UPDATE 07/16/25 12:13 P.M. PST: Sorry, TJ! Looks like Iris is still exploring things with Pepe! The former basketball player shared a cute video of Iris wrapping her arms around him while they were on a date via his Instagram Story in the early morning hours of Wednesday! He captioned it:
“Our date got ruined smh”
Watch it (below):
tj should take this as a sign to just back out, he never stood a chance once his opponent was pepe lmao #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/NKHi6q3oFz
— devan iris defender (@devanislit) July 16, 2025
Aw! They’re still dating — and they look happy AF! Maybe they’re still exploring their other connections, too, though? But this sure doesn’t look good for TJ right now. Better luck next time, bud!
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It looks like Iris Kendall may have chosen to recouple with TJ Palma outside of the villa!
The Love Island USA stars were building a strong connection in Fiji when TJ was dumped from the island in episode 27. Iris then started exploring things with Pepe Garcia-Gonzalez, who had similarly had to say goodbye to his strongest connection, Hannah Fields, earlier in the season. Sparks were flying so much that they ended up coming in fourth place during the finale on Sunday, leaving many to wonder if they were going to try to explore things in the real world.
According to TMZ, they were even seen holding hands and Iris was spotted sitting on Pepe’s lap as they left Fiji. But it looks like they’ve gone their separate ways… for now, at least.
Related: Love Island USA‘s Plan To Weed Out Problematic Contestants Was So Dumb
After touching down in Los Angeles on Monday, Iris went right to see TJ! Aw! In a video obtained by the outlet, she could be seen arriving outside of the place TJ’s been staying while in the city, where they hugged and chatted — and it was clearly flirty! The outlet learned Iris’ friends dropped her off pretty much right after she landed. After greeting each other, the lovebirds sat down for a chat and walked and talked for about two hours. Wow!
Later, they waited at the front door of the building for fellow contestant Austin Shepard to come down and let them inside. Iris jumped into his arms for a big hug. Cute! Watch their sweet reunion (below):
They seem very happy!
Meanwhile, Pepe chose not to head to LA with the rest of the Islanders. Instead, he went to Orange County to reunite with his parents and his dog. That gave Iris the perfect opportunity to meet up with her other beau! The cast is set to reunite for a reunion on August 25, so we’ll see who Iris picks by then.
Do U think Iris and TJ are going to get back together?? Or were you hoping she’d continue things with Pepe? Let us know (below)!
[Image via Peacock]
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