Unfortunately, “Love Island USA” season 8 star Sean Reifel was the first Islander to be dumped from the villa after being single and vulnerable during the show’s first recoupling on the June 7 episode.
However, before Reifel even made his debut as an original Islander, he found himself at the center of controversy after the mayor of his hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, publicly criticized his decision to resign from the police force to join the show.
Now back home, Reifel opened up to People about the viral remarks from his mayor and set the record straight about his departure from law enforcement.
Sean Reifel Reacts to Mayor’s Comments About Leaving Police Force to Join ‘Love Island USA’
Sean Reifel is clearing up any misconceptions that he resigned from his job as a police officer in his hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, so he could find love in Fiji on “Love Island USA.”
After returning home, Reifel surely saw the countless headlines of his city’s Mayor, William Reynolds, sharing that he and the Bethlehem Police Department were “disappointed” that he left his position to star on reality TV.
Speaking to People, Reifel admitted that the comments from his mayor were “very shocking” and added that he had “conversations early on” at his job about planning to go on the show.
“I also didn’t resign from my job,” he stated.
Even more upsetting for Reifel was hearing Mayor Reynolds discuss whether he would be able to rejoin the police force after he was the first Islander dumped from the villa.
“They had quoted him saying, ‘If he wants to crawl back.’ And at that point, it honestly just felt like I was dehumanized,” Sean told the outlet. “It was just like, well, this is just mean. If your intention was to hurt my feelings, you succeeded. That sucked,” he added.
Reifel Shares His Career Plans After ‘Love Island USA’
For now, Reifel’s return to the Bethlehem Police Department is on hold. He told People that he’s unsure whether there is lingering “animosity” in his hometown over the decision to leave the force to appear on the show.
Instead, Reifel revealed that he is focused on going to nursing school.
“My intention was — and as we talked about prior to me leaving — I’m going to finish out my contract, and then I want to go into nursing and still pursue my passion of helping people,” he said.
“Hopefully, [I] get back in school, pass anatomy this time, and get rolling in a career. I think scrubs are a little bit lighter than a duty belt,” he said, adding that he plans to also “use this platform to give back and even help communities in Bethlehem, because I’ve worked in the city and I know what people are struggling with and what would help and what would uplift the city.”
When Reifel returned home, he shared an Instagram post thanking viewers for cheering him on during his short-lived stay on the show.
In fact, many commenters on the post shared that they would love to see Reifel back on their screens, in particular, on a show like “Perfect Match” or “Love is Blind.”
“We wanted more Sean in the Villa, now you’re going to have to go to Perfect😂 Match,” a comment read. “Next Batchelor????👏 👏👏👏,” another person wrote.
