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Louise Thomas
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Love Island USA’s season six finalists Nicole Jacky and Kendall Washington have officially called it quits less than a week after filming the reunion special in New York.
Jacky, 26, and Washington, 27, found love in Fiji this summer, sticking together for weeks in the Love Island villa before becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. However, their honeymoon period was short-lived once they opened their phones and returned to the real world. Since the July 21 finale, which saw thousands of viewers tune in to find out which couple was crowned the 2024 winners, Jacky and Washington have been on shaky ground, leading fans to question whether they were still together going into the reunion.
During the August 14 reunion taping, Jacky made it clear Washington and her were still a couple, though their communication hasn’t been great. Five days later, the pair split.
Jacky took to her Instagram story to share: “On August 18th, Kendall and I agreed our relationship was worth working on, and we were making plans for me to visit him in Dallas soon.
“However, today, on August 20th, he called and ended things,” she continued. “While I understand and 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.”
Meanwhile, Washington posted a statement of his own on Instagram. “I have decided to end things with Nicole,” he started.
“It reached a point where it was not healthy for us to continue a relationship. I still love and care for Nicole. I’ve never developed such strong feelings for a woman in my life,” Washington wrote. “I have no regrets for the connection I made with her in the villa and it was real.
“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,” he finished.
At the reunion, Jacky and Washington opened up to their fellow islanders and host Ariana Madix, sharing the points of contention that have arisen since touching down back home. When asked how the couple was doing, neither spoke for a few moments. Jacky then called Washington out for “not communicating” and lying to her.
When Washington got a hold of his phone after the finale wrapped, he was greeted by a horrific violation of privacy – his sexually explicit images and videos had been leaked on the internet. According to Jacky, Washington was not truthful about the leaked footage, confessing he’d sent them to an ex-girlfriend months ago when he’d really sent them from the hotel room just before going into the villa. What’s more, Washington reportedly shared them with someone he’d been talking to from a dating app.
Jacky said: “Obviously, the video is not okay. 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,” she said to Washington during the reunion.
Washington went on to apologize for not being honest from the beginning with Jacky and explained that he didn’t know what to do or say because his life was “turned upside down.”
Washington, in the weeks before the reunion, joined The Bachelor alum Nick Viall on his podcast to dish about the status of his relationship. Jacky did not speak to anyone before. Yet, her tell-all episode of TheViall Files is scheduled to drop on August 21, the day after Washington broke up with her.
