Jesse Solomon — a.k.a. Summer House‘s newest Tall King — has made quite a mark on the Hamptons share house crew this season. Having come a long way since he shamelessly hit on a taken Paige DeSorbo, Solomon — a two-time cancer survivor — is now focused on his upcoming five-year checkup, which he describes in the show as a “big deal in the cancer community” since the chances of the disease coming back after five years “are extremely low.”
Unaware of his impending doctor’s appointment, Solomon’s roommates have been quick to pick up on his more-quiet-than-usual demeanor. His fears ultimately reach their peak in tonight’s new episode when he breaks down in tears in front of West Wilson, whom he called a “good friend” for “hugging” him and “listening to [him] cry.”
“It was by accident,” Solomon told DECIDER when asked why he finally felt safe enough to let it all out. “I wasn’t trying to open up. I had bottled up the emotion for long enough that I just – [when] West asked me if I was okay, it just kind of poured out of me.”
In a lighter moment from tonight’s episode, Wilson gives Solomon the green light to kiss Ciara Miller (Wilson’s situationship) on the lips after she apologized for calling Solomon a “trash bag” in last week’s episode. “I forgot that even happened until I saw the episode,” Solomon told us of the friendly smooch, adding that Miller didn’t mean to “come off so strong” when she criticized his dating habits. “I knew what she meant. She half-apologized later, so that was half-nice of her.”
And while the couples in Summer House may prove that working together isn’t always fun (i.e.: Amanda Batula and Kyle Cooke), Solomon said he wouldn’t be opposed to working with a significant other. “If you can find the right combination of like a boss bitch who can just help support your business or you can help support hers, it’s great,” he said.
Solomon recently stopped by DECIDER’s offices, where he dished on his friendship with Wilson, the newest episode of Summer House and the “spicy” Season 8 reunion which had everyone “yelling at each other from the jump.” Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: Everyone has been loving you on Summer House. How have you been handling your newfound reality TV fame?
JESSE SOLOMON: Just another day in the life. I would say it’s fun. People want to meet you and say hi to you and you say hi back. [I’m] making so many new friends.
You and West have become quite the dynamic duo. What is it you cherish most about your friendship?
He’s just so funny. He’s very witty and quick and is down to earth. So I think he’s a real genuine friend [and] not only would he go out and have fun with you, but he’ll support you when you’re down. He’s [a] dynamic, multi-faceted friend.
Were you surprised he let you kiss Ciara?
No, I wasn’t. What’s he gonna say? No? It would have made him look insecure. I think he was overcompensating by being like, “Yeah, kiss the girl.” I forgot that even happened until I saw the episode. I texted Ciara. I was like, “Ciara, we kissed in this episode!”
Speaking of West and Ciara. He found himself in hot water after he admitted to texting other girls amid their fling. Do you think that was a bad move on West’s part?
No, you don’t want to lie. The only better move would have been to not be texting so many girls. But I don’t think that their relationship was in a place where he had to stop just yet. It was close, though.
Last week, Ciara came pretty hard at you when she called you a trash bag, though she does apologize in this week’s episode. Do you think her criticisms about your dating habits were fair?
I think she just loves me so much that she felt close enough with me to be able to rip me that hard. I’m just kidding. She doesn’t love me that much. I think that she felt like she’d been through things in the past with guys that weren’t serious and she wanted to make sure that I was being a good guy and just called me a piece of shit. But she didn’t mean for it to come off so strong. I knew what she meant. She half-apologized later, so that was half-nice of her.
You’re noticeably more quiet in tonight’s episode due to your five-year checkup – and understandably so. Why didn’t you want to tell all of your castmates what was going on?
I mean, we’re in the Hamptons. We’re partying. We’re having a good time. I don’t want to bring everybody down with this thing that I think is going to hopefully be good in just a few days. So I didn’t want to rain on everyone else’s parade.
You do eventually break down to West and you say that you’ve never gotten emotional like this before. What finally made you feel safe enough to open up?
It was by accident. I wasn’t trying to open up. I had bottled up the emotion for long enough that I just – [when] West asked me if I was okay, it just kind of poured out of me. But yeah, I’m a very happy guy. I’m so blessed that I live a good life. And that’s the one thing that kind of just like wears on me. So West is a good friend for doing that – for hugging me and listening to me cry.
The tarot card reader was pretty spot on it seems like. Which part of your reading hit home the most for you?
I was so not excited to do that tarot card thing. There’s so much footage of me just being like, “This is so silly.” But when she finally read my cards or whatever, I was like, “Huh. That can actually make sense.” But I didn’t know she was a Bravo fan account. She knew everything about everybody there! Surprise, surprise.
In tonight’s episode, Carl and Lindsay get into a fight over his employment and Amanda and Kyle get into a fight over their work. Did living with them over the summer make you not ever want to work with a significant other?
I kind of think it would be nice to work with a significant other. I have mixed feelings about working with friends. But if you can find the right combination of like a boss bitch who can just help support your business or you can help support hers, it’s great. But yeah, the highs are obviously high and the lows are low. So it’s got to be the right situation.
What did you think about Kyle’s reaction to Amanda wanting to start her own passion project? Was he overreacting?
Yeah, it was a bad reaction. I think he should have been more supportive from the jump but I don’t think he was hearing what she was saying. She wasn’t leaving Loverboy. She just wanted to do something for herself in addition to that. And he kind of had all these feelings that got brought up from the past of her not working hard enough and how hard he’s working and it just all spilled over in that moment.
Your TikTok has become a go-to source for Summer House fans to see behind-the-scenes of their favorite show. Do you have more videos of the Summer House pantry ready to go? What was on your personal grocery list each weekend?
I have more behind the scenes footage. Don’t worry everyone. It’s coming. Not necessarily of the pantry. The pantry is kind of gross.
I am a big protein guy so I always just wanted to make sure I had enough to eat. I’m not a hardo about it. But yeah, if you’re partying all weekend, you can go a full weekend and you’re just eating chips and beer and you’re like, “I had nothing of sustenance.” So yeah, I would just make sure the Instacart order had meat.
You guys recently shot the reunion. What can you tease about that?
It’s spicy. I don’t know how it compares to other reunions, but I was shocked at how juicy it was. Everybody’s just immediately yelling at each other from the jump and I was just like, “This is crazy!” It was fun, though, and everybody kind of aired their grievances and I think we left better people for it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Summer House airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
