Why Kyle & Amanda STILL Haven't Divorced — Body Language Expert Says West Was "DEEPLY UNCOMFORTABLE"

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Hey everyone, welcome to Reality TV.

[00:00:02]This is Delilah, your host, and today we have got a story that answers one of the most lingering questions of this entire Summer House season 10 saga. Why have Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula still not filed for divorce? They announced their separation back in January. It is now the end of May. Amanda is publicly in a relationship with Wes Wilson, and yet no paperwork, no filing, nothing. Page Six broke the story, and we finally have some answers. We're also getting a fascinating body language breakdown of what was actually happening with Amanda and Wes at the reunion, and what the expert found might genuinely surprise you. Let's get into all of it.

[00:00:47]Starting with the divorce question.

[00:00:49]According to Page Six, the reason Amanda and Kyle have not filed yet comes down to two things: finances and optics.

[00:00:58]Sources say Amanda and Kyle are still in active discussions about their financial situation and how the split is going to be structured. That is not unusual for a couple who built a life and a business together over four years of marriage, but here is the part that really caught my attention. Sources told Page Six that Kyle is intentionally letting Amanda take the lead on the divorce process.

[00:01:21]And the specific reason? He does not want to look like the villain. He is very aware that the public narrative around him right now is sympathetic.

[00:01:30]He's the estranged husband. He's the one who got blindsided, and he is not going to be the one who files aggressively and hands Amanda or anyone else a reason to paint him as bitter or retaliatory.

[00:01:42]That's a calculated, deliberate choice, and honestly a very smart one.

[00:01:48]Now, at the reunion itself, Ciara made a pointed comment about the fact that Amanda is still legally married. She put that right out there in front of everyone and Amanda confirmed she has retained legal counsel. She said her attorney has already reached out to Kyle, but she also suggested that Kyle has been slow to respond saying they haven't gotten anywhere since that initial outreach. So Amanda is framing it as Kyle dragging his feet. Kyle's side says he's just letting her lead and the truth is probably somewhere in the complicated middle of two people who still have a lot to untangle before they can officially close the chapter on four years of marriage and a shared business.

[00:02:28]Drop a like if you think Kyle is playing this whole situation smarter than people are giving him credit for because I genuinely do.

[00:02:36]Now, let us talk about the body language analysis because this is the part of the story that I found most interesting.

[00:02:43]Page Six brought in a body language expert named Susan Constantine, Susan Constantine, to analyze how Amanda and West were presenting themselves at the reunion and her findings are really detailed and genuinely eye-opening.

[00:02:57]Starting with West, Susan said that contrary to what some people have assumed that West was being strategic and controlling at the reunion, the body language actually told a completely different story. She said West was deeply uncomfortable and was experiencing what she called physiological stress throughout the entire interaction. The specific signals she noted were things like repeatedly licking his lips, locking his ankles together, twiddling his thumbs, and what she described as reduced verbal certainty meaning he was hesitating, softening his language, not speaking with confidence. She was very clear that these are not lie detector signals. They are not proof of anything specific.

[00:03:40]They're just signs that a person's body is under genuine psychological stress and West's body was showing all of them.

[00:03:48]Susan also described West as having what she called a highly avoidant conflict style. She said when pressure intensified, when Sierra was pushing, when the cast was piling on, West would withdraw, minimize, soften his language, and emotionally retreat. He was not leaning into the conflict, he was trying to survive it without making it worse.

[00:04:10]Now, here is where it gets really interesting because Amanda's body language was the opposite. Susan said Amanda moved directly toward the conflict. She described Amanda's communication style as forceful, emotionally confrontational, and heavily focused on validating her own perspective. Where West would physiologically shut down, Amanda came in loud and clear. She was not retreating, she was fighting. Susan called this a classic pursue-withdraw dynamic. One partner escalates because they want resolution, the other retreats because they want to avoid being cornered. And Susan made the very smart observation that these patterns tend to reinforce each other over time. The withdraw makes the pursuing partner feel ignored and pushes them to escalate harder, while the escalation makes the withdrawing partner feel even more cornered and pushes them to retreat further. It becomes a loop.

[00:05:09]And then Susan said something that I think is going to stay with me. She said, "Rather than reading West's body language as calculated dishonesty or manipulation, she interprets it as conflict paralysis. Not a man playing chess, a man trying to get through a very intense, emotionally loaded day without things exploding further.

[00:05:31]Whether that absolves him of anything is a completely separate question, but it does reframe the image of him sitting there quietly while everyone came at him."

[00:05:41]Reunion part two airs Tuesday, June 2nd on Bravo at 8:00 Eastern, 7:00 Central.

[00:05:47]And based on everything we saw in part one, I have a feeling part two is not going to be any calmer.

[00:05:53]Okay, here's my honest take. The divorce explanation makes so much sense when you lay it out like that. Kyle is not dragging his feet out of pettiness or strategy around the business. He's protecting his public image, which right now is one of his most valuable assets.

[00:06:10]He has the sympathy of basically the entire Bravo audience. Why would he do anything to jeopardize that by coming in with aggressive legal moves? He's going to let Amanda lead, keep showing up looking like the mature one, and let the process unfold. That's not weakness, that's wisdom.

[00:06:28]As for the body language breakdown, I found Susan's read on the pursue-withdraw dynamic between Amanda and West to be one of the most insightful things anyone has said about this couple since the whole thing broke.

[00:06:40]Because if that's how they function under pressure, Amanda charging in and West shutting down, that's going to be a very complicated relationship to sustain long-term. Lindsay predicted West would eventually do the same thing to Amanda that he did to everyone else. Susan is essentially describing the conditions that make that kind of outcome possible.

[00:07:00]Does the body language breakdown change how you see West at the reunion? And do you think Kyle is being smart by letting Amanda take the lead on the divorce?

[00:07:09]Tell me your thoughts in the comments. I want to read everything. And if you're not subscribed yet, please hit that subscribe button right now because reunion part two is Tuesday, and we will be right here covering every single moment. See [music] you in the next one.