Love Island USA's Kendall Washington and Nicole Jacky Split After Tense Reunion Episode: 'It Was Not Healthy'

Love Island USA‘s Kendall Washington and Nicole Jacky have called it quits.

On Tuesday, Aug. 20, the day after the Love Island USA reunion episode was released on Peacock, Nicole announced via Instagram Stories that she and Kendall had split two days after they decided to give their relationship another go.

“Today, on August 20th, he called and ended things,” she wrote. “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 l ask for is privacy during this time.”

Kendall also posted that he and Nicole had “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 continued.

“She does not deserve any hate,” he wrote. “Please stop with the negative comments/DM’s. We’re taking this time to focus on our mental health. Thank you guys.”

After placing fourth in the July 21 season 6 finale, Kendall and Nicole’s phones were returned to them and they discovered leaked private videos of Kendall had surfaced while they were in the villa.

Kendall quickly released a statement on his Instagram Stories. “What a way to get my phone back y’all,” he wrote. “I just want to address the content that came out from my past, that was something I shared to someone in confidence and trust.”

“It’s unfortunate that it’s no longer private but it is what it is,” he later added.

After Kendall addressed the video, he and Nicole were noticeably distant from each other on social media. Fans began to wonder if they were still a couple. Kendall revealed on the July 30 episode of Nick Viall’s The Viall Files podcast that they were still together but were working on things.

On Aug. 2, Nicole released her own statement and alluded to the video leak.

“While Love Island was an amazing experience, things have not been easy since leaving the villa,” she wrote in her Instagram Stories. “There’s much more to share on what has happened since coming home, and for now, I’ve been taking time to process – these are real feelings and my real life,” she continued before concluding with a message of gratitude to her fans for “understanding.”

The couple publicly reunited during the season 6 reunion, which dropped on Monday, Aug. 19. The episode provided insight into the couple’s initial reaction to the videos.

During the reunion, host Ariana Madix asked them about the status of their relationship, and Kendall replied that they’ve had some “space.”

However, Nicole quickly interjected and said she learned from fellow cast member JaNa Craig that the person who released the video was someone from a dating app — not an ex, as Kendall had told her — and Kendall sent it to them days before he went to Fiji for the show.

As a result, an argument unfolded, with Kendall apologizing to Nicole for not telling her the “full truth.”

“I 100 percent should’ve been honest with Nicole in that moment, but I honestly wasn’t ready. My life was turned upside down, and all I wanted to do was to have you there,” Kendall told her.

As he continued, Nicole remarked that she’s since taken “a lot of heat” for not addressing the videos, which she explained was to protect Kendall. Several cast members came to Kendall’s defense, asking Nicole to give Kendall some grace with his reaction to the difficult situation. 

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At the end of their conversation, Nicole said that she and Kendall are still together before adding, “even though he let the whole world think we’re not together.”

“All I want to do is mend the lie that I said to you to start that went into this whole s— show the last couple of weeks,” Kendall said. He noted that he should have made a statement to social media on behalf of Nicole. 

Madix then asked if Nicole still wanted to be with Kendall. She said she does, but “there’s a lot of conversations to be had.”

Love Island USA is available to stream on Peacock.