NEED TO KNOW
Bryan Arenales is explaining himself.
During the Love Island USA season 7 reunion, which aired on Aug. 25, hosts Ariana Madix and Andy Cohen broached a highly sought-after topic with the season’s winners, Bryan and Amaya Espinal.
Following their exit from the Fiji villa in July, rumors circulated that Bryan had cheated on Amaya, but neither star had officially weighed in on the speculation until now.
“They’re trying to just throw any hate my way,” Bryan said of the allegations as Amaya laughed.
Peacock
Bryan said the “cheating video” of him with other women was not what it seemed.
“The hosting, I got paid to be there,” he said of an event where he was recorded. “I used to bartend back in the day. I had a lapse in judgement, and we’ve talked about it.”
When Cohen pressed Bryan about what that “lapse in judgement” was specifically, he said “pouring shots around, getting the crowd shots and stuff like that.”
“And I’m also not a woman that would be with someone who doesn’t respect me,” Amaya added. “So if I’m with him and still with him currently, it’s because the relationship dynamic is healthy and great.”
The comments come amid speculation that Amaya and Bryan are no longer together.
Hours before the reunion premiered on Peacock, fans noticed that the winning couple no longer follow each other on Instagram.
While they both still have posts on their accounts that feature one another, Amaya’s TikTok activity seems to point to her current headspace, as her recent reposts from the last 48 hours include a post about feeling “disappointed but not surprised,” as well as an edit featuring Kerry Washington in Scandal that said, “When I finally pick myself back up and never let my walls down like that again.”
Kim Nunneley/Peacock
Bryan’s dad had previously shut down the cheating rumors when they were rampant in July.
“Please stop the lies and rumors!!!! That’s absolutely not true,” he wrote in a comment on a fan page’s post speculation about a split that he signed “Bryan’s dad,” per a post on X.
In a second comment, he doubled down, writing that Amaya and Bryan were still “together and spending time with family and friends.”
Bryan also quelled the rumors when he shared a clip of himself on FaceTime with Amaya in an Aug. 1 Instagram post. “Thank you for the confirmation we all needed,” one fan wrote on the post, referring to the breakup rumors.
“Breakup allegations over,” another wrote.
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Love Island USA season 7 can be streamed in full on Peacock.
