous 2023 Scandoval, where Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix broke up after nine years together. It was later revealed that Sandoval, 43, had an affair with Ariana’s best friend, Rachel Leviss (formerly known as Raquel). Rachel claimed that Schwartz, Sandoval’s best friend and business partner, was aware of the affair the whole time.
“Listen, I know we love the drama, but also, those are my friends, and there’s always a human cost there, and I don’t want to see them go through what I had to go through,” Schwartz told Us.
Amanda and West confirmed their budding romance on Tuesday, March 31, via a joint statement shared via Instagram.
“We’ve seen the growing online speculation, so while this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity. It was never our intention to purposely hide anything,” the pair wrote. “Given the complicated relationship dynamics involved and the scrutiny that comes with being on a reality show, we needed a little space to process things privately before speaking on it.”
The statement continued, “We’ve shown up for each other as friends over the years, through all the highs and lows, and what’s developed recently was the last thing either of us expected. Our connection grew out of a genuine, longstanding friendship, which made it especially important for us to approach this with care.”
Amanda and West said their “feelings evolved” beyond friendship.
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The pair concluded, “We wanted to take time to understand exactly what we were feeling. We also recognize that this has had an impact beyond just us and never wanted our actions to cause any hurt or be perceived as careless. We truly appreciate the understanding and respect as we navigate this.”
Ciara has not yet publicly addressed the relationship. A source exclusively told Us on Tuesday that she feels “heartbroken” and “betrayed” by both Amanda and West.
“Ciara cut off both Amanda and West after finding out,” a second insider told Us. “She’s furious at West but even more hurt by Amanda. ‘Disappointed’ doesn’t even cover it. This is so much more to Ciara than just breaking girl code.”
NewsPlop reached out to a Bravo rep for comment.