It’s not often that a host of a dating competition show gets called out, but Sarah Hyland found herself in the middle of Love Island USA drama in the Peacock series’ August 18 episode.
During that installment, contestant Keenan Anunay was sent home after receiving the fewest votes, and Vickala “Kay Kay” Gray announced her decision to go home, too. “I would like to voluntarily also leave,” she said. “I feel like I found what I came here for, and I’d like to leave with Keenan.”
Some contestants applauded Gray’s decision, but Hyland wanted to make sure that was the Texas native’s final answer, so to speak.
“Before you go anywhere, I just — I want to make sure that you are absolutely happy with your decision,” Hyland told Gray.
“No regrets,” Gray replied.
And that’s when fellow Season 5 contestant Mike Stark entered the chat. “Why are you saying it like that?” Stark asked.
“Me?” Hyland asked.
“Yeah,” said Stark, another Texan. “That sounded mad disrespectful.”
“I’m being disrespectful?” an incredulous Hyland asked. “OK, then.”
Did you see this coming? 😱 #LoveIslandUSA pic.twitter.com/5DJKbpfz41
— Love Island USA (@loveislandusa) August 19, 2023
Leonardo Dionicio, one of the other contestants this season, tried to smooth out the situation.
“Sarah, I apologize for his reaction,” Dionicio said. “I think it’s just the heat of the moment.”
“Thank you,” Hyland responded, before getting the last word in the conflict. “Boys will be boys, right?”
The Modern Family alum alluded to her tense conversation with Stark in an Instagram Stories update on Friday. “When I tell you that tonight’s episode… It was wild. It was absolutely wild. I was gonna lose my mind,” she said, per Entertainment Weekly. “I thought New York Sarah was gonna come out, but I kept it [professional].”
Hyland also got support from viewers on Instagram. “I’m so sorry you keep getting disrespected by them little boys this season,” one user wrote.
Another said, “You handled the disrespect so well, Sarah!”
Love Island USA, Thursday–Tuesdays, 9/8c, Peacock
