Photo: Jocelyn Prescod/Peacock
Spoilers ahead for the Love Island USA reunion.
Despite closing the villa, more bombshells continue to enter the Love Island USA reunion. Finalists Nicole Jacky and Kendall Washington are still together after leaving the reality bubble, but it may burst sometime soon. During the reunion, host Ariana Madix asked them about the status of their relationship, and while the couple admitted they were still together, it turned into a full-on argument between them. Nicole explained, “I haven’t ended things; we’re still together.” Kendall added, “It’s been a bit tough coming on the outside. Just trying to communicate and work (through) things.” However, communication must’ve been a sore subject because the word is really what got things going. Nicole shot back, “Communicate? You have not been communicating. You never have been.” Then, Kendall alluded to the couple trying to have some “space” from each other; Nicole cut him off to exclaim, “After you lied to my face?”
It seems like the underlying problems in their relationship might’ve been caused by the revenge porn video of Kendall that leaked on the day of the finale. “I just want to say something. Obviously, the video is not OK. Nobody deserves that. Everybody in this room can agree it’s fucked up,” Nicole shared. “However, I think if you say you love somebody in the moment, when you’re telling me about something, you need to be honest. Instead of saying it’s from years ago to someone you trusted — an ex-girlfriend — and then I find out two days later from JaNa that it was in the hotel room before you go on the show to someone on a dating app is crazy.” Kendall regretted not telling her the “full truth” on the matter. He responded, “I 100% should’ve been honest with Nicole in that moment, but I honestly wasn’t ready. My life was turned upside down and all I wanted to do was to have you there.”
Nicole then got emotional, claiming she took “a lot of heat” for not speaking out about the videos to protect him. The other islanders began defending Kendall, trying to explain to her that he was going through a lot with the video leaks and to give him some grace. After the reunion aired, the couple has not clarified their relationship status further.
