The 'Summer House' newbie previews the just-taped all-cast sit-down and what's still to come on season 8 of the Bravo hit.
Jesse Solomon has one word to describe Summer House's season 8 reunion: "Juicy."
"There's just a lot of unexpected arguments," the newly minted Bravolebrity, 30, tells ET over video chat. He and his co-stars filmed the all-cast sit-down with Andy Cohen last week. It will air later this year.
"A lot of tears, a lot of laughs," he rattles off. "It's everything that I had heard a reunion could be. Like, a lot of fighting words. Everybody really got things off their chest, and it's just this odd juxtaposition of, like, this is a reality show based on our real lives, but then, in real life, you wouldn't sit down and talk about what just happened with Andy Cohen as the host. So, it's just, like, we're all friends, and some people are better friends than others."
"The girls are vicious," he continues. "[Paige DeSorbo] really impressed me. I would never be so mean to someone's face, even if... yeah-- maybe I would? I was just surprised by the drama. I wasn't expecting it."
Jesse says Kyle Cooke and Carl Radke had the most to say at the taping, which lasted the better part of a day.
"Carl impressed me," Jesse shares. "I don't know if you ever had a sales job, but sometimes you just get in the zone, where you're pitching and answering questions, and, like, the words are just rolling. I think if you put a stopwatch on everybody for their amount of talking time, Carl would have been the longest amount of talking time."
"The guy just wants to be happy and do right by everyone," he says. "He admitted that he's the people pleaser, so you'll see it all on the reunion."
It's not a shock that a bulk of the reunion would focus on Carl, though, seeing as season 8 is building to the moment he called off his engagement to longtime love/fellow Summer House OG Lindsay Hubbard last August. Fans will see their breakup conversation on the season finale.
"I'll just let you wait and see that final discussion," Jesse teases, having already gotten eyes on the encounter. "I mean, it is what you think it is; it's a breakup of an engagement. It's not pretty."
As for whether reunion set the stage for a path forward for Lindsay and Carl to both return for (a potential) season 9, Jesse jokes, "Let me grab my crystal ball..."
"How the f**k would I know?" he laughs. "I hope to see everyone. Everybody is amazing. We had a blast, and I would love to do it again with all of them."
"Listen, I'm not the authority on engaged couples breaking up and continuing to summer in the Hamptons," he adds. "But if anybody could do it, you know, they were friends before. They've seen each other date other people. So, hopefully, they could do it again."
Before then, though, there's plenty of season 8 left to watch. These next weeks will see Jesse in a vulnerable place, as he faced a health scare. After surviving testicular cancer twice -- including the removal of one testicle -- Jesse discovered a lump on his remaining testicle just before the five-year anniversary of entering remission.
"It was supposed to just be, like, have my mom -- you'll see my mom in the show -- come celebrate this milestone in my life, and it quickly becomes a situation of, like, did I just prank myself and get cancer on national television?" he says. "And I was like, well, can't care about that piece anymore. Like, let's just make sure we don't have cancer and focus on your health. So, yeah, it was a whirlwind of emotions. And I'm super grateful to Bravo and [our production company, Truly Original], and everyone who was there for me. You know, the cast -- everybody -- was like really supportive and I'm just grateful that I had great doctors and family and friends to support me through it."
While viewers will have to wait and see how this all shakes out, Jesse does note he's "alive" and, seemingly, feeling good. The past few months have been a whirlwind for the finance pro as he's adjusted to life in the public eye.
"You can be prepared for people to say negative s**t about you, but the human brain is still not meant to read negative comments on this thing called the internet about yourself," he reflects. "After I got over that, it's been all rainbows and butterflies. It is definitely cringeworthy to like listen to your own voice, and then throw in seeing yourself on top of that, but yeah, I came in a little hot."
Jesse says he hasn't been shocked by anything that's made it on air so far; he is, however, surprised some things didn't show up on TV.
"I mean, [Danielle Olivera] and I did not get along, and [Gabby Prescod] also did not like me the first two weekends," he reveals. "It still was a rough entry into the house, even without that. So I'm grateful to the producers for cutting back."
Easing Jesse's entry was West Wilson, the other season 8 newbie. They're the first men recently introduced to the Summer House-verse who seem to have staying power, with fans comparing their casting to Paige and Hannah Berner joining (and reinvigorating) the show in season 3.
"Anytime I can be in the same sentence as Paige DeSorbo, it's truly an honor," Jesse cracks. "I'm just happy that [West and my] connection felt genuine enough to everybody else that they kind of connected with it."
West is arguably the breakout star of the season, but Jesse's OK letting his buddy's star shine a little brighter.
"I'm happy for West, because he's my friend and I want all my friends to succeed," he explains. "It's not like a Jesse or West thing. It's like, if he does well, the show does well; I do well. So, it's been just a really rewarding experience and, yeah, I'm just like blown away by the DMs and comments I get."
Those DMs are also, likely, filled with romantic inquiries. Jesse's dating style has been a hot topic among his housemates this season, with Ciara Miller labeling him a "trash bag" for his churn and burn approach to women.
"I mean, what am I supposed to do? Like, date a girl, realize that I don't like her and then keep her around?" he asks in his own defense. "Like, no. Then everybody would be like, 'You're leading people on!' That's not how you should do it. So no, I'm not gonna change for nobody. I strive to be the best person I can be, and all I can do is be transparent with people and my intentions, and open and honest."
"It's a tricky thing with dating," he continues. "It's like, when is the right time to be, like, what are we? And you want to make sure that both people are looking for the same thing. But it's an art, not a science, and you just try not to be a f**k boy and be honest, and that's all you can do."
Summer House airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. Episodes stream next day on Peacock.
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