Ciara Miller rents an apartment in New York City. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Ciara Miller is splitting her life between two very different worlds — a sleek, sky-high Manhattan rental and a deeply personal home in North Carolina.
And this is all while her personal life is colliding with on-screen drama that’s spilling into real life.
The One Manhattan Square resident currently shelled out about $US12,000 ($AU17k) a month for a three-bedroom, three-bath corner unit perched high above the Lower East Side waterfront, the New York Post has learned.
And the apartment leans hard into luxury: a sprawling open kitchen outfitted with high-end Miele appliances, custom finishes, wide-plank oak flooring and a spa-like primary bath with marble detailing and radiant-heated floors.
Floor-to-ceiling windows frame sweeping views of New York Harbor and the downtown skyline, while the building itself reads more like a private club than a residence — packed with amenities ranging from a saltwater pool and a Turkish hammam spa to a bowling alley, a golf simulator and even a stargazing observatory.
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It’s a glossy set-up, but the bigger move for Miller isn’t happening in Manhattan.
During a recent episode of Summer House, the model and nurse revealed she quietly secured something far more meaningful: her grandparents’ longtime home in North Carolina.
“I’m going to North Carolina this week. I’m going to go meet with an architect for my house,” she said.
“It’s my grandparents’ house. So, I bought their house from my dad and his siblings.”
The property, a three-bedroom brick ranch in Belmont near Charlotte, sits on a generous lot and comes with a classic layout, including a large rec room with a wet bar and ample living space. While the structure itself offers renovation potential, its real value to Miller isn’t cosmetic.
“I knew my grandparents’ house was going to be up for sale, and so, I’ve been prepping to do this for the past year,” she explained.
Ciara Miller bought her grandparents’ home in North Carolina. Picture: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
She purchased it for $SUS400,000 ($AU582k) last March.
For Miller, the purchase lands less like an investment play and more like a reclamation of family history.
“My grandfather built this house,” she said.
“It’s where my dad and his siblings grew up.”
That legacy shaped her childhood in a way her more transient upbringing didn’t.
“Growing up, once my parents got divorced, we probably lived in like five different houses from kindergarten to high school,” she said.
“My grandparents always just had that one house. The holidays were spent here. This is definitely the house that raised me.”
Now, she’s determined to keep it that way.
“I want it to stay in my family’s name forever,” she said.
“It’s just really special, and I can’t believe I have … saved my money, and been responsible enough, and also paid my taxes, [and] that I can buy this house and it belongs and remains in our family.”
She framed the move as something bigger than real estate altogether.
“It’s just a way of me honouring all my grandparents’ hard work, and the sacrifice that they went through to even have a home, and build a home for their family, and I hope to be able to have that with my family one day.”
That grounded, sentimental pivot comes as her personal life in New York looks anything but stable.
Summer House star West Wilson. Picture: Instagram
Off-camera, Miller was recently photographed visibly shaken outside a Hermès store after learning her close friend Amanda Batula had gone public with a relationship involving her ex-boyfriend West Wilson.
Batula and Wilson confirmed their relationship in a joint statement, writing: “We’ve seen the growing online speculation, so while this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity.
“It was never our intention to purposely hide anything. Given the complicated relationship dynamics involved and the scrutiny that comes with being on a reality show, we needed a little space to process things privately before speaking on it.”
They added: “We’ve shown up for each other as friends over the years, through all the highs and lows, and what’s developed recently was the last thing either of us expected.”
The pair described the relationship as evolving naturally, saying their “connection grew out of a genuine, longstanding friendship,” and that they wanted to “approach this with care”.
“As our feelings evolved, we wanted to take time to understand exactly what we were feeling. We also recognise that this has had an impact beyond just us and never wanted our actions to cause any hurt or be perceived as careless.”
Behind the scenes, tensions are reportedly high among the cast, with the relationship stirring backlash just as the show’s future.
* Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
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