It’s been a long 10 months for Summer House’s Lindsay Hubbard as she’s watched one of the most tumultuous times of her life play out onscreen for the world to see. Last August, fans learned that Hubbard’s former fiancé, her fellow cast member and longtime best friend Carl Radke, broke off their engagement mere days after Hubbard learned the news herself. Fans spent months speculating about what could have led to their split, and now that all of Season Eight’s episodes have aired, including the second part of the show’s reunion on Thursday night, we have as much insight as we might ever get.
From fights about Radke not having a job outside of the show to Hubbard questioning his sobriety, and all of the other uncomfortable moments in between, it’s been a rocky road. But now, Hubbard is ready to move on to her next chapter, which includes a new relationship with a man she’s been dating since January, more time in Nashville where she opened her own Hubb House rental property, and prioritizing her mental health and healing in therapy.
“I was just so focused on Carl’s needs and planning a wedding. Then once I was out of it, I started focusing on the things that I wanted to do and my needs,” Hubbard says.
While in Italy celebrating Summer House cast mate Andrea Denver’s wedding, Hubbard spoke with Rolling Stone about filming the reunion, those Traitors rumors, and how she feels about Radke today.
How are you feeling after having just watched both reunion episodes?
Reunions are always a very tough day for all of us. This was one of the first reunions when I didn’t feel anxious; I wasn’t really nervous. I just kept saying [to myself], just get through the day. Taping the reunion was the final step in this chapter, but then watching these final episodes of this reunion is the official end. Now we can close the book, throw it out the window, burn it, and put it in the trash.
You seemed to maintain a pretty strong demeanor. What kind of emotional prep did you do going into that day?
I wish I could give you a whole routine of things that I did to prepare for that war, but that week is always very hard. In addition to being mentally and emotionally strong going into the reunion days, we also need to make sure our hair is perfect, our nails are done, our glam squads are set up, we have spray tans, and we know what we’re wearing. We’re also watching the remaining episodes of the show that week before we go into taping, so we’re basically binge-watching the last five episodes. There’s not really that much time left to dedicate to mentally and emotionally preparing. It’s almost worse if you think about it too much.
Do you always feel like reunions are like going into war or did you specifically feel that way this year?
I always feel that way. In the history of our reunions, I’m always in the hot seat.
Have your feelings surrounding your breakup changed at all after watching this season back?
When I watched the show, it put me back in those moments of experiencing those feelings and emotions, which is difficult. You’re reliving it and these are terrible moments to relive. But in real life, without having to focus on my past or without having to focus on my past relationship and that breakup specifically, I feel very thankful and relieved that I am in a very different place now.
At the reunion, all of your cast mates said they thought you were going to be the one to call off the wedding. What did you think about hearing everyone say that?
I think people, especially my cast mates, know that I’m a very outspoken, direct, and strong woman and when someone is wronging me, I’m going to do whatever I need to do to protect myself or correct it. When I heard them say that, I was like, I get it. I would be the type of person that would stand up for myself and do that. But I didn’t even think that that was a possibility.
So, you never considered calling off the wedding yourself?
I didn’t, no. As embarrassing as that might be, it never crossed my mind that that was an option. I didn’t think that our problems were extreme enough. Those last fights over the summer took place over the last two weekends. In my mind, I’m not going to call off a wedding because we had a couple of bad weeks. I’m also a very loyal and dedicated person. I’ve been around long enough to know that not everything is butterflies, rainbows, and daffodils. Shit happens, and you have to work through the bad times.
Between the finale episode, when you filmed with the rest of the women at Danielle’s apartment, and then everyone’s interviews in the aftershow, it seemed like some peoples’ tunes had changed about the level of support they were offering you. Was that surprising for you to see?
That was really disappointing for me to see and quite honestly, it was really hurtful, because it made me question their support in one of the toughest, most humiliating moments of my life. This doesn’t even involve teams, just support me for the humiliation I had just gone through very publicly or have support for something bad that happens to somebody. To then watch someone talk about how I was faking my tears — I don’t even know how to fake tears. Or them saying that [Carl] didn’t actually break up with me. It was just really hurtful.
There’s been a lot of discussion around you saying you felt “blindsided” by the split. At the reunion, Andy Cohen maintained that production did not know that Carl was going to break up with you when you filmed your final conversation. Did that change your mind about feeling set up by Carl and production? Or are you standing by the idea that it was premeditated?
I’m still standing by the fact that I was blindsided. Why did you get engaged to begin with if you’re that quick to run away and not talk through your issues? The things that we were talking about in those last two weeks were strictly about his career; it was not about our overall relationship. It was not about how he felt unhappy. He mentioned calling off the wedding on that final day in the Hamptons but then immediately afterward was like, “I’m committed to working through this with you.” It just seems insane. I asked him to get a job and then he broke up with me.
Then, if you are engaged and you tell anybody else before you tell your partner that you’re about to change your and their life and everything you have worked towards, that’s a conversation that you need to sit down and have with your partner. I would have thought that out of respect for the eight years of friendship, the two years of our romantic relationship, and the fact that we were going to spend forever with each other, he would have come to me first. It is blindsiding when your best friend of eight years, your fiancé, does this and has any conversation with anybody else about it, especially publicly.
What did you think when Andy asked Carl if the cameras empowered him to break up with you?
I think Carl felt more confident doing something with the cameras there. I don’t think he could have done it alone. In the history of my friendship and romantic relationship with Carl, he does not like having tough conversations. I think that having the cameras there, having the producers there, and having the team of people there, gave him the confidence to follow through with the decision that he had already made.
Kyle Cooke had a lot to say to you during the reunion. In one of your many contentious moments, he said that Carl’s dismissiveness toward you was all in your head. What did you think about that? Where do you stand with Kyle now?
I cannot stand when a man tries to tell a woman how she should feel or not feel. I also think that Kyle isn’t Carl’s mouthpiece. Carl can speak for himself. This is not Kyle’s fight to fight; he has his own stuff that he needs to worry about. Walking away from that I was just like, bro, what are you doing? Where’s your apology to your wife for calling her a fucking bitch? I would love to hear that. Kyle loves to police apologies but then not give them, so I don’t think he’s one to talk.
Did you understand why people were on Carl’s side at times?
Well, yeah, of course. At the beginning of this season, I questioned his sobriety, and that’s a very sensitive topic. I can understand, of course, why people were on his side. I think after we got past that and those last two weeks came rolling around, which probably played out for the final five or six episodes, there wasn’t a lot of flip-flopping and it was pretty obvious that the way he was talking to me was not good.
You apologized to Carl for calling him “Cocaine Carl” and addressed questioning his sobriety. Do you regret calling him that?
I for sure regret calling him that. If you rewatch the episode, I’m drunk and emotional. My fiancé was being really dismissive, aggressive, argumentative, and then ignored me. His behavior was just not normal that night. You’re about to marry me in four months, I’m supposed to be your partner, and he was not treating me like one. I regret using those words 100 percent, and I wish I would have said what my true feelings and emotions were, which was that he was being aggressive. He was reminding me of how “old Carl” acted towards me, which you can go back and watch as plain as day in Season Four. But I was drunk, emotional, and sitting in bed with my best friend venting to her. Unfortunately, I’m a human, and I’m not perfect. I make mistakes, and I have since apologized.
You’ve described Carl as aggressive and at the reunion, you both said that you’ve locked yourselves in different rooms of your apartment to get away from one another. Do you want to elaborate or clarify anything regarding that?
I’m not going to get into those details.
Have you spoken to any of your cast members since filming the reunion? Where do you stand with them?
I’m currently in Italy with half the cast. I texted with Amanda yesterday to check in on her and how she’s doing. Paige texted me a few weeks ago about the episode where I’m in the kitchen being really silly. I texted West [Wilson] after we shot the reunion. I also have a different life and a lot of things going on in front of me that I have to pay attention to. Plus, I’ve been traveling.
Andy asked Kyle if he thinks your same group could film another season together and Kyle said yes. What do you think a future Summer House season would look like?
I agree with Kyle on that. We had a great formula with this cast, and I think that we always find a way. This show started with mine and Kyle’s group of friends eight seasons ago. I think hopefully, this will be something I can laugh about one day.
You talked a bit about your new relationship being pretty serious. How do you feel being in a new relationship with someone else not long after your engagement broke off?
He’s really sweet. He lives in New York. We dated probably three and a half years ago, and it was just bad timing. Then he popped back up this past December, and we started going on dates in January. He was making the most effort and was very consistent.
Would you ever bring your boyfriend on Summer House?
I don’t know. I think that’s a conversation that I would have to have with him.
There are some rumors going around that you were originally cast on this season of Traitors that just filmed but then you had to pull out at the last minute. Do you want to address that?
I’m also trying to understand more about that rumor. But unfortunately, no, I can’t really talk too much about Traitors.
You mentioned earlier how you’ve reached out to Amanda. There’s also been a lot of speculation online about Kyle and Amanda’s relationship. What have your conversations with her been like?
We haven’t really had any in-depth conversations. Our cast has a lot of rumors out there right now, who knows what’s true or not true? I feel like half the time there’s no truth to these rumors but regardless, I just wanted to check in on Amanda in general and make sure she’s OK. It’s never easy no matter what the rumor is, especially if there’s any sort of scandal involved in that rumor.
Where do you stand with Carl today? What would it look like for you to spend a summer living in the Hamptons with your ex-fiancé?
I feel very indifferent about him. I look back on that relationship, and I thank God I’m not in that relationship anymore. I’m in a different relationship that is so loving, caring, and respectful. I’m in a really good headspace in general right now. With Carl, I just look at him like he’s just another guy in the room. I don’t have any emotions one way or another. I don’t have hatred towards him; I don’t wish him any ill will. I’m not going to go talk to him about all the shit going on in my life, but I can tolerate being in the same room as him. If that means living in the same house, great, whatever.
