Love Island USA’s Jeremiah Breaks Silence on ‘Toxic’ Huda Romance, Ace’s Clique in the Villa and More

Love Island USA‘s Jeremiah Brown answered every burning question about his time in the villa, including his messy romance with Huda Mustafa, what viewers didn’t see on screen and what role Ace Greene played in his downfall.

During the Wednesday, June 25, episode of the “Viall Files” podcast, Jeremiah first broke down how he ended up on the hit Peacock series.

“I was definitely familiar because all my sisters have watched the UK version and a little bit of the USA,” he recalled. “Because I’ve walked by them and they’ve been watching it. I hear the accents, so I’m like, ‘What the hell is that?’ So I’ve seen it a little bit.”

Jeremiah’s research didn’t fully prepare him for the reality.

“I was definitely familiar with it. I watched three episodes of season 6,” he noted. “And I was like, ‘I think if I watch any more, I’m going to psych myself out of it.’”

On season 7, which premiered earlier this month, Jeremiah made waves on social media for o his whirlwind romance with Huda. As they tried to make it work in the villa, they got backlash off screen for not being open to forming new connections with other people. Jeremiah was subsequently accused of “love bombing” Huda while other viewers were more critical of Huda’s seemingly controlling behavior.

“I would say one, it was very real and very genuine off the bat. It got a little toxic due to me not nipping in the bud the crazy expectations that she had set for me early on,” Jeremiah explained on Tuesday. “Then the communication at the end was just not being perceived well.”

Jeremiah acknowledged that his very quick connection with Huda was “not healthy” for either of them, adding, “When I was trying to de-escalate, she would kind of crash out. But at the end of the day, I just know that moving forward what I learned from it is not being intimate too soon.”

Keep scrolling for Jeremiah’s biggest revelations about Love Island USA, Huda and more:

Road to Love Island

“I had just moved to LA two years ago and [producers] reached out. But I had a girlfriend at the time. So I was like, ‘I can’t do it.’ But then they reached out after we had broken up or she broke up with me,” he revealed. “I was like, ‘This would be something just to get me back out there.’

It seemed like a cool opportunity. I’ve seen couples come out of it and I was like, ‘OK, this seems like the actual legitimate thing to do.’”

Jeremiah said producers “reached back around” after they noticed he was single, adding, ”That’s why I have so much respect for them because they double checked.”

Past Relationships

Jeremiah admitted he “didn’t have a girlfriend” until he was 23.

“I would find a girl I liked and just talk to her for, like, six months or talk to her for a year. I hated labels. I just didn’t want labels,” he noted. “I wanted all that freedom that came with it. Then I finally got into my first relationship and then a month in, I cheated. I didn’t know how I could do that because I prided myself on being [a good guy].”

Jeremiah credited therapy for helping him do the work after his infidelity.

“I didn’t have the strength to say no. I could have said no, I didn’t [and I cheated]. It was an instant regret. I Got home and told my girlfriend immediately,” he shared. “We broke up, got back together and then I had to start therapy and started working on myself.”

1st Thoughts About Huda

While looking back at his time in the villa, Jeremiah said he had “this crazy electricity” with Huda. Their first night on the show, Jeremiah “panicked” and chose to only follow his connection with Huda instead of leaving it open.

“I was like, ‘What can I do to not get stolen?’ So it wasn’t even that I already liked her that much. I just didn’t want to get her stolen. I was like, ‘I want to really explore this.’ Once we had three or four convos, I was like, ‘Are we gonna explore this?’” he added. “Then — this was a mistake on both our parts — we got really intimate really soon. That set us up for failure.”

Jeremiah wouldn’t confirm on the podcast whether he and Huda had sex, but viewers know that she discussed it on screen before his exit.

Where It Went Wrong

“Honestly things were amazing up until pancake day,” Jeremiah said. “We had a week where it was fire. There were some minor things but we had such a genuine connection. Where things started going south was when I told her who I was in a relationship. Then she kind of took that as who I need to be now.”

He continued: “I didn’t nip that in the bud. So I take responsibility. I didn’t sit her down and go, ‘That’s not who I am.’”

Signs of Trouble

After watching back the episodes, Jeremiah questioned how much Huda spoke about herself.

“Not to bash on her, but it was a lot of self-centeredness. I noticed that in conversation with her,” he said. “Which is why I started to move because she didn’t really ask me questions about myself.”

What Viewers Didn’t See

According to Jeremiah, there were long conversations between him and Huda that didn’t air, adding, “I remember we talked a lot about her daughter during the date. Then we talked a lot about her daughter on the pink couch. We talked about her daughter for, like, 30 to 45 minutes. Then after that, s*** went south so we didn’t get to talk about it. We had at least two or three conversations talking about her daughter.”

A Shift in Their Relationship

“Once America [voted to pair me with Iris], I was like, ‘They’re seeing the s*** I’m feeling but I’m not vocalizing.’ I don’t want my ego to take over,” Jeremiah said. “We spoke for two or three hours. It was me apologizing for not showing up. Then she was just saying she’s hurt the whole time.”

He continued: “I was like, I am going to apologize, validate your feelings and then I want to go from conflict to resolution. Or at least start working toward that.”

Breaking the Rules

“Once we’re in our beds, we’re supposed to stay in our beds. You stay in your beds for the night and you don’t go to other people’s beds,” Jeremiah revealed. “There were a lot of times we almost got in trouble for some rule breaking stuff.”

The Boys Clique

Jeremiah’s elimination came as a shock to some but he admitted he knew “the first week” in Fiji that there was a clique forming against him.

“There would be times where the clique would disband for a little bit and then some s*** would go down and it would get right back to it. And I’m like, ‘F***, I thought we were over this.’ And Nic and I had so many good chats about our friendship outside of this.”

Jeremiah was “caught off guard” that his friends sided with Ace when it came to voting him out.

“It was more one-sided than I thought. It [thought] Nic is my guy but then his actions were showing otherwise,” he added. “The first two days I was gone, I was pretty pissed because I thought those were my guys. But then the smart thing to do was vote me off because they saw me building a new connection. At the end of the day, it is a show. So they made the strategic move but it still felt like betrayal.”

Fan Theories About Ace

Jeremiah referred to Ace as the “ringleader driving the conversations” in the villa. He weighed in on theories that Ace was directly responsible for his exit, adding, “All I got told was, ‘It wasn’t personal and I love you.’ I didn’t get a single man-to-man word of why they voted me out.”

There was also speculation that Ace wanted Jeremiah gone because he had a crush on Huda.

“He did kiss her during the blindfold challenge so I can see that. He just likes mess, which I get. But honestly, there could be truth to it,” Jeremiah noted. “He got stolen in the first challenge and I think he didn’t like me because he got stolen from Chelley and he likes Chelley. So maybe that’s where it started.”