Love Island USA’s Gabriel Vasconcelos opened up on The Viall Files about villa hookups, the “taboo” framing of sex in America, and why intimacy feels different in Brazil—even as his own time on the show drew backlash.
Gabriel Vasconcelos didn’t sound like someone caught up in the drama around him. He sounded focused on the moment.
On Thursday, June 25, Gabriel said on “The Viall Files” podcast that he “was not worried about anybody else [having sex in the villa].” He explained he was concentrating on himself, even as other couples were intimate nearby.
“I was not hearing anyone,” he said. “As you see. I was the most active in the place.” He added that Trinity Tatum was sleeping next to him. and that what finally got through was not the sound of anything happening—it was a reaction from his fellow Islanders. “One day Bryce [Dettloff] told me, ‘Bro, Trinity couldn’t stop laughing. She went to the bathroom because she was hearing y’all.’”.
That conversation comes at a time when Gabriel’s sexual history has already been a major topic inside the villa. including during a challenge in which the Islanders had to read out sex facts and figure out which one was about which person. One of the revelations: an Islander slept with someone in their 50s.
When Gabriel later addressed how Americans interpret that same type of intimacy—especially the idea of “taboo” sex—his answer was simple: the culture he grew up in doesn’t treat it that way.
“Showing our affection and kissing everyone — or even having sex — is not a big thing for us Brazilians,” he said on Thursday. “We see all of this as a normal thing.”
He kept going, pushing viewers to expand their lens beyond what they’re used to. “The people need to understand us too. Because I come from a different background and a different culture.”
Gabriel previously turned heads for telling a story tied to a hookup with an older woman during a segment tied to the show. The 26-year-old said, “I was out and I was having a good time with my friends.” He described how the woman started talking to him, and that she was “hot as f*** for her age.”
“We had a good night together. She had a lot of experience,” Gabriel said.
Inside the villa, the tension around how viewers perceived those revelations didn’t stay only on screen. After Gabriel’s elimination, backlash appeared off screen following a group vote. Host Ariana Madix then had to respond after many viewers claimed the voting process is rigged.
Ariana, 40, replied to an Instagram comment on the topic. In her message. she wrote: “Unfortunately. they were not in the top 4.” The comment she responded to included the complaint. “They @loveislandusa messing up the show. ” referring to Caleb McDaniel and Sol Dean. who were not announced as a top couple during the Thursday. June 18. episode—despite an online campaign for the season 8 bombshells. Ariana also “liked” a comment stating that “legally” production “can’t tamper with results,” despite the speculation circulating online.
Love Island USA keeps moving fast. New episodes are released six days a week—except for Wednesdays—on Peacock.
And through it all, Gabriel’s point stayed steady: in his world, affection and sex don’t automatically come wrapped in shock or judgment. What looks like “taboo” to some viewers, he argued, is just normal to him.
Love Island USA Gabriel Vasconcelos Trinity Tatum Bryce Dettloff The Viall Files Ariana Madix Peacock Season 8 villa hookups taboo sex Brazil culture Caleb McDaniel Sol Dean