Going from strong couples within the villa to being split apart and becoming finalists in their new couple, Love Island USA Season 7 stars Iris Kendall and Jose “Pepe” Garcia-Gonzalez definitely had an unorthodox journey on the show.
Despite getting together late in the game, they made it all the way to fourth place. In their post-finale interview with Blavity’s Shadow and Act, Iris and Pepe talked about a number of topics with us, including whether they’ve talked to former partners TJ Palma and Hannah Fields, the moment it clicked that they could work as a couple, and much more.
The below interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. You can view the full video above.
Were you surprised to have made it so far in the connection, considering the fact that you both had two strong connections earlier in the competition? Did you think at any point you’d be in the finale [together]?
Iris: I honestly didn’t think that we would. I mean, I knew that we had a really good connection, and I just didn’t know how other people were seeing that. And to find out that we did make it to the finale was like, “Wow, people are seeing our connection.” That’s what I was thinking. But I definitely — I don’t think that we thought we were going to make it there.
Pepe: Yeah. I don’t think [so], just because of how quickly our official coupling up started, or how close it was to the finale, that I didn’t think it was going to [happen]. But Iris did a good job of leaving me breadcrumbs, and I didn’t pick up on them. You know what I mean?
Iris: But everyone else picked up on it.
Pepe: Yeah, and clearly, getting out of it, I’m like, “I’m an idiot,” because they just went right over my head. I had no idea she was leaving these little breadcrumbs for me to follow, and I was just walking right past them.
Bombshells who come in together later coupling up on Love Island USA is super rare. What was the point that led you both to realize this could be a thing? Because when you’re coming in together, you have eyes for the people already in the villa — not for who is coming in with you.
Pepe: I walked in, [and] I was like, “She’s beautiful. She’s very attractive.” And then we had these conversations together early on, and I was like … I mean, she’s got a great head on her shoulders, she’s got herself all figured out, and she’s an amazing woman. But like you said, you’re just like, “Well, she’s a bombshell.” So you just stick [those thoughts] in a little box and you’re like, “OK, keep going.”
But, like I said, she was leaving these breadcrumbs, and I never picked up on them until the end. I wish I would’ve picked up on them earlier.
And Iris, you were kind of put in a precarious situation by America when they paired you with Jeremiah. What were your thoughts about that immediately? Because there [was] a lot going on with Jeremiah and Huda at the time. Did you think, “Is America trying to set me up?”
Iris: When America did that, I was very confused. I had one 15-minute conversation with Jeremiah and it was like nothing. We gave each other nothing in that conversation. So when we got coupled up, I was like, “OK, did they see something? Is there something going on on the outside?” We were running through all these different types of scenarios that could possibly be the reason why. And then eventually, we were like, they were just definitely trying to split Huda and Jeremiah up. That’s really what it was. And then I was just the sacrificial lamb that they used.
And from that point on, I was just kind of like, “OK, I don’t want to be anybody’s backup anymore.” Because I did feel like a lot of people were talking to me because their connections didn’t work out. So then it kind of made me feel a little bad about myself, because I was like, “Dude, am I not doing something right here? I’m really putting myself out there.” Like in the real world, I would not go up to a guy and be like, “Hey, can I talk to you?”
Pepe: “Can I pull you for a chat?”
Iris: I would never do that in a million years. So for me to really step out of my comfort zone like that, and then just feel like I was always on the back end of everything and the second choice — it was a very tough thing for me to go through alone. And then the girls didn’t really accept me fully. So I was really by myself. And I had Pepe. Pepe was helping me through that too. I would go up to him and Jalen, and I would talk to them, and it was good that I had them to support me.
Were you shocked that the girls decided to save you? You had Hannah up there, you had Amaya — bombshells that were there a bit longer than you. Did you automatically think that you may be the one going home?
Iris: I thought so. But then I think that they started to realize that I’m not who they thought I was. They realized I’m not trying to be mean and take their man, and they saw my personality and they got to know me. And then they saw, “Damn, this girl kind of has had it rough here, and she deserves to have her experience.” And I think that’s why. At least that’s what they told me as to why they chose to save me. And yeah, from that point moving forward, I just took every day and made it count and did what I could to find the best connection for myself.
Before getting together, you both had two of the strongest connections in the villa. When TJ and Hannah were leaving, did either of you think about whether you should stay in the game and the villa [or leave]?
Pepe: Yeah, I think we both … we’ve talked about it, and I think that’s something that we were able to bond over as well. There’s a lot of things we’ve had very similar in our paths inside the villa. But yeah, you definitely are like, “What’s going on?” And you’re like …
Iris: “Is there anything left for me?”
Pepe: Yeah, “Is there anything left?” And again, it’s crazy to think where we’re at now, because in the beginning we thought about each other, and then we were like, “We can’t explore that.” And the middle … when all this was happening, we’re like, “Well, we already just said we can’t explore it.” And I just had my strong connection leave. So you’re like, “Why am I here anymore? The only person I could think about potentially exploring is Iris.” Her connection came back from Casa. I came back with another connection from Casa. Both of those left at the same time, and that’s when we were like, “Are we allowed to explore each other?”
Iris: “Can we do this? Or is this … you know?”
Pepe: Yeah, we both talked about it where it’s like, in that first conversation the next morning after that recovery … I mean, I’ve said it a million times: I always thought she was a badass girl. And I always thought she was beautiful. And she was like, “I always thought you were attractive too.”
Iris: Yeah, I always thought he was really cute. I think you thought I was not interested in you. Because we were kind of like, “Oh, what do we do?” But then toward the end, we did have really good conversations, and I think like …
Pepe: We kind of just opened up to each other. We just checked in on each other. We did that all the time throughout this. Almost — not every day — but every couple of days we’d be like, “How are you feeling? How are you doing? How’s life?” Literally like you would with any regular friend. And then finally when both our connections left, we were like, “Well, how are you feeling?” And then we just got to talking. And at that point, there weren’t that many people in the villa, so we really got to talk to each other a lot and for a long time. And that’s when I kind of realized, I was like, “Huh, she’s laying on me.” I was like, “Is she doing this for comfort?” Again, those little crumbs that she kept throwing where I was like, “Is she doing this for comfort or is she doing this because …”
Iris: She likes me.
Pepe: … she likes me. And then finally we had a conversation, and then we did the challenge. And that’s when it was like, “OK, now I think we both realize where this is going.”
Where do you see your future right now, and have you had any conversations with TJ and Hannah? Where do you see that aspect of things as well?
Iris: I at least got closure with TJ, and I expressed to him my feelings and how I feel and how I felt and what I went through in the villa and what I’m currently feeling. And I let him know all of that. And we’re good. He’s a great guy. And I’ll always have so much respect and care for him, and we’re friends. And yeah, there’s no tension or anything between any of us. And I’m friends with Hannah as well. And I’m friends with every single person that came out [from] the villa, and they’re all amazing people. Despite all the drama that happened, we all do love each other.
Pepe: We went through this crazy experience together, and we all put ourselves out there not knowing what was going to happen, and you just kind of have to respect that. I haven’t gotten to talk to Hannah yet, but definitely I reached out to her yesterday, and we just — again, we’re busy so it hasn’t gotten to happen. But yeah, just [want to] tell them how we feel and tell them, “Hey, you know what? No matter what, I want to be friends with you.” And I am enjoying my time with Iris, and we’re just going to continue to enjoy our time together until who knows what happens.
Love Island USA Season 7 is now streaming in full on Peacock. The reunion special for the season airs in August.
