'Summer House' stars Stephen McGee and Lindsay Hubbard tease a more 'vulnerable' second season
Someone grab the rosé, because "Summer House" is officially back!
The hit Bravo reality series returns for its second season on January 22, and it's going to look a little bit different. For one, season 1 housemates Cristina Gibson, Everett Weston and Jaclyn Schuman aren't returning, while Ashley Wirkus will be in and out (she moved to California with her husband). Replacing them are Kyle Cooke's girlfriend Amanda Batula, Danielle Olivera and Amit Neuman.
In addition to new housemates and a new location (goodbye Montauk, hello Water Mill!), returning housemates Stephen McGee and Lindsay Hubbard told AOL Entertainment during a recent sit-down interview that viewers should expect them to get a bit more "vulnerable" this season. Some of that may be rosé-induced honesty, but it's mostly due to increased comfort in front of the camera for McGee and Hubbard's more open mentality (she's single this summer!).
Read our conversation, which has been edited and condensed, with "Summer House" stars Stephen McGee and Lindsay Hubbard below to find out what we can expect from their new housemates, their summertime love lives and, yes, which one of Stephen's many one-liners he hears about the most.
See the "Summer House" season 2 cast:
There are a lot of differences between the first and second seasons of "Summer House" -- the cast, the location, who's single and who's not -- what were the things you felt were most important to change coming out of the first season?
Stephen McGee: We all came into the first season with careers and things on the line, and we were as honest as we felt like being at that time. Everything was honest, but in this new season we’re very vulnerable and we really put ourselves out there. We really lost a lot of the walls that we kind of started to chip away at on season one.
Lindsay Hubbard: People open up more on season 2. Like Stephen said, being vulnerable is something that is relatable and that needed to be shown more. As much as we know each other personally, America doesn’t really know us personally, so in order for them to understand us better and understand why we act the way we act, we needed to be a little more open.
Obviously there was some dead weight in the house, and that will never change -- there’s always going to be dead weight, it’s just a matter of figuring out who that is -- [and I] can’t necessarily that changed this season.
Stephen: That’s the same whether you’re on a show or not, though! You’re always going to have someone who you’re like, 'What are you doing for me? What are you bringing to the table?' We’re supposed to be having fun!
What did it take to be more vulnerable? More comfort in front of the cameras?
Lindsay: I’m just a very open person. I’m an open book -- take me as I am! As a publicist, you would think I would be more closed-off, but I’m as vulnerable as possible. You see my every emotion, and that’s not a conscious decision. Obviously alcohol plays a big factor in my emotions coming out, but it was still natural. [Laughs]
Stephen: Coming into the house last summer, I didn’t know that many people very well. Even aside from what we were experiencing overall, I was also meeting a bunch of new people, and I am a guarded person, so I keep a lot close to my heart. This summer I think everyone knows me very well. Even when I’m trying to hide stuff, they know.
Talk to me about the new housemates this season. What can you tell us about them?
Stephen: With Amanda coming in -- we did get to know her last summer -- getting to know her as a person is very different than getting to know her with Kyle. When you’re doing both at the same time, it can be very conflicting.
Lindsay: You guys were introduced to her last summer as Kyle’s kind-of-ex, and now she’s his full-blown girlfriend. For Amanda, her goal this summer is to just figure out who she is in her relationship and as an individual. It's definitely difficult.
We love Danielle, and she is very much the spice you need to just bring happiness and something different to the house.
Stephen: To be honest, I am worried about Danielle. I’m like, ‘Who is this person with their opinion?’ But we go through a lot during the summer. And, listen, I had only met Danielle one time before that first day in the house, and I’m still looking out for Lauren [who is also Carl's ex]. She’s my friend.
Lindsay: Same. I’ve known Danielle very socially for years in the City and the Hamptons, but you don’t actually know someone [very well] that way.
Stephen: The thing about Danielle is that she has done Hamptons share houses for full summers many times. She comes into this knowing what she’s doing, and she had an opinion from day one. So you warm up to it, or you don’t.
Lindsay: And then there’s Amit. Amit is an nomad, and he’s very confusing. For most of the summer we’re just trying to understand him and where he’s coming from. He’s definitely a wildcard.
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A big change for you, Lindsay, this season is that you're single, after having been in a relationship all last season. Did that change your approach to the show?
Lindsay: Well, how is it in someone else’s life, you know? You break up, you take your time to mourn the loss when you’re first getting used to being single and then you’re trying to move on. This summer I was just trying to move on, but at the same time you still have that person in the back of your mind.
Everett and I also share a lot of mutual friends, so it’s not like we don’t ever see each other. It’s not easy! It’s a struggle, but at the end of the day I think "Single Lindsay" isn’t necessarily trying to have a one night stand, but it’s about, ‘Who am I as an individual? Let me get back to fun, independent, easygoing Lindsay that Stephen met when we first met.’
Stephen: People are going to see a different Lindsay than they saw last summer. [Turning to Lindsay] You put so much more energy into the people around you now that you aren’t in a relationship.
Lindsay: [To Stephen] Thank you! And that’s a good point. When I am in a relationship, it’s not necessarily that I forget all my friends, but it’s more that I’m so giving in a relationship that I put that person before me and before anyone else, so that that person is doing the best that they possibly can be doing in life.
Stephen, it looks like from the season trailer that you also meet someone. What can you tell us about the developments we'll see in your love life?
Stephen: Last summer, my dating life was not pretty. [Laughs] But, going into this summer, I find out a lot about myself, and I deal with a lot that I have put behind me, and I am grateful to my friends who were there through the experience of me dealing with my parents and my family and my upbringing. Through that, I was able to give myself to other people, and what happens this season with my love life is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.
Lindsay: Stephen’s struggle -- especially when he finds someone that he really likes or might want to take it to the next level with -- there’s a hole or a void in his heart of, ‘I can’t share this with my family and that sucks.’ So, this season you might see him trying to overcome those obstacles.
Stephen: I definitely learned to love myself more than I learned to love anyone else. But that has changed my life. In breaking the fourth wall, what this opportunity has given to me has been to scream all of the feelings that I’ve kept inside for my whole life, and that has been very powerful for me. [Getting emotional] To be able to share this -- for myself and also to give it to other people is powerful.
%shareLinks-quote="What happens this season with my love life is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me." type="quote" author="Stephen McGee on 'Summer House'" authordesc=""%
Switching gears a bit, you're beloved for your amazing confessionals and one-liners on the show. Which lines do people repeat back to you the most?
Stephen: I always have to apologize! The one that comes back to me all the time is, ‘Oh, you made out? Let me know when you guys f-ck!’ That’s the one that comes back all the time. Honestly, when we’re filming these confessionals I really just speak what I’m feeling and some of the things I say surprise even me.
Lindsay, you're sharing a room with Lauren this summer. Should we expect roommate drama or does it bring you closer?
Lindsay: Lauren’s one of my best friends, and it’s exciting to go back to having a roommate, because I live by myself [in the City] now. But, at the same time, I’m single! If I want to bring a guy home and I have a roommate now, it’s kind of like, ‘What the f-ck!?’ Not like I’m going out slaying guys, but…
Stephen: Between Lauren and Lindsay and Danielle, they always had a place in my bed if one of them brought someone home.
How has your experience on "Summer House" changed your life? Has it changed anything?
Stephen: I honestly don’t think that much has changed in my life. If anything, I’m more paranoid. But it’s given me a new appreciation for living your life honestly and not giving a f-ck what other people think. At the end of the day, if you feel happy with what you've done, then that’s all that matters. If you’re having millions of people watch it and you can still say that, then you you feel pretty good about yourself.
Lindsay: I agree with that message. It’s like, ‘Take me or leave me!’ If you feel something and you say it, more likely than not, people probably agree with what you’re saying.
Season 2 of "Summer House" premieres on Monday, January 22 at 10 p.m. EST
RELATED: See photos from the first season of "Summer House":
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