Love Island USA Season 6 finalists Kendall Washington and Nicole Jacky have officially broken up.
This comes just about one day after a public dispute between the couple aired during the Love Island Season 6 reunion special Monday night on Peacock.
What Nicole Jacky said about her breakup with Kendall Washington
Jacky was the first to announce their split on her Instagram Story, revealing that Washington broke up with her earlier in the day on Tuesday.
She wrote, “On August 18th, Kendall and I agree our relationship was worth working on, and we were making plans for me to visit him in Dallas soon. However, on today, on August 20th, he called and ended things,” she wrote. “While I understand an respect his decision, it’s hard to process this one. I opened up to him in the villa, and still love and care for him now. I’m struggling mentally and all I ask for is privacy during this time.”
Kendall Washington speaks out on his breakup with Nicole Jacky
Minutes after Jacky posted on her Instagram Story, Washington followed up with a post of his own. He wrote, “I have decided to end things with Nicole. It reached a point where it was not healthy for us to continue the relationship. I still love and care for Nicole. I’ve never developed such strong feelings for a woman in my life. I have no regrets for the connection I made with her in the villa and it was real.”
He asked fans to not send any hate her way, adding, “She does not deserve any hate. Please stop with the negative comments/DM’s. We’re taking this time to focus on our mental health. Thank you guys.”
How fans reacted to the ordeal before their official announcement
Washington’s request for no hate to be sent toward Jacky comes after she was heavily critiqued by fans during the reunion for bringing up and discussing the leak of his private videos. She was upset that he lied about when the videos were recorded. He told her initially they were leaked by an ex-girlfriend but they were actually leaked by someone he was talking to on an app while sequestering before the season. Many fans thought that Jacky should not have brought it up at the reunion and that she was making herself the victim when Washington was the one who had his videos leaked.
What they said about their future when the season first ended
Blavity’s Shadow and Act chatted with the couple right after Season 6 ended, and both were optimistic about their future together at the time.
Jacky said, “I think at first, at least for me, just getting my phone back and coming to realizations about how big this all is and how crazy it’s been for all of us. Just being patient and not putting too much pressure on anything. And I want to see how me and Kendall can do together. I think this is the big test coming outside. We always say that. And I’m just excited to do things with him, like go to the movies, go to restaurant, all the stuff you don’t get to do in the villa. And try and do as much as we can before the reunion because it’s not that much time.”
“Yeah, [we’re going to go] film for the reunion– but again, just do life together,” Washington added. “How it is without all the noise inside the villa and being in that close environment. Just being open with each other on the outside, getting to know each other’s families, real life in person, and just taking it from there. But we’re excited.”
Love Island Season 6 is streaming in its entirety on Peacock. It has been renewed for Season 7 next year, and the spinoff Love Island Games is also returning.