Carl Radke vividly recalls Erika Kirk’s first appearance on Bravo.
“I remember everything about it. I didn’t know her as ‘Erika Kirk’ back then. She wasn’t with [Charlie Kirk] at that time,” Carl, 41, shared in a conversation with Variety on June 9. “She was involved in activities around New York. I met her along with her brunette friend, who was also on the double date,” he explained.
In 2019, Erika, now 37, made a brief appearance in a season 3 episode of Summer House. During this episode, Carl played matchmaker by introducing her to his housemate, Jordan Verroi.
“[Erika] was interested in setting me up with her friend, but I suggested she should meet my friend, Jordan. So we arranged for them to go on a couple of dates,” Carl recounted. “I was trying to set them up! It’s quite a crazy story looking back.”
Recently, Erika Kirk (née Frantzve), the wife of the late Charlie Kirk, has been thrust into the spotlight following his passing. However, devoted Bravo fans might recall her from a different context. Erika’s brief appearance on Summer House has resurfaced through a viral TikTok video, allowing fans to relive the moment.
Carl also claimed that he was “advised to not really talk about” Erika’s Bravo history.
“It doesn’t have to deal with me,” he stated. “But all roads lead to Bravo.”
Erika, who has never publicly discussed her brief appearance on Summer House, married Charlie in 2021. The conservative activist was shot and killed in September 2025 at the age of 31. Along with Erika, Charlie is survived by the couple’s two children.
Erika Kirk. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
In the wake of Charlie’s death, Erika took over his duties as the CEO of Turning Point USA.
“I didn’t ask for this. It’s, obviously, a blessing,” she stated of becoming a working mom during a CBS News town hall in December 2025. “I view it as a blessing [and] a duty to my husband, but I was very happy being a stay-at-home mom. There’s nothing wrong with being a mother. There’s actually [no] more beautiful and emotional and powerful ‘job title’ if you will [than] being a mother.”
Summer House’s Carl Radke and Kyle Cooke’s reality TV bromance has been going strong since 2016 — but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Fans met the duo when Summer House premiered in 2017 after filming the prior summer. Carl eventually came to work for Kyle at Loverboy in 2019, which Kyle founded one year […]
She continued, “For me, I experienced what it was like living in New York and experiencing that ‘boss babe’ culture. When I met Charlie and we had our babies, I was in it. That was all hands on deck. I would take that world in a heartbeat. Stepping into this role is not so much a job title. It’s not a 9-to-5 for me [and] this is something that I’m very passionate about. [Turning Point USA] is still a living, breathing version of my husband.”
Erika further stated that Turning Point is “not just a company” to her.
“The staff and employees are not just staff and employees, they’re family,” she said. “For me, it’s a lot different and a lot deeper than a career. This is very personal.”