Amanda Batula Has An Embarrassing Secret For You

On June 4, Amanda Batula appeared on Watch What Happens Live looking bronzed and radiant. But before it aired, she let her 935,000 followers in on a little secret via her Instagram story: After peeing in the shower, she’d wrecked the spray tan she got in preparation for filming.

“I was sharing that it was one of those days where I woke up and things immediately started going awry. I was on the phone with my mom telling her that I was so pissed off about what was happening, and then that happened in the shower — so I basically manifested that I was going to get pissed on,” she says.

During her 10 seasons on Summer House, the reality star has become increasingly relatable — not only because of her beauty fails and love of bed rotting, but also because she’s opened up about so many heavy topics, from fertility to her struggles with depression.

“I think it pays off to be real with people, because we’re all human, and we’re all going through stuff,” she tells me.

Since partnering with beauty brand Face Reality, Batula’s also been vocal about her experience with acne. “My skin struggle was actually harder than my depression to open up about,” she says. “I used to not leave my house when my acne was really bad. But I would take pictures of my skin because I was so ashamed of it, and now I’m sharing those pictures on social media, which is a crazy turn of events — I thought those pictures would die with me.”

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. “I still get DMs every single day of people thanking me,” she says. “It just makes people realize I’m normal. I’m not better than anyone else just because I’m on TV.”

Here, Batula talks more about her acne journey, her thoughts on injectables, and the beauty products her husband Kyle Cooke always asks her for.

You mentioned that you didn’t leave your house when you had bad breakouts, which — same. Did your experience with acne affect your relationship with Kyle? Did you try to hide it from him?

Yeah, I used to feel super insecure about it with him. I would try to hide it or always have pimple patches on. But he picks his skin in the mirror all the time, and he’s very comfortable with it, so he’s made me feel less uncomfortable about it. He’s never judged me. He’ll even be like, “Oh, you have a pimple on your face.” I’m like, “Can you not point it out?” He’s not doing it to say, “That’s gross” — it’s more lighthearted, asking what’s going on with my skin.

“Sometimes I like my wrinkles, and I’m like, ‘OK, I’ll just let myself age naturally.’”

Can you talk about your history with acne and when it started?

I was breaking out in middle school and high school. I would go to a dermatologist, and my mom didn’t want me taking anything orally, so I tried a lot of different face washes and topical treatments. It sort of went away after puberty, but then when I went off birth control in my late 20s, it came back worse than ever. The acne that I had as an adult was 10 times worse than what I had in high school.

How did you discover Face Reality?

Paige [DeSorbo] actually had worked with them and was using their products. One weekend during the summer, I forgot my bag of skin care at home, so I was using her stuff and loved it. She had dealt with occasional breakouts, and it really cleared up her skin. So when the opportunity came, I took full advantage.

Thoughts on injectables?

I’ve had lip filler three times. I feel like it balanced out my face a little bit. And with Botox, people say you’re supposed to go every three to four months. I go maybe once or twice a year. I don’t like depending on it too much. Sometimes I like my wrinkles and I’m like, “OK, I’ll just let myself age naturally.” Then other times I’m like, “You know what? Maybe I’ll just go for a few months without some wrinkles.”

I feel that. What does your beauty routine look like?

It’s very skin-forward. I love the Face Reality Salicylic Serum and the HydraRemedy Serum — they’re so delicious on my skin. Instead of putting a full face of makeup on, I love adding bronzing drops to my SPF. I use the one from Drunk Elephant. Then I’ll use some concealer, some blush, add a little freckles, fluff up my brows, curl my lashes, and that’s it. I like when my skin texture shows and you can see my beauty marks and bags under my eyes — I don’t want to cover everything up.

You don’t use mascara? Did you know this is a trend on TikTok?

I used to say I would never leave the house without mascara. It was literally written in my wedding vows to my husband. Well, I broke that vow.

“I basically manifested that I was going to get pissed on.”

Let’s do a beauty marry, F, kill: Botox, lip filler, and red light therapy.

I feel like I want to marry red light therapy because there are long-term benefits. My esthetician told me that it works, so I’m going to go with that. I’m going to f*ck lip filler. Or filler in general. I think that sometimes it can really change a person’s face when it’s done correctly, and it can help with symmetry. And then I’m going to say kill Botox. People should age naturally.

Bold statement!

I think we’ve hit this point where everyone looks so young forever. I’m not saying I’m not going to get it — I’m just going for a more natural-girl vibe in my 30s.

Speaking of aging — everyone always talks about how Kyle looks so young for his age. Can you drop his skin care routine?

He just uses the beauty products from the PR packages that I get sent. He’ll be like, “Do you have anything for wrinkles?” He’ll also call moisturizer “dry skin lotion.” He doesn’t do anything extensive — he just uses whatever’s available. He has really good genetics and a really great hairline.

I saw you posted a TikTok recently where you said you just want your FYP to show Corinna Rose videos. I love her.

I’m obsessed with her. I followed her on Instagram, and she followed me back. I DMed her and she left me on read, but it’s OK. I forgive her.

I love how real she is. She never holds back, and I think that’s what people love about her. Social media can be so curated, and, no dig at people who are strictly influencers, but a lot feels so performative. It’s refreshing to have someone who’s like, “I hurt my finger and I’m going to talk about it for the next 20 videos.”

If Corinna’s loving fans aren’t proof that being yourself is what people love more than being someone you’re not, I don’t know what is. I think that’s incredible — and it’s what we should all aspire to do.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.