Why Isn't Silas Cooper on This Season of 'Summer House: Martha's Vineyard'?

Why would anyone want to leave their summer house? Sure, when it’s not summer, you might not want to be there, but when it’s beautiful and warm and you have a summer home, why would you ever leave?

In maybe the least controversial reason for a cast member not being included in a new season of a reality show, Silas Cooper's absence from Season 2 of Summer House: Martha's Vineyard is nothing but patriotic.

According to Bravo, Silas is absent from cable television because he’s an active officer in the U.S. Army’s 77th Sustainment Brigade. He’s currently in Eastern Europe for a 10-month deployment.

In the Season 2 premiere, his wife Jasmine Cooper said, “Being a military family, it’s always on the table that you will actually go overseas and serve. I think I need my friends now more than ever because I need that support.”

In a July 11, 2023, essay titled "Finding love on Martha’s Vineyard” for The Martha’s Vineyard Times, Silas wrote a love letter to the island, his wife, and his country. The letter begins, “My love story began on this Island. Maybe it was the touch of warm sand on Inkwell Beach or the sweet aroma from the Fourth of July cookout, but the love of this place that felt like home gave me courage. Courage to overlook the butterflies and ask the woman I was falling in love with to be my girlfriend.”

Silas's absence from both Summer House: Martha's Vineyard and the island itself is explained later in the piece. “My love for the Island had begun many summers before. And for the first time in eight years, I will be unable to make my annual trip to Martha’s Vineyard. My unit is being deployed to assist our NATO allies in Europe. And in less than five days, I will report for duty. On the week of July Fourth, I see this journey as an expression of another kind of love.”

Silas closes the piece by explaining his pride in the U.S. “As a first-generation American, my love started long before my family and I were privileged to leave a refugee camp and arrive at a place that offered an opportunity in exchange for hard work. My view of patriotism is proactive, it leads a young college student to pursue a career in education, a working single mother to fight for equal pay and affordable childcare, and first responders to put their lives in harm’s way to protect their neighbors.”

In addition to appearing in Season 2 of Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard, Jasmine is also a new mother. Her son, named after his dad, Silas “Si” Geplay Cooper Jr., was born on Feb. 22, 2024. Jasmine announced the birth and shared photos on Instagram. Unfortunately, Silas is still in the middle of his deployment and wasn't able to be present at the birth of his namesake.

Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard Season 2 continues on Bravo on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. EST. The show is available to stream the next day on Peacock. Season 1 is also available on Peacock.