It’s over for “Love Island USA” couple Kendall Washington and Nicole Jacky.
“I have decided to end things with Nicole. It reached a point where it was not healthy for us to continue the relationship,” Washington, 27, wrote on his Instagram Story Tuesday.
“I still love and care for Nicole,” he continued. “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.”
The medical sales rep also asked fans not to direct any negativity toward Jacky, 26, saying, “She does not deserve any hate.”
Jacky, meanwhile, expressed her shock over the breakup as she confirmed the news on her own Instagram Story as well.
“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 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,” she continued.
“I’m struggling mentally and all I ask for is privacy during this time.”
The former couple met during Season 6 of “Love Island USA” and came in fourth place.
Unfortunately, their relationship faced turbulence as soon as they exited the villa in Fiji after a sexually-explicit video of Washington was leaked.
In July, Washington confirmed on Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast that they were still together despite the hiccup, but tensions were high at the Season 6 reunion, which aired on Peacock Monday.
Jacky called out her now-ex for lying about when the video was taken.
“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,” she said.
“And then I find out two days later from JaNa [Craig] that it was in the hotel room before you go on the show to someone on a dating app is crazy.”
Washington had previously claimed on his Instagram Story that the video was something he “shared to someone in confidence and trust.”
Jacky also accused Washington of misleading fans into believing they were not together and not sticking up for her amid online bullying.
“This just puts me in such a f–ked position because I care about you too and I love you and people are questioning that,” she said.
“Even though you let the world think we’re not together, we’re still together.”
Jacky previously said on “Virtual Reali-Tea” that she was taking her time to say the L-word despite Washington dropping it while filming “Love Island USA.”
“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. I think I got hurt; I ended up hurting people because of it,” she said.
“I wasn’t ready [to say it at the villa], but I know my feelings for him, and I just told him, ‘I wanna say this on my time.’”
