Who Knew?! Summer House’s Lexi Wood Is the Feminist Icon We Need Right Now

There are a few signifiers that immediately let you know you’re watching Bravo’s Summer House: the most extravagant costume parties imaginable, which finish weirdly early; a front door everybody struggles to open; and relationships that viewers can tell are doomed from the start but the people in them somehow never can.

Ciara Miller was disrespected by both Austen Kroll and West Wilson, Lindsay Hubbard was first forced to make her own sandwiches by Stephen “Stravy” Traversie, then lectured about being soft by then-fiancé Carl Radke. But now, one of the most unlikely feminist icons has stepped out of the Bravosphere to say, “Uh-uh, I’m not the one.” Model, influencer and lip liner enthusiast Lexi Wood, a Summer House newbie this season, read fan favorite Jesse Solomon for filth on last week’s episode, has stuck to her guns since, and we are living for it.

Sparks flew the moment Lexi, 27, and Jesse, 31, met, and their relationship moved at breakneck speed. Right from the start, Lexi was confident and assertive, telling Jesse she wouldn’t be physical with him if he was hooking up with other people. After mulling over his feelings, Jesse proposed that they be exclusive. And then they lived happily ever after … for about three minutes.

Their roller-coaster romance weathered jealousy and Toe-gate (when Jesse drunkenly let another woman suck his toe), but the final nail in the coffin was a manicure. Yes, really.

Lexi invited Jesse over to meet her friends one evening, but he told her he was going to get his nails done instead. She thought that sounded fishy, realized that meant there was no trust, and immediately knew they were done.

As a newcomer to both the friend group and TV show, Lexi could have gone through the motions for the two remaining weekends of the summer, to avoid an awkwardness in the house. Instead, she bravely dealt with the situation head on.

The other girls in the house, gathered in the kitchen, supported her decision and understood that there is no coming back from the ick she was now experiencing. Maybe they, like some viewers, felt guilty for initially dismissing Lexi as a bit of an airhead, when it turns out she’s actually a tough woman of substance.

“I feel like you aren’t ready for the relationship I’m looking for,” Lexi told Jesse. “I just need to be with somebody that, like, I can trust without any doubt in my mind.” She finished by saying, “I feel like the light in me is slowly dying because I’m exhausted from teaching you.”

Staring at the ground, Jesse said forlornly, “Well I’m not going to fight you on it, that’s for sure.” This only seemed to confirm to Lexi that she was doing the right thing. “I didn’t think you were going to. You never do,” she replied.

It was as if she were speaking on behalf of all women, and some of us at home may have given her a standing ovation. Lexi refused to settle, to try and change someone into what she hoped he could be, or to accept behavior that was making her unhappy, just because there was a lot about the man that was right (and also, Jesse is very hot). Lexi’s inspiring speech felt like it might have changed the Bravosphere — maybe even the world. And all without smudging her lip liner.