Ciara Miller has spoken out for the first time since West Wilson and Amanda Batula confirmed their relationship in late March.
The Summer House star has remained tightlipped on the scandal that has rocked the Bravosphere, merely only lightly addressing the controversy. In a Friday profile with Glamour, Miller shared her thoughts about her ex and former best friend’s newfound relationship that has been all the talk for Bravo fans over the past few weeks.
“It’s one thing to experience hurt behind closed doors,” Miller said. “To experience it so publicly is like another layer, and then to have to see what you thought was your life still play out in season 10. It’s a major mindfuck.”
On March 31, Wilson and Batula released a joint statement after weeks of rumors that their friendship had turned romantic. Miller also noted that she received a heads-up “less than 24 hours” before they posted the statement on their separate Instagram Stories.
Wilson joined the cast of Bravo’s Summer House in season eight, where he met the cast and began his romance with Miller. They continued dating after filming, though at the season eight reunion of the reality series, they announced they were not together. Miller revealed that Wilson said he could not commit to a serious relationship with her “for show-related reasons.”
Before the confirmation, Wilson and Batula both shot down speculation that they formed an intimate relationship. Bravo fans mostly disputed the claims because Miller previously dated Wilson, and she has been close with Batula since they met on Summer House season five.
The Traitors star said that, amidst the controversy, she has felt more betrayed by Batula, partly because Miller championed her amid her turbulent marriage with Kyle Cooke. (Batula and Cooke announced their separation in January; the timeline of her relationship with Wilson is still unconfirmed.)
“At the end of the day, a guy’s a guy. Whether or not West and I are working on a relationship, you just can’t put anything past a man. But I just never would think that it would come from someone like Amanda, who has been what has felt like in my circle and in my corner for so long,” she said. “I think that’s the craziest part.”
On season 10 of Summer House, which is currently airing, Miller has been an avid advocate of Batula amid her struggles with Cooke. Miller said watching her support her former friend after she has now betrayed her has left her “at a loss for words.”
“I’ve fought with your own husband to advocate for you. I have championed you. I have tried to be there in different ways for you and help you and get you to see your value in yourself,” Miller said of her friendship with Batula, continuing, “And so to be disregarded in such a disrespectful way is…. Honestly, it’s…. I’m at a loss for words sometimes.”
When asked how she is doing now, Miller said that she is “just trying to make it to the reunion at this point.” The Summer House season 10 reunion films in late April, THR previously confirmed, and she admitted she is “a bit nervous” for what that day will hold.
Miller also clarified that her last conversation with Batula was “minimal,” adding, “Because that’s something I will talk about at the reunion.”
The scandal has notably sparked a conversation about race; Miller has been open about her experience as a Black woman on reality TV on Summer House, and she has also been candid about interracial dating in the public eye. She led an important conversation around the topic on a recent season 10 episode, and told Glamour navigating dating has been “hard.”
“It’s hard. Dating interracially is a whole other layer — the nuances of interracial dating and how much of a mindfuck it can be,” Miller said. “Not only do you have to figure out who this person fucking voted for, you have to figure out, like, OK, you’re attracted to me, you like me, but do you like people that look like me? Because I’m just one person, but would you really advocate for all of us? That, to me, is important and vital because I don’t want to be an exception to your rule at all.”
When asked by the interviewer if she thinks that she faces a lot of grief for her taste in men, Miller agreed, adding that it’s been “annoying and frustrating” for viewers to make assumptions on her taste based on the public relationships she’s had on reality TV.
“I do feel like I get a lot of grief for dating people. But here’s the thing: I’ve only technically dated two people publicly. For people to make a really roundabout statement about my taste based on two people is annoying and frustrating,” she said. “Why do we put this pressure on young women like it’s our fault for not seeing who this person was immediately? It’s our fault for having bad taste in men, when men often present themselves as one way for the first three months and then completely end up being someone totally different.”
The Summer House season 10 finale airs May 19, and will be directly followed by the premiere of the show’s first spinoff In the City. Miller is not apart of that cast, though Batula and Cooke are, with the season one trailer teasing a cameo from Wilson. In the City will chronicle the crumble of Batula and Cooke’s marriage before they announced their separation.
