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When Lexi Wood first joined Summer House Season 9, she intended to make consistent, long-lasting friendships. As a model and influencer from Toronto, Wood has been a breath of fresh Canadian air, bringing levity to a house where tensions between exes were already running high. What she probably didn’t expect was to spark a showmance of her own. Upon entering the house, Jesse Solomon almost immediately called his dibs on Wood, leading to a summer of love-bombing, toe-sucking, and inappropriate flirting.
In Wood’s mind, everything between her and Solomon was “great” in the beginning. He told her he loved her after 11 days of knowing her. He introduced her to his family. And she introduced him to hers. But what she didn’t see (until now) was his blatant flirting with Ciara Miller, or his narrative painting her as an overly jealous person, or that he was hesitant to bring her around his family and only did so to “keep her happy” after he got his toes sucked by a random girl the weekend before.
According to Wood, there was “so much confusion and potential manipulation” done by Solomon that she didn’t know what to believe — his words in conversations held off-camera, or the warnings from the other girls in the house. What she did want to make clear, however, was that she “never fully blamed” Miller for having a flirtatious friendship with Solomon.
“I can ask a girl questions, but I’m never gonna blame a girl. Like, it’s always the guy’s fault,” Wood told DECIDER, noting that she only told Miller she “didn’t trust” her at the end of the summer “because we didn’t connect that much because we had a force in between us.”
Wood was also left feeling both appreciative and “confused” by her co-stars’ advice, particularly when Paige DeSorbo advised her to “walk away” from Solomon in a preview for next week’s episode.
“I feel like they all had this advice to kind of leave him. But then they all want so much attention from him,” Wood said. “So it definitely was always confusing for me where I’m like, ‘Wait, what’s going on? Is he amazing? Is he not? I don’t know.’”
When Wood stopped by DECIDER’s studio this week, she also opened up about fellow newbie Bailee Henderson’s exit from the show, Solomon’s own jealousy issues, and what she hopes to address at the Summer House Season 9 reunion. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: I’m so excited to have you here! But first, I have to know: why the heck weren’t you at Coachella this past week?
LEXI WOOD: Honestly, I’ve been going to Coachella since I was a teenager, so I sat this one out. My dad is in town so I’ve honestly just had a very wholesome weekend. I went to The Met. It was a perfect rainy New York weekend that really made me fall back in love with New York. Not that I really fell out of love with New York. But yeah, I just had the perfect New York weekend. So I sat this Coachella out, but my outfits would have slayed.
You were already very well-established as a model/influencer before appearing on Summer House. What made you want to pursue a summer in the Hamptons?
I love the Hamptons and naturally I feel like as New Yorkers we all go to the Hamptons on the weekends anyway. But honestly, I feel modeling can be such a lonely job that I was so excited to just have consistency with a group of friends. Some of my best friends live in Europe or Australia so modeling is – I get to travel the world, which is such a blessing, but I also have to do it by myself and leave a piece of my heart and friends everywhere I am. So I honestly went on just to deepen friendships with the people that I did know and create new friendships and bonds. That’s like the most Canadian wholesome answer ever, but that’s honestly so true.
When you came to the house, you initially had Bailee Henderson by your side. Were you upset to see her go?
Yeah, for sure. I think Bailee’s life, just kind of with her relationship, she was prioritizing that, which I’m so happy for her. But it definitely was even more lonely being kind of the single-standing newbie. So yeah, I was definitely sad to see her go. Having that newbie bond that I think everyone had in their first season, I was really looking forward to, but I didn’t get that, which is okay, because I am happy for her.
I think you have such a positive outlook when it comes to diving headfirst into love and even on your ex’s. You had nothing but kind things to say about Brooklyn Beckham when you were on Watch What Happens Live last week. Have you always been like that? Or did it take time to find that peace?
I’ve always been like that. It’s actually so funny. I’m friends with my first boyfriend. I’ve just been like that unless someone does something crazy then, like having boundaries and also having respect for myself, I can be like, “You know what? You don’t get access to me anymore.” But I’ve rarely had to do that because I honestly do feel like I pick people that I would be friends with and I always have that conversation before we even start dating. I’m like, “Look, can we be friends if something happens? Let’s see.” But yeah, it’s always been a priority for me to pick guys that I do respect and that respect me. And I think setting boundaries as a woman is so important, so important, and having the confidence to be able to do so even if other people might not understand it.
I want to get into everything going on with Jesse this season. In this week’s episode, you reveal that Jesse said he loved you for the first time after 11 days of knowing each other and that you were trying to speed up your feelings. Do you think it was too soon for him to drop the “L” bomb?
I’ve always liked guys that are very open with how they’re feeling. And I think when you spend so much time with people, that obviously feelings are going to kind of come faster. I think I was definitely, when he first said it, I was like, “OK, whoa.” And I was definitely trying to speed up my feelings for him as well. Because as much as I like to move fast, I more mean it in like, I like not to waste years or months on someone that is just going to be a dead end. But obviously, as a girl, I’m like, “That felt nice to hear.” So who am I to say, “Oh, don’t love me. You love me?” So yeah, obviously as a girl, it felt good to hear, especially because we spent so much time together. We spent so much together out of the house that obviously people don’t see where our relationship was going fast.
Right. In the moment in felt right.
Yeah, a little soon, still. But definitely I was like, “Who am I to say?”
The whole Ciara/Jesse thing seems like it’s going to start taking precedent in the next few episodes. In the trailer, we see you tell Ciara that you don’t trust her. Now knowing what you know and seeing what you’ve seen, do you still think Ciara was the problem in that whole debacle?
To be clear, I never fully blamed Ciara. I was just going by what the girls had been telling me. So, it’s always his fault. And that’s one thing about me, I can ask a girl questions, but I’m never gonna blame a girl. Like, it’s always the guy’s fault. It’s always the guy’s fault, let me say that. But that being said, I think, and you guys will see more throughout the season, that there was just so much confusion and potential manipulation on someone’s end that I was caught up in. I had no idea what was real and what’s not. A couple episodes ago, the girls said, “You need to tell him to stop flirting.” So I did. And then she touches him. Then he’s like, “You need to stop.” And then she’s mad at him. And I’m like, “Wait guys, I wasn’t even there. I have no idea what’s going on. Should I say something, should I not say something?” But I always just want to have a calm conversation with a girl and never blame her or anything. I think, unfortunately, at the end of summer when I said I didn’t trust her, it was just because we didn’t connect that much because we had a force in between us.
Right. You were hearing a lot, you weren’t seeing what’s happening. You didn’t know what to believe – the guy you were falling for or these other people you just met. I imagine that was difficult.
Yeah, it was definitely a point of confusion for me because, again, I do think there was so much being said off-camera to me as well where I was like, “I don’t know what’s going on. I have no idea.” I was trying to speed up with everything, with the feelings, with stories, with everything going on. I was overwhelmed.
I don’t blame you. It’s a lot to take in.
It’s a lot and there’s so many dynamics already and I’m walking in just trying to make friends.
That’s all you wanted to do! In the teaser for next week’s episode, Paige tells you that you should walk away if you’re not fully in it with Jesse. Obviously, it took a few months but she did end up doing the same thing in her relationship with Craig. What did you think of her advice?
I think, at the time, the advice was so appreciated because, again, I didn’t see so much. But I think that it ended up being very confusing for me because I feel like they all had this advice to kind of leave him. But then they all want so much attention from him. So it definitely was always confusing for me where I’m like, “Wait, what’s going on? Is he amazing? Is he not? I don’t know.” I’m going by the other 10 adults in our house and how they are acting. And Jesse had a lot to say about that separately with conflicting messages that really confused me. So again, I was just left at a state of confusion and sadness and overwhelmed and yeah.
Some of your TikTok videos have definitely led fans to believe that you and Jesse are no longer together, but I’m sure we’ll get confirmation at the reunion. What is the biggest thing you’re hoping to address at the Season 9 reunion?
I think the biggest thing that I’m hoping to address is just one, why everything was so confusing and why it kind of took so long for people to fill me in with the story about me and what I said behind my back. Because even to this episode that’s currently airing, I had no idea that our relationship wasn’t perfect. So I think this was the first episode that I noticed his – he always had mentioned his jealousy, but obviously I’m not going to go and spin that behind his back. I was just like, “OK, perfect. We can work with that.” So I think this next episode is the one where I’m like, “Wait, something’s not calculating right in my head and in my gut. Something’s off.” But up until then, I honestly was like, “We’re great.”
We did see that jealousy in this week’s episode when he thought you were getting too close to West.
That’s crazy because he’s Jesse’s best friend. And so I’m like, “First of all, not happening.” And he dated Ciara, which I would never go there because I’m just the type of person that I’m never even gonna flirt with somebody that a girl that I know had in the past. I don’t know. I’m just like that. I immediately put him in a friend zone. But West had quite the night that night. And I was definitely helping him stand. So, I guess Jesse didn’t like that my hand was on his elbow.
You were very calm. You were like, “I’m not fighting, you’re fighting. I’m gonna go to bed. We’ll talk about this later.”
Yeah, I definitely feel like at the end of the day my loyalty runs so deep that I had never given him any doubt until he gave himself doubt. And I don’t know what – well, actually, I think I actually do know what led him to that. Because somebody else that isn’t even on the show actually told me that he was like, “Oh, why is West hanging out with Lexi more than you’re hanging out with Lexi tonight?” And I was like, “What? Why would you say that? We’re all friends!” So I think hearing that, Jesse was definitely like, “Oh wait, maybe they were hanging out too much.” So honestly, there’s nothing there between West and I. Neither of us would go there.
It just seemed like a drunken misunderstanding on Jesse’s part.
Yeah, and I was hanging out with all the girls all night that were there, which were like Jesse’s friends. So I was like, “Where is this coming from?”
Are you still close with the girls? Where do you stand with them now? Is there a group chat?
Yeah, we definitely have a girls group chat. Lindsay asked us last week, “What are you guys wearing to the reunion?” I was like, “Oh, this is what I’m wearing.” Gabby answered. The other girls didn’t answer. So I’m actually so excited to see their looks because I’m sure they’re going to slay. And then I see Gabby all the time. I see Lindsay, I hang out with Gemma. She’s so perfect.
Love that! It’s also been so much fun to see your close relationship with your mom and sister on the show. How did they feel when you said you were joining Summer House?
My family is so supportive. They honestly do really trust me and they really do support me in any crazy idea that I have, hence, honestly, probably why I’m sitting here. Having their support so much has been such a blessing. But I think, yeah, my family just really knows that I’ll always stand up for myself and they’re happy for me, whatever makes me happy.
You and Jesse had gotten a lot of comments about introducing each other to your parents very quickly. Do you have any tips for other couples, situationships, etc looking to introduce each other to their families?
I think that the timelines that everyone else thinks are socially acceptable, throw it out the window. What works for you and your relationship at the end of the day is all that should really matter. All the outside voices are just outside voices. And with Jesse meeting my family, he had already asked me to meet his. So I was like, “You know what? My dad’s in town. It’s a great opportunity for you to meet mine.” Both of our families don’t really live in New York so you kind of have to take the opportunity when it presents itself. But yeah, I think just for any relationship, just do what works for you. And just let everything else kind of fade to the background … It’s funny because Jesse’s mom actually said to me, she’s like, “I am so happy that we met you because now you get to know Jesse more just through knowing us.” And I was, “Yes girl, you get it!”
The families play such a big factor. You want to know that the person you’re with gets along with your family.
Yeah, 100%. Especially because I’m so close to mine. I have this fairytale idea that, like, I want my husband to be best friends with my sister and my parents. My dad hangs out with my mom’s parents when she’s not even in town. They go for lunch. That’s what I grew up with so having that idea in my head is what I’m looking for.
What else can you tease about the rest of the season?
I’m really excited for everyone to see that kind people are not weak people and you can be really soft and sweet but you can also be really strong and set boundaries and stand up for yourself while also forgiving and knowing that kind people – don’t mess with the kind people.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
New episodes of Summer House air on Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
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