Current:Home > StocksLove Island USA’s Nicole Jacky Sets the Record Straight on Where She and Kendall Washington Stand-LoTradeCoin
Love Island USA’s Nicole Jacky Sets the Record Straight on Where She and Kendall Washington Stand
View Date:2024-12-23 19:57:45
Spoilers for the Love Island USA season six reunion ahead.
While receiving a text is a coveted moment on Love Island USA, outside the villa Nicole Jacky has largely stayed away from her phone.
In the weeks since the July 21 season six finale, the 26-year-old, who finished fourth place alongside Kendall Washington, has admitted to struggling to navigate life after Fiji. But while many have speculated that her and Kendall’s romance didn’t make it off the island, Nicole is making it clear that’s not the case—even if things are a little complicated at the moment.
“Me and Kendall are still together,” she told E! News in an exclusive interview, “but it's been hard.”
“I think for me, the one thing I asked for in a relationship is honesty, and he hasn't been giving me that,” she continued. “So, trying to navigate like how you move forward and trust someone. And it's such a special situation too.”
Indeed, as the final four couples—which also included winners Serena Page and Kordell Beckham, runners up Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi as well as third place finishers JaNa Craig and Kenny Rodriguez—geared up to exit the villa, an explicit video of Kendall leaked online. And as Nicole revealed, she and Kendall have struggled in the wake of the devastating experience over his initial explanation—which she later learned was not true.
“I thought we were going to come out and just be super strong,” she explained. “I know there's always going be problems. I knew there were going be things said. I just wish we both could have handled it with honesty together.”
At the reunion, which aired Aug. 19, Nicole called out the “f--ked up” leak and emphasized the “nobody deserves that.” However, she took issue with what Kendall telling her it was a video from years ago, only for her to learn from costar JaNa just days later that it was filmed in a hotel right before he entered the villa.
For his part, Kendall took ownership of the situation. “I 100 percent should have been honest with Nicole in that moment,” he told his fellow islanders and host Ariana Madix at the reunion, “but I honestly wasn’t ready. Literally, my life was turned upside down.”
Reflecting on how he “couldn’t talk to his family” about what he was going through in the wake of the video leak, he told Nicole that simply hadn’t known what to say. And amid the emotional back and forth, Kendall expressed frustration for how their dynamic halted in the wake of the video.
“I’ve been trying so hard for us,” he told Nicole. “That’s why I hate this f--king s--t happened and it led to this domino effect of us not being able to communicate.”
To which Nicole, who spoke about feeling like she was getting heat on social media over their status, responded, “This just puts me in such a f--ked position because I care about you too and I love you. And people are questioning that.”
But while the duo is still trying to find their footing together following a rocky return to the real world, Nicole told E! she sees it going one of two ways.
“It's either going make us really, really strong,” she said pointedly, “or it's going to break us.”
The Love Island USA season six reunion is streaming now on Peacock.
(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (6)
Related
- Keke Palmer Says Ryan Murphy “Ripped” Into Her Over Scream Queens Schedule
- Revenge's Emily VanCamp and Josh Bowman Expecting Baby No. 2
- Raise a Glass to Pedro Pascal's Drunken SAG Awards 2024 Speech
- See which stars went barefoot, Ayo Edebiri's Beyoncé moment and more SAG fashion wows
- Quincy Jones laid to rest at private family funeral in Los Angeles
- AP VoteCast: Takeaways from the early Republican primary elections
- South Carolina primary exit polls for the 2024 GOP election: What voters said as they cast their ballots
- Wake Forest fans collide with Duke star Kyle Filipowski while storming court
- Groups seek a new hearing on a Mississippi mail-in ballot lawsuit
- Did Utah mom Kouri Richins poison her husband, then write a children's book on coping with grief?
Ranking
- UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight card, odds, how to watch, date
- Oppenheimer wins top prize at Screen Actors Guild Awards
- MLB free agent rumors drag into spring but no need to panic | Nightengale's Notebook
- Air Force member in critical condition after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in DC
- Amazon launches an online discount storefront to better compete with Shein and Temu
- Atlanta Hawks All-STar Trae Young to have finger surgery, out at least four weeks
- What caused the AT&T outage? Company's initial review says it wasn't a cyberattack
- The next sports power couple? Livvy Dunne's boyfriend Paul Skenes is top MLB prospect
Recommendation
-
Kristin Cavallari's Ex Mark Estes Jokingly Proposed to This Love Island USA Star
-
Kelly Clarkson, Oprah Winfrey and More Stars Share Candid Thoughts on Their Weight Loss Journeys
-
John Wooden stamp unveiled at UCLA honoring the coach who led Bruins to a record 10 national titles
-
Man found guilty in trans woman's killing after first federal gender-based hate crime trial
-
Judge recuses himself in Arizona fake elector case after urging response to attacks on Kamala Harris
-
NASCAR Atlanta race Feb. 2024: Start time, TV, streaming, lineup for Ambetter Health 400
-
Margot Robbie Has New Twist on Barbie With Black and Pink SAG Awards Red Carpet Look
-
Jon Hamm and Wife Anna Osceola Turn 2024 SAG Awards into Picture Perfect Date Night