Are 'Love Island USA' Season 7 Stars Iris Kendall and Pepe Garcia Still Together?
The friends-turned-lovers have unfinished business with their villa exes.
Spoilers for all of Love Island USA season 7 ahead. Love Island USA, the inescapable reality TV hit of the summer, came to an end on July 13. After six weeks of dating and drama, the memorable season 7 cast was pared down to just four remaining couples: winners Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales, Olandria Carthen and Nic Vansteenberghe (a.k.a. Nicolandria), Huda Mustafa and Chris Seeley, and Iris Kendall and Jose "Pepe" Garcia.
Of the four couples, L.A. influencer Iris and former pro basketball player Pepe had the least time together as a couple, as they spent the rest of the season exploring other connections. However, fans are wondering whether their strong friendship could continue building into love outside of the villa. Below, read on for a breakdown of Iris and Pepe's time on Love Island USA, including whether the pair is still together after the show.
Iris and Pepe (center) dance during the finale. Also pictured: Huda and Chris (left); Nic and Olandria (right).
What happened between Iris and Pepe on 'Love Island USA' season 7?
Iris Kendall and Pepe Garcia entered the Love Island USA villa at the same time, joining as bombshells in the second week alongside Jalen Brown. Even though Iris, a 25-year-old L.A. native and spray-tan artist, seemed most interested in Ace Greene and Nic Vansteenberghe, viewers soon voted for her to couple up with Jeremiah Brown, solely to break up his toxic relationship with Huda Mustafa. Jeremiah and Iris didn't seem to go any deeper than friendship vibes, but he did choose to couple up with her again to make a statement that he and Huda were done. This means Iris's initial season 7 journey was mostly sacrificed to the drama, until guest host Megan thee Stallion brought in a new bombshell, TJ Palma.
Meanwhile, Madrid-born former pro athlete Pepe, 27, also found himself in a love triangle upon arriving in the villa. He spoke with Amaya Espinal and Cierra Ortega early on and seemed to get along with each of the women, but he had instant physical chemistry with Hannah Fields. Hannah was torn between him and Charlie Georgiou, but after giving it some thought, she decided to focus on Charlie. Literally minutes later, host Ariana Madix revealed that America had voted for Pepe to couple up with Hannah, and Charlie was subsequently dumped from the island.
Hannah had a serious crash-out over Charlie's sudden departure, but this is a reality dating show, so she was soon able to pick herself up and begin building a solid connection with Pepe. However, after a week as a couple (which is a month in Love Island time), both Pepe and Hannah were voted in the bottom 6 for America's favorite Islanders. The safe men of the villa saved Pepe and dumped Jeremiah, but the women chose to dump Hannah instead of Amaya or Iris. So now, Pepe was left single as a solid couple was torn apart.
Iris and Pepe cuddle in the villa.
Fast-forward through Casa Amor week, and Pepe and Iris were still on separate Love Island journeys. Pepe had coupled up with Gracyn Blackmore throughout casa and into the villa, but he still couldn't stop thinking about Hannah. Meanwhile, Iris explored things with Zac Woodworth in Casa, but she was still very into TJ, so the pair coupled up upon reuniting at the villa. By the Hate to Burst Your Bubble Challenge, Pepe and Gracyn had essentially broken up, while Iris and TJ were one of the show's strongest couples. Of course, by the curse of season 7, TJ was dumped from the villa in said challenge, along with Gracyn and three other Islanders.
Iris was devastated by TJ leaving, to the point where some viewers were surprised she didn't leave with him. (TJ told Us Weekly that she initially wanted to leave before deciding to stay in the villa, and he supported her.) After some requisite mourning, Iris and Pepe realized they were single at the same time, and that their friendship could grow into something more.
Though they paired up late in the show (around the same time as eventual season 7 winners, Amaya and Bryan), the pair definitely had a physical spark, and they were genuinely adorable with their Family Guy baby names during the fake baby challenge. Plus, they both live in the L.A. area, so they wouldn't have to deal with long-distance woes. Iris and Pepe eventually made it to the finale as the season's second friends-to-lovers saga (along with Nicolandria), and ended the show in fourth place.
Pepe and Iris go sailing on their final date.
Are Iris and Pepe still together after 'Love Island USA' season 7?
As of July 15, neither Iris nor Pepe has given interviews or spoken on their relationship status following the July 13 finale. Unfortunately for shippers, it looks like the pair will continue exploring connections outside the villa. (I'm sorry, I had to.)
On the night of the 14th, TMZ spotted Iris and TJ reuniting and looking pretty cozy, with the outlet reporting that the pair "went on a walk-and-talk for about two hours" before going to his rental, where they met up with former Islander Austin Shepard. TJ had previously told US Weekly that he was planning to meet up with Iris and talk things out after she left the villa.
Meanwhile, Hannah told PEOPLE after her exit that she felt she had a "super mature" connection with Pepe, and that it had felt "deeper" than the one she had with Charlie. While she said she was up to talking to both of them in the real world, she also said she had her "fingers crossed that maybe [Pepe] goes back out and he's single."
Of course, the final word on their relationship will come from the pair themselves, but it'll be interesting to see where things stand between Iris and Pepe (and TJ, and Hannah) by next month's season 7 reunion.
