Pepe Garcia opened up about his breakup with Iris Kendall and her return to TJ Palma during the Sept. 25 episode of Sorry We’re Cyrus podcast.
The 27-year-old reality star addressed rumors about his own alleged infidelity while calling Iris’s meeting with TJ shortly after Love Island USA season 7 ended “a cheating scandal.”
Garcia explained that he’s stayed quiet about the cheating allegations against him because he doesn’t want to appear like he’s “attacking” anyone.
“I feel like the fans, although they are amazing, they do want to continue to play the season along. They don’t want it to end, because it is just an abrupt ending, and you’re just like, ‘Okay, so what’s next?'”
The couple placed fourth in the July 13 finale before their relationship fell apart in the weeks that followed.
Garcia referenced photos captured by TMZ showing 25-year-old Kendall hugging her ex TJ the night she returned home from the show. At the time, Garcia and Kendall were still together.
“My situation it’s very weird because we got off the island and [Iris] had a cheating scandal.”
Garcia said he defended Kendall when fans started sending hate messages after the photos surfaced.
“I just said, ‘You know, it’s day one, I don’t think anybody deserves hate. And obviously her messages were blowing up with hate. Mine were blowing up with, ‘Get out of there. Leave her.’ I don’t think anybody deserves that.”
Representatives for Kendall did not immediately return requests for comment.
Kendall previously told PEOPLE she wanted proper closure with 23-year-old Palma without cameras present. She said his elimination left them with little time to say goodbye in Fiji.
Relationship Timeline
Garcia and Kendall appeared solid for about a month after leaving the villa. At the Aug. 25 reunion show, filmed two weeks earlier, they confirmed they were exclusive but weren’t putting labels on their relationship yet.
Everything changed around the time the reunion aired.
Cheating allegations against Garcia began circulating on Aug. 24. The former couple unfollowed each other on Instagram that same day.
“Through everything, to not have that same support of like, just her deciding let’s just not say anything about it.”
Garcia denied the cheating allegations in his initial statement and again during the podcast appearance.
Shortly after their split, Kendall was photographed holding hands with Palma. The two have since confirmed their reconciliation through social media posts.
Garcia’s Response Strategy
Garcia said he chose silence over defending himself publicly because he worried about coming across as “trashy or defensive or attacking.”
“I know the truth. I know what actually happened, and just let people believe what they want to believe until I’m able to actually say what I want to say without it coming off as offensive or attacking someone or defensive.”
He questioned the timing of Kendall’s return to Palma.
“It’s a weird situation ’cause then she goes and is now back with who she had a cheating scandal with. How do you just jump from one person to the next? And the next person she jumped with is someone that apparently she did something with and this isn’t clocking to people?”
Garcia acknowledged the situation has affected his family and friends, who’ve also received negative comments online.
“My friends, my family, I’m getting a bunch of hate. Even the dog, I don’t know why, but the dog’s getting hate. And it does suck, and you have to deal with it and your family has to deal with it, your friends have to deal with it.”
Garcia maintained his innocence regarding the cheating allegations while accepting that media coverage will continue regardless of the truth.
“I did not cheat on Iris. But again, the media is going to play into whatever they want to play into. And that’s okay. Let them. If they want to drag it along, they can drag it along.”
