Exclusive Interview

‘Love Island USA’: Sean Reifel Dishes on Moments With Aniya We Didn’t See

Love Island USA Season 8 is already in full swing with its villa drama and dumpings. The first person to be eliminated was 29-year-old Sean Reifel, who didn’t find a lasting connection after searching for love since Day 1.

Though he only spent five days on the reality show, Sean caught everyone’s attention on and off screen. Many took notice of his career as a police officer, especially when the mayor of his town commented on his Love Island USA appearance. During an episode of Aftersun, Sean claimed that he asked for unpaid leave before he went to Fiji, so he was confused by J. William Reynolds saying Sean resigned from his post. “I never thought I’d see the day in America where reality show participation wins out over being a police officer,” the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, mayor said, per WHTM.

Sean, a single dad to a two-year-old son, initially coupled up with Beatriz Hatz before she left him for another partner. As he got to know Kenzie Annis, Sean also found himself drawn to Aniya Harvey, which he revealed after his exit. In a June 17 interview with Swooon, Sean broke down exactly what went down between him and his connections in the villa, revealing that he had conversations with Aniya that didn’t make it into the show. Get all the details on that, as well as Sean’s future career plans.

Swooon: I’m sure it’s been a whirlwind the past couple of weeks.

Sean Reifel: It’s been different. It’s been very different than what I’m used to, but I’ve loved it so far. And, of course, thank you for taking the time to interview me.

Swooon: Of course. I want to start with where it all started for you, with Beatriz. After she got back from her night with Gabriel, she said she wanted to keep exploring with you. I was wondering if you feel like that was true in retrospect.

Reifel: So, I did feel Bea was definitely being honest that she wanted to still explore it. How I interpreted the game at the time, when we were stepping on the green and the red, how it was explained was like, once you step on the red, it means you’re no longer interested in pursuing this connection. So when she came back, and as well as Gabe choosing her in the couple, I just felt seeing their chemistry and knowing that we only had such a short time, I felt that she was being honest. But I personally just didn’t think there was a chance there for something to come of that, and also my feelings were still a little like, “Dang.” We only had a day to be together, but then on the flip side, I also felt… Well, it only took a day for her to realize, “OK, this might not be something I want,” and then pursued someone else. So, I did believe she was being truthful, but at the same time, I didn’t think that I really stood much of a chance with Gabe, and my feelings were still kind of hurt in that moment.

Swooon: Do you feel like you wish she mentioned her hang-up on the kids thing a little bit earlier?

Reifel: That’s a tough one. I feel I took it as — because usually when I’m dating and I tell someone right away, I always tell people right away up front, “Hey, I have a son. This is what I come with,” and I want them to be able to make their own decision. So I took her standing at my door after the first coupling, I took that as, “OK, she obviously doesn’t have any issues with it.” Just as much as people think she should have told me, I should have still had that conversation and not just assumed it was fine, but when I watched back and saw it, I kind of saw it more as her saying, “Hey, this is not what I usually do,” and it’s fair for her to think… I think she more so didn’t mean my son was a red flag, obviously. She was just saying, “Hey, you being here with a son, it’s like it’s a red flag to me,” which is perfectly fine. But I still took that as she was willing to pursue it and see where it would go.

Swooon: How do you two feel about each other now?

Reifel: There’s definitely still an attraction there. It’s just something where we haven’t really sat down and discussed exploring it any further, to be honest. I was still assuming, because I was told she told Gabe at some point when she left, “Hey, come and find me after the show.” So when we had met and we were still at the airport hanging out, I was under that impression. And then I’ve seen recently from her Lives that that might be over with, so we haven’t had that discussion yet, but the attraction is still there, for sure.

Swooon: And you said on Aftersun that you were interested in Aniya, but we didn’t really get to see you pull her for a chat. I was just curious if you did and why you didn’t, if not.

Reifel: Oh no, I was very adamant in pulling Amiya for chats. We had a lot of good conversations. We actually talked about the first meal [out of the villa], and I still need to do it. I didn’t do it as my first meal because I didn’t have that option at the airport, but I was going to eat one of her favorite meals when I got back to the States because we were talking about what meals we wanted to eat. Hers was P.F. Chang’s Mongolian beef plate, so I’m definitely going to put that on my schedule to go grab that for her sake. And now I’ll send her a picture after the show, and she’s going to get a burger and fries for me.

But yeah, we had a lot of talks, a lot of chats, and there’s just a light to her, and there was a flow to the conversations to where I really enjoyed talking to her. We’re both watching the same anime on Netflix, the volleyball one [Haikyu!!], so we connected on that. We connected on fitness and things of that nature. So when we did chat, she was honest with me. She said she’s open to exploring romantically. However, her and KC had a really strong connection, and as you can see, it’s still going strong today. And it wasn’t to the point… She just, again, she’s very loyal. She’s got a lot of good traits, so I tried my best, put my best foot forward. I told her, I said, “You’re lucky that the boys weren’t picking tonight,” because I would have picked her for that one. So, yeah, I did pull her for chats.

Swooon: I wish we got to see more of those. I guess there’s a lot of other drama happening on the side.

Reifel: Yeah, I always wondered, because it’s 24 hours, and they only have — they’re condensing into an hour, and it’s just spitting out fast, which is great. It’s why people love the show. So, I always did wonder, though, if they would air some of those chats at any point. I don’t know, see us talking and stuff, but yeah, definitely there were chats because I got some pushback from that. People were saying, “You’re saying all this stuff about Aniya, but you never even pursued her.”

Swooon: But you did.

Reifel: I did. I tried. I put my best foot forward.

Swooon: Hey, we never know what could happen down the line and when she’s going to come out of the villa.

Reifel: Exactly, you never know.

Swooon: I want to talk about Kenzie, because after Bea went with Gabriel, you two started chatting. Did you feel like you had a genuine connection with her yet, or was it not all the way there?

Reifel: I felt like we had a genuine connection. Kenzie has this innate ability, and she’s just super resilient. So, the attraction’s there for everyone because they find the most beautiful women [and] put them on an island in front of you. Like, that’s very appealing, obviously, but then when you break down the certain characteristics and values and morals of the people there, Kenzie has an innate ability that if something happens to where it puts her down, she can bring herself back up, which to me is very important in dating and in life. You just want to be around someone that, when you’re going through it, it’s more.. It’s very appealing to have someone that can just bounce back and be like, “Hey, I had an awful day, but today’s gonna be better. Today’s gonna be great.”

And that’s what kind of sparked even more attraction because I was feeling down about Bea. She’s feeling down about Zach, and she jumps up on the bed the next morning, and she’s like, “We’re gonna have a good day,” and I’m smiling, and then she brings me into it. She’s like, “What about you, Sean?” And that for me was when it clicked in my head to where I felt, “Okay, I’m gonna pursue this and see where it goes, and I’m open to it.” And we had really good conversations. Only thing with Kenzie is when she did explain her dream guy, she explained Caleb, so in the back of my head I always kind of thought, “I’m gonna try and see where things go here.”

Ben Symons/Peacock

Our conversations were sweet and everything, and then when I watched it back and saw the difference in the conversations, I think it was… We had that nice guy connection. She would tell me, like, “You’re thoughtful, you listen, you’re nice, you make me feel very secure, and I do like you.” But then, when I watched it back and saw, she told her friends, “Regardless, I would have picked Corbin anyway.” Sucks that nothing would have been there long term, but I definitely think that that connection with Kenzie, on my side of things, I enjoyed it. I’d sneak flowers in her breakfast and stuff like that. The heart-shaped eggs were a thing too. So yeah, there was definitely a genuine connection there, and I think on both parts, but at the end of the day, I think she preferred Corbin.

Swooon: In the end, though, it came down to Trinity’s pick between you and Bryce, and you also had a chat with her [before the recoupling]. Was there any part of you that maybe thought she might pick you over Bryce?

Reifel: There was a thought, and at the point when she was speaking, I didn’t really think it’d be me because Bryce was one of my… I don’t think people know how close all the boys were, like Bryce, Zach, Sincere, KC, Gabriel, Corbin — we were all very close and tight-knit, and when it came to it, it was like that feeling of, “Oh, if not me, then Bryce. If not Bryce, then me,” and the back and forth. And then when she said, “We haven’t had many chats,” I don’t know if you could see. I don’t know if they showed it, but me, KC, and Sincere all did like a three-way “Oh my god, she’s gonna pick me.” And then when she said quirky jokes, I knew it wasn’t me. Because if you know Bryce, he’s a funny dude. And that one was close.

I think I didn’t have much faith in it at the time when we were standing there prior to that day, though. I did feel that at one point Trinity might have flipped and would have wanted to switch and couple up with me, but her and Bryce’s connection is just so genuine and deep. They love laughing together all the time, and you see it, and even when I pulled her for a chat right before the recoupling, the way… You know, Bryce plays hardball, so before she left, he grabbed her, gave her a couple of kisses in front of me, and it was hilarious, but we had that friendly banter back and forth. But I did think she was gonna pick me up until she said quirky jokes.

Ben Symons/Peacock

Swooon: I want to hear about going back to your life after an experience like this. I was curious what your plan for the future is. Do you plan to go back to your policing career?

Reifel: That’s a great question. So my initial plan was to go back and finish my contract with the department. When I talked to them, explained where I was going, what I was doing, they were a little unsure about it. Obviously, right when I got off the show, I saw the comments that were made, and that definitely kind of turned me off to the career a little bit. [It] left a bad taste in my mouth, but I still think law enforcement is incredible. My plan, to make it simple, is that, hopefully, all the love the world showed me in this situation, I plan to use that platform to give back as much as possible.

If there’s nonprofits and all the things when I was policing that used to keep me up at night… Sometimes, you show up to someone’s house, and they can’t even break bread at the dinner table. Everything is going wrong that can go wrong, and they’re suffering, and you show up, and you can’t even alleviate that. Like, you just kind of put duct tape over a leak in the boat, and then you have to go home. And now I have this platform that I may be able, if it goes well, to be able to give back and to help those families, and to get things going in the communities that I really love.

Outside of that, though, I’m hoping that this gives me the freedom as well to go back to school and pursue nursing. The duty belt is heavy, so it’d be nice to throw on a pair of scrubs, but still have that ability to feel like I’m doing what I can to help people. That’s where I find more purpose in my work. So that’s the overall plan, and as a law enforcement career as of right now, I just don’t see it if I have the opportunity to become a nurse.

Swooon: Are you caught up on the rest of the season? Is there anything that’s surprised you so far since you’ve left?

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Reifel: Oh, that’s a great question because all the couples are pretty much hanging strong. Kenzie not going with Caleb was definitely a surprise because that was her dream guy, but then, obviously, I don’t know Caleb. Never met him. He looks like an absolute sweetheart, by the way, but in that situation it was definitely… I was like, “Oh wow, her and Corbin had a really good connection.” That’s amazing to see, but that definitely is it, and it’s hard to watch now because those are your best friends getting their hearts broken on TV. It’s sick to my stomach, but that definitely was a surprise to me. I thought when Caleb walked in and Kenzie’s reaction with Melanie, I was like, “Oh, that’s going to be a tough one,” but congratulations to her and Corbin.

Swooon: And it’s early days still, but who are you rooting for? 

Reifel: Surprisingly, KC and Aniya. As much as I like Aniya, I think that episode where he had that conversation with her about her beauty, I really..  I was like, I’m so happy for her that they’re having that strong connection, and they’re going strong. I’m rooting for them.

Love Island USA, Season 8, Every Night Except Wednesdays, 9/8c, Peacock