“Love Island USA” stars Kendall Washington and Nicole Jacky are still going strong after his “private” videos leaked on social media in tandem with Sunday’s Season 6 finale.
The couple — who placed fourth on Peacock’s hit dating competition series — chatted with Pvnew’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” after leaving the villa, teasing what’s to come for them on the outside and the possibility of marriage.
“I am dating to marry. I take this seriously,” Washington, 27, asserts before joking, “I’m getting very old.”
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The medical sales rep — who told Jacky, 26, he loved her in the final episode, though she did not reciprocate — tells “Virtual Reali-Tea” that he was in a “panic and a sweat” when sharing his feelings during their romantic one-on-one date in Fiji.
“Yes, I dropped the L-bomb … but I’m so glad I did because that’s truly how I feel about this girl,” he explains. “She means the world to me, so that’s why I cannot wait for us to experience life together on the outside.”
While Jacky isn’t ready to tell Washington she loves him just yet, she admitted to “falling in love” with him during an emotional onscreen speech following her partner’s admission.
The brunette beauty, who is also a medical sales rep, says she appreciates Washington being patient with her and understanding that she doesn’t take the L-word lightly.
“I’ve said ‘I love you’ twice in my life now. And it was always after someone had said it, and I think I maybe said it too early or when I didn’t mean it,” she explains. “I think I got hurt; I ended up hurting people because of it.”
Jacky understands that the “Love Island USA” experience is designed to accelerate relationships but was still shellshocked by Washington’s profession.
“It just moves really fast in there, and I know what I signed up for, but it just really scared the s—t out of me when Kendall said it. I wasn’t ready, but I know my feelings for him, and I just told him, ‘I wanna say this on my time,’” she recounts.
“I don’t want to say it back just to say it back. [It’s] scary stuff, but I’ve trying to be open and vulnerable and give it a chance, and I think it’s paying off very well.”
Jacky made herself particularly vulnerable when telling Washington — and viewers — about surviving abuse in a previous relationship, which in turn has made her guarded at times.
“I know what I’ve been through in my past, and that’s no one else’s burden to bear, but the fact that he wouldn’t try to change me or want me to act differently, I think spoke volumes,” she says.
“Those toxic relationships when you’re younger are really hard to go through. But I think I learned so much from it. I don’t want that to define who I am moving forward and how I love. I didn’t want it to keep affecting me. It was really hard and scary, but I’m grateful for ‘Love Island’ and I’m grateful for Kendall, too.”
The lovebirds’ sweet sentiments for one another came just hours after NSFW clips of Washington hit the internet.
After getting his phone back, the hunky “Islander” addressed the situation via his Instagram Story.
“What a way to get my phone back y’all
