‘Love Island’ star Kenny Rodriguez accused of being ‘racist,’ and a ‘manipulative liar’ in breakup with JaNa Craig

After confirming their breakup, JaNa and her co-stars accused Kenny of racism, manipulation, and using their relationship for fame.

Reality TV love stories don’t always make it off the screen, but JaNa Craig’s split from Kenny Rodriguez shocked “Love Island” fans this week. 

The pair, who placed third on Season 6 of the reality dating show and currently co-star on Peacock’s “Beyond the Villa,” confirmed their breakup Tuesday in separate Instagram story posts. Their statements came after fans speculated the end of their relationship after noticing Craig, along with fellow “Love Island” season 6 castmates, unfollowed Rodriguez on social media over the weekend. In her post, Craig revealed that the reason behind their breakup was more “terrible, disgusting, and disappointing” than the cheating theories that had begun circulating online. 

“Discovering that someone you love isn’t who you thought they were, and that the relationship you thought you were building hasn’t been genuine since day one, is truly devastating,” she wrote. 

However, tensions escalated online after Rodriguez released his statement:  “Sometimes, despite how deeply you care for someone, you come to the hard truth that the relationship was not something that could last long-term,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’ll always be grateful for the time we shared and the memories we created.”

To which Craig responded, “[Shut the f**k up] you manipulative liar. You not taking accountability and telling people the type of person you really are is insane to me. My first statement was me being nice. Do not piss me off.”

Though Craig has not shared specific details, she reposted an Instagram story from fellow “Love Island” contestant Leah Kateb that accused Rodriguez of being “racist, clout/money hungry, and a scammer since day one.” Similarly, Craig’s friend Charmane Smith came to her defense, posting a since-deleted Instagram story alleging that Rodriguez had made troubling remarks about Black women and admitted to faking the relationship for fame.

“My advice to women in relationships…Search keywords like ‘I don’t like black women, I thought I could get more money from this, I’m faking this relationship, going on the show would be for clout, I can’t wait to be done [with] this so I can fuck hella b*tches,’” she wrote, per Cosmopolitan.

As more vague details emerged about the “Love Island” stars’ breakup, the reality show’s season 6 winner, Serena Page, shared a story post reminding fans that “this is not a show and someone’s actual feelings.” 

“It may just be tea for yall but thats not the case for us,” she continued. “Y’all already know I’m coming behind JaNa.” 

The couple was last seen together over the weekend, attending a birthday party where they were seen posting videos together. Craig and Rodriguez still appear on “Beyond the Villa,” which began airing July 13. Upcoming episodes, which were filmed before the split, will continue to follow the couple’s storyline, including conflicts about their relationship and a segment about fostering a dog together.

Rodriguez has not responded to the racist allegations.