In a Sunday, June 7 episode of Love Island USA, Bryce Alakai Dettloff told Trinity Tatum he was bullied in middle school for being seen as “better looking,” sharing the story of how a popular girl’s compliment sparked the backlash.
When Trinity Tatum asked Bryce Alakai Dettloff if he’d “an ugly face growing up” on the Sunday, June 7 episode of Love Island USA, the villa seemed ready for a typical answer.
Bryce didn’t do that.
“No, I looked like a girl,” he said. “But it is funny because all the girls liked me.”
Then he explained how that attention turned into something harsher. Bryce told Trinity that in middle school, his looks made him a target.
“I remember in middle school, I was in 7th grade and there was a girl in 8th grade who was the hottest girl in all the school,” Bryce said. “She came up to me and told me I was the cutest guy ever.”
He continued that the compliment didn’t just stay flattering. “All the guys hated me and started bullying me for it,” he said. “All the guys used to bully me because they thought I was better looking.”
In the villa, it’s the kind of moment that lands fast—because it flips the usual script. Instead of being treated kindly for something considered attractive, Bryce described how the same trait brought hostility.
The episode also kept rolling through more surprising game moments. Earlier in the week, the Islanders had to read out sex facts and figure out which of them it was about. One of the revelations was that an Islander slept with someone in their 50s.
Gabriel Vasconcelos, 26, described the encounter. “I was out and I was having a good time with my friends. She started talking to me and she was hot as f*** for her age,” he said about meeting a 52-year-old. “We had a good night together. She had a lot of experience.”
That detail didn’t stay serious for long. Gabriel’s sexual history was joked about when narrator Iain Stirling compared him to a “reverse Leonardo DiCaprio” due to the actor’s dating history.
Season 8 of Love Island USA also features Aniya Harvey, Beatriz Hatz, Bryce Alakai Dettloff, KC Chandler, Mackenzie “Kenzie” Annis, Melanie Moreno, Sincere Rhea, Sean Reifel, Trinity, Corbin Mims, Kayda Bosse and Zach Georgiou.
Away from the games and confessions, the season’s casting also came with a separate controversy. Peacock’s show was meant to feature Vasana Montgomery. but she was cut from season 8 after resurfaced social media posts showed her using a slur. Vasana was removed from the show before she got a chance to enter the villa. and both clips were leaked from her private social media—meaning producers weren’t privy to the posts while casting the season.
“I want to address a couple videos from my teen years that have recently resurfaced,” she wrote via her Instagram Story this month. “In those videos, I used a racial slur. I am embarrassed and disappointed by my words.”
Vasana said she wanted to take accountability. “I take full responsibility for what I said and understand why it has hurt and upset people. ” she wrote. adding. “Since then. I have grown a lot as a person and taken the time to educate myself. listen. learn. and better understand the impact that language can have.”.
She also wrote, “That growth does not erase my mistake, and 1am not asking anyone to excuse it. I believe people should be held accountable for their actions, but I also believe in growth, learning, and becoming better. To anyone I hurt or disappointed, I am truly sorry.”
New episodes of Love Island USA are released six days a week—except for Wednesdays—on Peacock.
Love Island USA Bryce Alakai Dettloff Trinity Tatum bullying middle school Peacock Gabriel Vasconcelos Iain Stirling Vasana Montgomery racial slur Season 8
Wait so he got bullied for being cute? Reddit ppl do this too lol
Not gonna lie that part about “looked like a girl” is wild. Middle school is brutal. But the article makes it sound like all the guys were mad for no reason.
So he says girls liked him and boys hated him… seems like jealousy yeah. But then the Trinity question about “ugly face”??? Like why would anyone ask that on camera. Also the sex facts stuff is so awkward, like who cares about someone sleeping with a person in their 50s.
Love Island drama will say anything. I bet he got bullied cuz he acted different, not just looks. And “I looked like a girl” sounds like he’s trying to get sympathy points. Meanwhile they’re reading sex facts on TV like that’s normal, so maybe everyone’s just playing a role anyway.