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Love Island USA season 7 alums Pepe Garcia and Iris Kendall have ended their relationship, the reality star confirmed on Thursday, August 28. "Iris and I are not together anymore. That's just the way it goes," said Pepe, 27, during an interview with TMZ.
The couple, who finished fourth on the Peacock dating series, met during the seventh season in Fiji, entering the villa as bombshells and quickly shaking up existing connections. Despite their efforts to continue the romance outside the villa, the pressures of being in the public eye appear to have contributed to their split. "It's a tough thing when there's a lot of eyes on you 24/7. It's stressful. Being in the limelight isn't always the best thing in the world," Pepe explained.
Online speculation about infidelity followed the breakup, but Pepe denied all rumours. "I like to say, my friends and family, or the people that support me, they know who I am as a person. And that's honesty. That's the biggest, the most important thing," he said. He also emphasized, "You win some, you lose some. You're not gonna win and you're not always gonna be right in everyone's opinion. Everybody's got their opinion."
Pepe, who has been focusing on other pursuits since the split, added, "Right now, it's just focusing on the present. Focusing on the next steps, the next opportunities and the next things I wanna do." Among his upcoming plans, Pepe mentioned participating in a basketball game with Justin Bieber on August 28.
The breakup followed weeks of social media hints. On August 24, fans noticed that Iris and Pepe were no longer following each other on Instagram, and Iris had removed all posts featuring Pepe. Amid the speculation, she shared a few posts on her Instagram Stories, including a sunset photo paired with Fleetwood Mac's "Silver Springs," which fans interpreted as a nod to the song's famous breakup theme.
During the pre-taped season 7 reunion on August 25, Pepe and Iris suggested that their relationship was still progressing. They discussed their differing views on dating, with Pepe emphasizing a more casual approach while Iris preferred a clearer, more formal definition of their connection.
Pepe and Iris are not the only season 7 couple to part ways. Earlier, winners Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales confirmed their breakup, with Amaya saying that they were on two different journeys.
Love Island USA season 7 can be streamed on Peacock.
