West Wilson and Jesse Solomon are in their sophomore season of Summer House, but things aren’t as smooth-sailing as they were the first time around. Having joined the Bravo series in Season 8, Wilson was introduced as a quirky Midwestern guy with a sense of charm that almost immediately captured the attention of Ciara Miller, while Solomon, a serial flirter with a singing voice of gold, bravely shared his cancer journey with viewers.
While Season 8 was a time of fun and shenanigans, the Bravo bros have found themselves in a little bit of drama in Season 9. For one, Wilson has been put in the hot seat on several occasions following his messy breakup with Miller, who accused him of “using” her in the most recent episode of Summer House.
“Obviously, things have been handled poorly, like, in multiple facets by my part,” Wilson told DECIDER in a recent interview. “But I think once you say ‘use,’ it feels like the whole experience we shared together is invalid and didn’t matter, didn’t count for anything.”
Solomon, for his part, sparked a showmance of his own with newbie Lexi Wood. However, the midseason trailer teases trouble in paradise after Wood finds out that Solomon got his toes sucked by a random girl when she was away. Plus, his constant flirting with Miller seems to strike a chord with the model. While Solomon said he had “no intent” to hook up with Miller, he did admit to “toeing the line” when he was drunk.
Speaking of Miller, both Solomon and Wilson were stunned to see Carl Radke tell her that he had a “crush” on her in the midseason trailer.
“That was shocking,” Solomon said, while Wilson added. “I didn’t even know. No one told me that that happened in the house. Carl, I think it’s more just, like, kind of cute. Like, that’s cute of him.”
When Wilson and Solomon stopped by DECIDER HQ this week, they also talked about Paige DeSorbo and Craig Conover‘s breakup, whether they think Lindsay Hubbard‘s baby daddy would ever make a cameo, and how they feel about the re-emergence of pop divas. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: I’m loving this season so far and I want to get right into it. West, I imagine it was a little nerve-wracking coming into this season. On Watch What Happens Live, you said you were shocked to hear Ciara say she wanted to make out with you. Did you ever have any moments where you just wanted things to go back to the way they were with her last summer?
WEST WILSON: Maybe. But I was just so far gone. Like, there had been so much that had happened since then that I think I was just so on tiptoe mode that I kind of just wanted things to just maybe feel a little better like that. Last summer felt so far away that I don’t think – I would have loved to feel that way. But that’s just not how things were.
West, we see you get pretty heated over Ciara saying you used her – and this might even be the first time we see you truly angry. It seems like she’s used quite a few choice words about you since you ended the relationship, so why was that the one that got under your skin?
WEST WILSON: I’ll take accountability. Obviously, things have been handled poorly, like, in multiple facets by my part. But I think once you say “use,” it feels like the whole experience we shared together is invalid and didn’t matter, didn’t count for anything. Aside from like nine bottles of rosé that Jesse and I shared together, I think I thought we were making a little progress just towards being kind of friendly and sharing the house again. And then the word “used” just kind of upset me. I don’t know. Looking back, though, their conversation was not as serious as when I heard it from him [as] I thought that it was. It was very, like, kind of not that big of a deal when they talked and in real time, I thought otherwise. I’d probably take it back. I look super whiny there. Oh, well.
Speaking of Ciara, Jesse, almost everyone in the house seems to be shipping you guys. How would you say you handled your blossoming relationship with Lexi and your flirtations with Ciara?
JESSE SOLOMON: I did okay. I mean, Ciara and I have always been close friends so you kind of feel like you can be flirtier with a friend because there’s no intent to hook up behind it. So yeah, I would ask Ciara for advice about Lexi and stuff. But yeah, looking back when I was drunk…
You crossed the line a little?
JESSE: I was toeing the line.
WEST: Ooh! Toeing.
West, would it bother you if Jesse and Ciara started dating? What about Carl, since he said he had a crush on her in the midseason trailer?
JESSE: That was shocking.
WEST: The Carl thing was shocking. I didn’t even know. No one told me that that happened in the house. Carl, I think it’s more just, like, kind of cute. Like, that’s cute of him. Jesse and Ciara were, like, super flirty last year, also, when Ciara and I were getting to know each other.
JESSE: Yeah. We kissed.
WEST: Yeah. I think I gave him the thumbs up. So that relationship has always kind of been like that. But no. Ciara and I, at this point, have not been together for a while. And we’re all grown ups. I think it’d be fine.
JESSE: Yeah. Like, if I was ever going to pursue it, I would ask him first, get his blessing. Because that’s bro code.
Jesse, I want to get into your little romance with Lexi. I am definitely enjoying this relationship. It’s very fast, but it’s fun.
JESSE: I was too.
Were you ever intimidated by Lexi’s star-studded dating history?
JESSE: You always come with good questions. Was I intimidated? I would say no. We got invited by Future himself one night to a concert. And everybody was like, “Oh, are you jealous of Lexi and Future?” I was like, “She might be in the DMs with Future, but she’s coming home with Jesse Solomon.”
Jesse, your friendship with Ciara doesn’t seem to be the only thing that gets you in trouble with Lexi. At the end of tonight’s episode, you say you had your toes sucked by one of Imrul’s friends, which doesn’t sit well with Lexi in the midseason trailer. What can you say about that almost-foursome? Looking back, do you regret it?
JESSE: So it was never almost a foursome.
WEST: I love that you call it that. That’s awesome.
JESSE: Yeah. I mean, I just sat on the other end of the bed and my feet were in their face, and it was kind of like a jokey thing. Somebody was like, “What are you into sexually?” And I was like, “I don’t know, toe sucking?” We’d been outside partying barefoot and then went to the club and I was like, “There’s no way this girl would suck my toe.” It was just like a drunken shenanigans moment that I didn’t think a lot of at the time. But yeah, looking back, I definitely should not have been in there. [I] shouldn’t have got my toes sucked.
Is that ever a sentence you thought you’d ever say in an interview?
No. I’m not even a foot guy.
Question for both of you, Paige was very open about the strain in her relationship with Craig in tonight’s episode. Were you surprised to see her talking so candidly about everything? Or could you see the cracks when you were filming last summer?
WEST: We didn’t see any cracks. We thought everything was cool. I don’t think we’re the first two dudes that the girls are like, “Let’s bring them in to talk about a four-year relationship.”
JESSE: Yeah, get relationship advice from these idiots … We thought everything was hunky dory.
So I’m guessing you guys were surprised by the breakup, too.
WEST: I was.
JESSE: Yeah, surprised. But then it all made sense. Especially now. They were just misaligned.
At the end of the midseason trailer, Paige said she wondered if Craig was lying about buying her a ring. What do you guys think of that?
JESSE: I think he probably got that ring ASAP.
WEST: Yeah, I’m sure he got one. I don’t know.
JESSE: I show us the ring!
WEST: The “liar” word I feel like I see attached to his name now a lot. I don’t know if he’s lied to me about anything. But I don’t know. That’s, like, so far past anything that I was a part of that I feel like we’re kind of watching this play outin real time, same as everyone else, to be honest.
We also know that Tom Schwartz is coming for a visit sometime soon. How did he mesh with everyone? Would you guys want to take him in now that Vanderpump Rules is getting a new cast?
WEST: I really liked him. He was super nice, very chill. He was an easy mesh.
JESSE: Yeah. I mean, we don’t watch Vanderpump, so we kind of just took him at face value and he was very nice to us. [We] got along.
WEST: He’s, like, closer in age to Carl and Kyle.
JESSE: Yeah. So do we want to keep him? Eh.
WEST: But yeah, he obviously knows Kyle and Carl super well so that was easy. But I think we went to dinner [with] the five of us. So Carl, Kyle, Jesse and I and Schwartz. And I had a blast.
JESSE: A great dinner.
WEST: A great dinner and a great night out. So yeah, he got two thumbs up from me.
JESSE: When the drama started, he was just like, I’m going to go to my room. He’s like, “I’m on vacation. You guys can argue.”
It looks like you both tried some sort of birthing simulator. How would you describe that experience?
WEST: Period cramps simulator. Two stickers, like, right in this area. And then there’s a knob that we gave the girls to just turn up.
JESSE: Yeah. It was so dumb.
WEST: It hurts a little bit. I’m wondering how realistic it is to real period cramps. But I mean, I’m sure some doctor put a patent on it and it’s somewhat realistic. But it hurt.
Have you met Lindsay’s baby yet?
WEST: Baby? No. Baby daddy? Yes.
What do we think of him?
JESSE: Great dude. Super chill.
WEST: Yeah, I like him a lot. He gives me very Midwest dude vibes.
JESSE: Yeah, when we met him, he’s like, “You guys want a beer?”
WEST: He beered us.
Do you think he’d ever make a cameo on the show?
WEST: I think he’s made it this far. They made it through the pregnancy without him having to show face.
JESSE: It’s kind of just like you’ve got nothing to gain and everything to lose, I think.
WEST: I mean, he’s like learning to be a dad right now, too. I feel like it’s probably not a priority of his.
JESSE: Maybe if Lindsay really wants him to go on, that would be nice.
WEST: Lindsay could talk him into it … for a dinner or something. Like, a one time thing.
Just the two of them, not the drama.
JESSE: Yeah. I mean, you’re talking to a guy who got fired for being on the show when he had a corporate job, so I get what he’s trying to do.
West, you went to the Super Bowl. What was that experience like for you?
WEST: I was there for work for the first four or five days. My family is Chiefs fans. So I brought my dad, which in theory was going to be a beautiful, fun day for us to share. But the second that the game kicked off, it was pretty brutal. So a fun week was pretty much ruined. My hotel was on Bourbon Street and we had a little balcony. It was so fun all week, like, throwing beads, we had a Chiefs flag up. But Sunday night after the game was over, like, trying to fall asleep while drunk Eagles fans wandered around chanting. They spell Eagles. Stupidest fucking chant. They did it all night long.
Did you see Taylor Swift at all?
WEST: No, no T Swift.
JESSE: I saw Jason Kelce. He wheeled a lady in a wheelchair across the street. I was like, what a mensch. What a good guy.
Paige was there too. Did you see her at all?
WEST: No. Jesse and I were probably not in the same places that she was. That was right during the breakup, I think, so I doubt she wanted to be on Bourbon Street.
JESSE: West tells me, “Paige is here.” And I run to the front to go get her. He’s like, “Go get Paige.” And I was like, “Paige is outside of this bar coming to hang out with us?” And I go out there and it’s his friend also named Paige. I was, like, calling Paige DeSorbo.I was like, “Where are you? I don’t see you!”
Jesse, I want to get your opinion on something given your musical background. Pop divas are having a moment right now. What are you thoughts and do you have a favorite?
JESSE: I mean, Tate McRae, she just does it right. Dua Lipa does it right. Go off, Queens. Do your thing. They’re doing great. I can’t give them advice. Like what? Could I get some advice?
WEST: But it’s as close to the Britney [Spears], Christina Aguilera era as we’ve had a long time. It’s like just cute little girls singing about boys. It’s awesome. Dua, Tate, Sabrina.
Chappell Roan.
WEST: I guess her music is pop. Aesthetically, she’s probably not in the same Britney category. She’s a Missouri girl, though, so I’ll support her forever.
What are you most excited for fans to see the rest of the season?
JESSE: Just like more serious moments rather than all partying and being drunk. We give back to the community in one episode. We do a Shabbat dinner that I host. West and I host a party together.
WEST: I paid a full makeup artist to do prosthetic makeup on my face. It felt cool in person, so I hope it reads well on camera. But unlike Jesse, I would prefer the show to be only partying and fun and no serious conversations. So I guess you get a good mix of both.
There’s a happy balance.
JESSE: Yeah, don’t worry, there will be some partying.
WEST: Also, it’s never the things that you look forward to that are the good moments but like there’s just like nuggets of funny things that people say that you’re like, “That was so funny.” And you just cross your fingers that it makes it. Like Carl at dinner. That one dinner with all the boys. I fell out of my seat. I hope it makes it.
JESSE: I can’t wait for that. That’ll make it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
New episodes of Summer House air on Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
