Love Island USA star Kenny Rodriguez has denied claims he is racist, a year after leaked text messages led to his split from co-star Jana Craig.
The Season 6 alums split in July 2025 after Craig allegedly discovered texts in which Rodriguez said he “doesn’t like black women” and was “faking” the relationship.
“That was a text message I had with a friend before[the show]where I was speaking in generalities and making a statement that I take full responsibility for. It doesn’t represent who I am as a person,” he claimed during an appearance on The Journey podcast on Monday, without specifying the exact content of the message.
“I’ve dated black women before. I have black ancestry, I’m Dominican, and half my family is dark-skinned. Race has never been an issue,” he said. “The problem was how[Craig]treated me.”
In an email to a friend, Rodriguez claimed she was “vomiting and disgusted” about the “verbal abuse” she received from Craig during their relationship.
“I made generalizations and made statements that I’m not proud of. I think it’s a little unfair to accept that situation and let it define me,” he claimed.
Craig, 26, said he was staying at a hotel in Los Angeles one night when Craig searched his phone and found text messages.
After Ms Craig confronted him with her findings, he allegedly asked to look at her phone, which escalated the situation.
“She got furious in my face. She got physically violent. I said, ‘No, this is your phone. The door is over there. I’m going to call 9-1-1. This is your phone.’
That’s the last day I saw her. I sent her a letter describing my feelings during our relationship. It lasted too long. ”
He claimed that “everything fell apart” after she told his Love Island castmates about the text messages and they exposed him on social media.
“She’s talking about it like we didn’t have a problem, like this just happened out of nowhere,” he claimed, while doubling down on the charges of “verbal abuse” against Craig.
“You’re not going to treat me like that. I’m done. Because I’m not treating you like that.”
Rodriguez claimed that Craig “took advantage of the trust we had and used it to destroy me.”
After the breakup, Rodriguez returned to his home in Dallas. He claimed that someone had leaked his phone number and that he was “receiving 20 FaceTimes a second.”
“All I could see was a message saying, ‘Kill yourself. You don’t deserve to be here.'”
Craig posted on his Instagram Story following Rodriguez’s interview, dispelling his ex-girlfriend’s claims.
“To the person who thought it would be a good idea to send me a cease and desist order and then go on a damn podcast and make up outright lies and be super strong-willed and insane!” she said. “But if you want to play, let’s play. I think you should give me permission to delete all your text messages. Why don’t we start from there?”
She continued, “I’ve been helping you for a whole year. I’ve literally been focusing on myself and my blessings, devoting myself to my work, and you thought that was a good idea?”
Craig claimed in the video that she tried to call law enforcement the night she discovered the text messages because she felt “threatened” by Rodriguez, not the other way around.
The finalists of “Love Island USA” announced their breakup in July 2025 after dating for about a year. Rodriguez and Craig both posted their own statements on social media confirming the news.
Although neither of them explicitly stated why they decided to end their career, some of Craig’s friends shared cryptic posts on social media, leading fans to believe they were racist.
