Not on the same page! Kyle Cooke’s frustration with Carl Radke over their work drama at Loverboy — and its toll on their friendship — came to a head while they spent a weekend apart on Summer House.
The tension, however, lingered during the Monday, February 20, episode of the Bravo series. Housemate Danielle Olivera made sure she had Carl’s back during the episode … even though Kyle, 40, claimed she had no idea what was going on.
Fans first got a taste of Kyle and Carl’s awkward relationship during the season 7 premiere on February 13. At the time, the Loverboy founder confessed that he thought Carl, 38, wanted to quit his role as VP of sales after he started dating their mutual friend Lindsay Hubbard. (Carl confirmed in February that he was no longer working for Kyle.)
“I talked to him about a month ago about his job. I’m not going to lie. … The reason I’m a little irked out is nothing has changed on my end,” Kyle told Mya Allen on Monday’s episode, hinting that Carl’s issues at the company were not new. “I think I should talk to Carl and I think you should talk to Lindsay. Let’s go confront our demons. … Just kidding.”
Mya — who butted heads with Lindsay, 36, during the season premiere over her friendship with Carl — quipped: “I think demons is pretty appropriate.”
While Mya, 31, and Lindsay agreed to “coexist” on Monday’s episode, Kyle and Carl’s conversation appeared to be just the tip of the iceberg of problems for the longtime friends.
“Some days I’ve been pissed. I’m like f—k, I’ve been working my ass off and it’s not good enough,” Carl told Kyle about his role at Loverboy. “I don’t feel like I’m valued sometimes.”
Kyle, for his part, told the cameras that he wasn’t buying the sudden change in Carl’s work ethic and alleged feeling of being undervalued. “I think this is bulls—t. Carl’s been happy,” the Maryland native confessed. “Loverboy has given him purpose, at times where quite frankly, he had none.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Carl angered Kyle when he chose not to tell his coworkers, including his boss and BFF, about an upcoming trip to Los Angeles until a few days before he flew out. As a result, Carl and Lindsay were not in the Hamptons for the second weekend of summer, but Kyle felt his presence — and lack of respect — across the country.
“My team’s working hard. … As far as I’m concerned, he’s not even a part of. He’s checked out,” Kyle told Mya of Carl during a group dinner while the salesman was away in L.A. “When I hired him he was unhireable. [He] showed up to work drunk. He showed up one day so coked out that he didn’t bring his computer to work. … The world needs to know, I’m a pretty understanding boss.”
Danielle, meanwhile, overheard Kyle seemingly throwing Carl under the bus and called him out at the table. “Kyle, I literally don’t want you to sit there right now. I heard every word you said about Carl and it f—king pisses me off,” Danielle, 34, said. “What you’re saying right now is very unfair.”
Summer House airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
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Scroll down to see the biggest highlights from Summer House season 7, episode 2: