Love Island’s Pepe Sets Record Straight on Blonde-Only Dating Rumor

Okay, hold on to your coffee mugs because I have thoughts coming at you faster than you can blink! Love Island USA fan favorite Pepe Garcia-Gonzalez is denying the claim that his heart only beats for blondes. The Madrid-born former basketball player who charmed viewers by coupling up with Iris Kendall, Gracyn Blackmore, and Hannah Fields on season seven says that hair color never steered his love life. In an exclusive conversation with E! News, Pepe insisted he does not have a “type” defined by sunshine-hued locks.

During his villa journey, Pepe ended up paired with three blonde bombshells, but the retired athlete clarifies that coincidence, not design, explained the trend. “I don’t have a type,” he told E! News. “I’ve dated three women in my life—well, I guess now four. They have all looked completely different.” The revelation might surprise viewers who saw him tumble head over heels for Iris, Gracyn, and Hannah in quick succession. Despite their shared hair hue, Pepe explains it was their personalities—sweetness, sincerity, and genuine charm—that truly captured his attention. “I just kept going for sweet, genuine, caring women. And for whatever reason, they were all blonde, but that was just what my heart was going for,” he said.

Now that the villa drama has settled, Pepe and Iris, who finished fourth on the July 13 finale, are eager to explore a relationship outside the reality bubble. “We both kind of date the same way, where you date one person and you ride out that wave with them until it either continues or just dies down slowly,” he revealed. They plan to date normally—minus the cameras and constant cheers from fans. With two months of pure, unfiltered courtship ahead, Pepe is keen to discover if their connection can weather the real world.

Even though his romance with Iris is heating up, Pepe hopes to maintain a friendship with Hannah, who was dumped shortly before the finale. Reflecting on their villa days, he said, “I appreciate the time I had with Hannah. The time we had in there, whatever amount of days it was, it feels like a lot longer.”

Pepe’s candid comments join a string of updates across the Love Island franchise. On Love Island UK season 11, Uma Jammen and Wil Anderson announced their engagement one year after leaving the island together. Talk of future weddings follows the success of couples like Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales, who walked away from Love Island USA season seven as winners and still describe their love as a blossoming garden.

There you have it—Pepe Garcia-Gonzalez debunks the myth that his type is only blondes and offers a look at what his post-villa dating life might hold. I swear, I could chat about this all day. Who’s ready for the next cliffhanger in reality TV romance?

Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! News
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed