The reality star also revealed if he and fellow dumped Islander Beatriz could rekindle.

Love Island USA’s Sean defends Sincere, predicts which Islander will implode in Casa Amor

The reality star also revealed if he and fellow dumped Islander Beatriz could rekindle.

By Sarah Hearon

June 17, 2026 2:46 p.m. ET

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Sean and Sincere from 'Love Island USA' season 8. Credit:

Ben Symons/Peacock

- *Love Island USA* season 8 star Sean Reifel opened up to EW about his time in the villa, including going on the show as a single dad.

- Sean shared insights into various Islanders, including Gabriel and Sincere.

- Sean also shed light on losing his job as a police officer because of the show.

As *Love Island USA* season 8 continues to break viewing records, ** has some of the first insights from inside the villa via dumped Islander Sean Reifel.

"It's different, but it's so awesome for people to stop me in the street,” the 29-year-old reality star tells EW about returning home. “They've been so kind, asking for pictures.”

A Pennsylvania police officer, Sean was one of the first Islanders to make headlines when it was reported he resigned from the Bethlehem Police Department to go on the show.

“Prior to leaving, I sat down with them — I don't like to insult people by lying to them — so I said, 'This is exactly where I'm going. This is what I'm thinking.' And they approved my vacation and PTO for it, but, they said, when it comes to unpaid leave, submit a memo and see,” he explains.

After denying the unpaid leave when he was already on his way to Fiji, Sean says the department said he “voluntarily resigned.”

"I thought I had to resign [myself], but that's a whole other story. I said, 'Hey, I wanted to finish my contract with the city. If you guys want to take these six weeks and not count them, put them on the backend, that's perfectly fine.' That's where we left that conversation. And then when I got my phone, oh goodness,” he continues. “I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’”

Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds publicly criticized Sean for his decision, later saying he could have his job back if he reapplied.

"I was very surprised because [the mayor] knew. I also didn't resign. I have nothing bad to say about him. Anytime I talk to him, he's a very personable, social person, and seemed very kind. In my six-year career, he's the only mayor of a city that would come and talk to me and I talk to," he says. "I did not appreciate the second comment the second time he went public and said, 'If I want to come crawling back...' I just felt like that word dehumanized me in a way and I didn't appreciate that."

He adds, "I love being a police officer. I very much enjoyed my career as a police officer. I'm, honestly, in therapy trying to sift through it. But I think that the writing's on the wall there and that I want to use this platform, give back as much as possible and get into nursing school and pray that I pass anatomy this time, and let's see if we can get that train rolling."

*Love Island USA *airs weekly (sans Wednesdays) on Peacock at 9 p.m. ET. For Sean’s insights on the villa love triangles, backlash, and couples, keep reading.

**: Why do you think your time on the show was cut short — did you not form any connections, or were the women intimidated by the fact that you have a 2-year-old son?**

**SEAN REIFEL: **That's a great question. I think to start, it was a lot. I was very nervous when I came into the villa and saw everyone at the table. At first, [being a single dad] did have an impact, but as time went on, the girls were all open and gave me a chance. I just think that it came down to being in different stages of life. It was, maybe, something that pulled the girls back a little bit, but they all gave me a fair shot at it. And by the time the recoupling happened, I think it was just that they had such strong connections [with other people]. Because when every one of them stood up and said everything, I was like, "Oh, wow, I get it."

**Did you make the decision to be so open about your son after Huda [from season 7] initially kept her daughter quiet last year?**

Nothing to do with Huda. It was just my personal preference. I always like to tell people straight away. Usually, in the dating world, they see my Instagram, so they know, but I always let it be known right away because I want them to be able to make their own decision on it.

**You were in a couple with Bea before she connected with bombshell Gabriel. The two of you posted a picture in Fiji after she was ultimately dumped from the villa, too. What did you guys talk about?**

I asked her, I was like, "How close was I to being picked?" And she was like, "Oh, you are a hot commodity. Don't think for one second that you weren't on multiple people's radar or that [people weren't saying] this is definitely something I'm willing to pursue."

And then we got into, "What did you and the girls talk about? I heard you guys screaming all the time up from upstairs and everything." She said, "We talked about anything and everything!" [We talked] about life, what's next, and things of that nature. At that time we were there, I was under the assumption that she was still [into] Gabriel. It wasn't their decision to end it and her to leave [since America voted for the recoupling]. I believe there was something still there. I threw a couple flirty lines out there, but nothing crazy.

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**Did you think you could reconnect or is she still trying to process what happened with Gabriel after you left?**

I'm very much, like, I do the pursuing and stuff, but she would have to physically stand on a green dot for us to start talking. She'd have to fix that trauma. I would, on our first date, bring a green circle for the sake of it and be like, "Stand on that, please!"

**Random question for you — are the lids on the Islanders cups of wine because of bugs?**

**Is it really buggy in that villa? **

It can be. It's just so it doesn't ruin your drink. If you have water, it doesn't really matter. You can pour it out, refill it. But when it comes to wine or what have you, you don't want to ruin that.

'Love Island USA' season 8 cast.

Ben Symons/Peacock

**Some of the audience, and even Kenzie on a recent episode, has said this cast has not been open enough. As someone who was there, do you feel like some of your castmates are closing off a little early or are the connections that strong?**

That's a great question. Everyone, when I talked to [them], was definitely open to pursuing romantic relationships. I think the hard thing is that it's such a genuine OG group. I would talk to Anaya, for example, and even Trinity, and the conversation was, "Oh, I do like you. I enjoy our conversations. I see you in a romantic way and I'm willing to pursue that. However, I see the same thing with the person I'm coupled up with and nothing's going wrong." It's not like there's an extreme red flag or what have you. There hasn't been that push to be like, "Oh, I'm going to leave what I'm in now to pursue you and just do the same thing flip side." I definitely think they're still open.

**Quick rapid fire for you with some of our couples and costars. Which couple do you think will blow up first in Casa Amor? **

That is a hilarious question. This is tough because I haven't caught up enough to see, and I'm not there to see Gabriel and Jen's situation, but Gabriel's a very passionate guy. I love Gabriel to death — he's my brother — but I could see him blowing up.

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**Which couple do you think is the strongest? **

KC and Aniya, or Zach and Kayda.

**Which love triangle — Corbin/Kenzie/Caleb or Sol/Melanie/Sincere — was the most unexpected? **

I think the most unexpected one was Kenzie/Corbin/Caleb, because Caleb, on paper, is Kenzie's exact type that she even described to me, which made me worried when we were having conversations. I was like, "Oh, if you need a country boy, I bet there's one coming." So that one definitely shocked me.

**Okay, but what is Sincere doing? As someone who knows Sincere, what do we need to know about him? **

First of all, I don't appreciate the "insincere" statement. I think it's funny. I see the comedic part of it, but also I think you're judging his entire persona off him as a dating partner in a relationship that's open, if that makes sense. I think he's one of the most down-to-earth people. I love conversations with him and he's such a good friend to have.

What he's doing, I don't know. I can't speak on that. The only thing I could say is that this experience is not normal. So I would say to please, please show my brother some grace because you rarely get put in these situations where you're in the bed with someone one night and then America votes and you're in the bed with someone another night. Then you're in a relationship and you're trying to move forward and then there's this challenge to where you're making out with someone else and then this person also is sleeping three beds down from you kind of thing.

I think it's just a lot at this time, and he's still a great person. I cannot speak on the decisions he's making, but he's a great person. He's very sincere.

**To catch you up very quickly, he is back with Mel and picks her. So do we think that those two have a shot as someone who did see their relationship pre-Sol? **

Oh, 100%. Because it fell apart and it was separated and still found its way back — that couple ain't going nowhere.

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Source: “EW Love”