Kyle Cooke Defends Photo With Amanda Batula at In The City Premiere

Kyle Cooke defended taking a photo with Amanda Batula at the in the city premiere in New York City. He said he was happy she showed up to the season 1 premiere party, even after their January separation after four years of marriage.

“Yes, Amanda and I took a picture together. I was just happy she showed up,” Cooke said on his Instagram Story after the event. He added, “She almost didn't come to a show that she participated in. Shoot me. Shoot me.”

Cooke's Instagram Story response

Cooke pushed back on readers treating the photo like a breakup statement, saying, “Don't call my life, my relationship, my marriage, and the implosion of my marriage fake.” He continued, “Guys, with all due respect, we're all adults here, and we all showed up to a premiere party.”

He went further: “And yes, Amanda did not want to come. And I convinced her to come.” Then he cut off the obvious internet reading of the moment: “We took a photo together. Grow the f--k up.”

January split, May reunion

January set the backdrop for why this appearance landed at all: Batula and Cooke announced they were separating after four years of marriage. That made a simple premiere photo feel like public relationship management, not just cast networking.

On May 11, Cooke said on the Trading Secrets podcast that he still had “so much love” for Batula and wanted “to take the high road,” adding, “Like, let's just try to have an amicable split because we have so many friends on so many different shows, including our own, that had a pretty horrible breakup.”

On May 7, he told Access Hollywood's Reality Nightcap that Batula has leaned on him “during it all.” Danielle Olivera then posted a Monday Instagram Story photo with Batula and Cooke, along with Lindsay Hubbard, Eoin Heavey, Andrea Denver, Lexi Sundin, Nick Barber, Yvonne Najor, Georgina Ferzil, Whitney Fransway, Kenny Martin, Gavin Moseley, and Katie Arundel.

Bravo's Tuesday rollout

Tuesday, May 19 brings the first season of In The City at 9/8c on Bravo, with episodes streaming the next day on Peacock. The premiere photo gives the series an early off-screen storyline: Cooke and Batula can still appear together in public, but they are making that point in full view of a cast and fan base that already knows the separation timeline.