Reality TV fame has been a whirlwind for Summer House newbie West Wilson. When he first came onto the scene in Season 8, well fell in love with him. By the end of the season when his romance with Ciara Miller fell apart, we all collectively got the ick at the exact same time.

Regardless of the ups and downs, West is filming another season of Summer House, and he recently opened up about trying to navigate the criticism from fans. It’s not for the faint of heart.

West had to wade through the feedback

After the Season 8 reunion aired, West got hit with a lot of criticism for how he handled his breakup with Ciara. He recently told Decider that he’s doing good now, but the level of feedback he got was initially a little overwhelming.

“Even when the show was airing, I learned every day how many people watch this show, which is more than I ever thought, and how many people have opinions about everything,” West recalled.

Of course, West’s failed situationship pales in comparison to some of the other Bravo scandals we’ve seen recently. It’s not like he crashed his car into someone’s house, scammed elderly people, or cheated on his girlfriend of eight years. He and Ciara just didn’t work out. He was afraid to commit, but he said he grew from the experience.

West said, “So, yeah, when it happened, obviously, no one’s ever really ready for anything like that. I think it would be a mistake to go through something like that and not try to reflect and take away something and learn from it and grow from it.”

With that in mind, West said coming back into the fold for Season 9 felt “pretty natural.” Despite the heated exchanges at the Season 8 reunion, he said the rest of the cast welcomed him with “open arms.” Surely, the fans will too.