Carl Radke Says Lindsay Hubbard's Drinking Did 'Matter' to Their Relationship's Success (Exclusive)

The 'Summer House' star tells PEOPLE his partner's relationship with alcohol plays a role "as someone who's sober and is committing to a lifetime of not drinking"

In January, Carl Radke celebrated three years sober, a milestone he’s admitted he almost didn't reach amid his breakup with Lindsay Hubbard.

Hubbard, known for her love of rosé and getting “activated,” supported Radke, 39, by giving up drinking in their early days of dating. But Hubbard, 37, resumed drinking when Summer House started filming season 7 in summer 2022.

As for whether Hubbard’s alcohol consumption and her actions while drinking influenced Radke ending his engagement with the publicist last summer, “there's a lot of layers to it,” he tells PEOPLE. “A relationship encompasses a lot more things besides just drinking.”

Related: Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard Were Like 'Volcanoes' Pre-Split, Erupting into 'Big Fights' (Exclusive)

Still, Radke admits that alcohol will always play a factor in any of his relationships.

“As someone who's sober and is committing to a lifetime of not drinking, the person I am with and their relationship with alcohol, it does matter,” the entrepreneur says.

Radke and Hubbard will enter the Hamptons house with their castmates on Thursday’s episode after being in Washington, D.C. during the Summer House premiere. Radke promises viewers will understand why their relationship unfolded when they watch the show.

“There were things that were always right there in front of us, that always were a constant conversation, and things we needed to work on and understand better about each other,” Radke says. “There are things you'll see that had happened before the summer started, but then happened again during the summer. Finances, career, that's always going to be conversation, regardless of where you're at, but those were definitely topics that came up this summer.”

Also during summer 2023, Radke saw his friendship with Kyle Cooke return to a good place after the two longtime friends stopped working together at Loverboy. Radke even decided to rejoin Cooke’s beverage brand to launch the company’s non-alcoholic offering.

“When I left last year, I felt like it was best for me to take a step back from the day-to-day, full-time job that I had been doing for the last few years,” Radke says. “I was still on the sidelines, cheering them on. I'm still an investor. I still have a piece of the company, because I'm so proud of what we've built, and I'm proud of the work we put in. I've always liked to try to leave a company in the right way.”

A few weeks into the summer, Cooke, 41, handed Radke Loverboy’s non-alcoholic tea and “I was like, ‘Wow,’” Radke recalls. “That was the start of the conversation about me getting back involved.”

Radke says he doesn’t “want to turn my back on the non-alcoholic opportunities” because he’s “really struggled to find non-alcoholic products that I like” in recent years.

“Just because you don't drink doesn't mean you can't have fun,” Radke continues. “Just because you don't drink doesn't mean you can't have something that also is healthy for you, too. I just love what we're building.”

Radke returned to Loverboy not as the vice president of sales, the role he previously held, but with a sole focus on the non-alcoholic teas.

“It gives me a lot of purpose and a lot of focus because I am very public about not drinking and my journey, but now I've got another layer to it,” he says. “I actually have something I can offer to people — whether it's a mental health event, or a sobriety event, I've got something now that I can bring to the table. The whole Loverboy non-alc thing, it's been amazing. I'm very passionate about it, and I feel like we're hitting our stride right now with what we're doing.”

Radke has also relied heavily on Cooke after calling off his wedding to Hubbard.

“Kyle's been a big supporter,” Radke says. “He knows the nuances of being in the public eye, and of the pressure of all the social media stuff that goes on. He also knows me and Lindsay very well, and I think equally he was very saddened, but just wanting to be supportive of the both of us.”

Related: Carl Radke Doesn't Think It's 'Fair' to Date While Tying Up 'Entanglements' with Ex Lindsay Hubbard (Exclusive)

Radke calls Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay “a great support and a great friend” as well, along with his mom and his stepdad. The Syracuse University grad says he “leaned heavily on the sober community,” too.

While the world watches his relationship with Hubbard unravel on screen, Radke says he'll be “really trying to improve myself, take better care of me, save some money, work on my career, spend time with my family and focus on the friendships that I have right in front of me.”

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Summer House season 8 airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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