Love Island USA’s Chris Seeley and Huda Mustafa know viewers have thoughts on their chaotic breakup.
“Y’all were laughing about it. I was sitting there in disbelief,” Huda quipped during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly on Tuesday, July 15, about their last date. “ I see somebody walking up and I’m like, ‘Is this my family member? Like, are they coming to save me? Then I see the light on with the microphone and I said, ‘You’re f***ing joking right now’. I’m literally sitting there and just staring. It was comedic timing.”
Peacock viewers were, indeed, highly entertained when Chris and Huda were one of four couples that made it to the Sunday, July 13, finale — only to end it before the winner was crowned. During their final date, Chris and Huda were arguing about their future together when a singer joined them and performed “Moon River” while Huda got emotional.
“Honestly, I didn’t know the breakup would be blown up the way it did. I still have my phone buzzing every day. The memes are really funny,” Chris told Us. “But just the reasoning behind it for everybody is catching me off guard just because it’s not the real reason.”
During Sunday’s episode, fans saw Huda tell Chris their relationship was over. He took a break from the table, and when he came back, he drew a line in the metaphorical post-breakup sand by telling Huda he wouldn’t be carrying her back through the water, which forced her to take off her heels and walk back herself.
“When I came back and asked her why she was crying, I didn’t know she was going to still be there sitting and crying. Because once the conversation ended, we were both ready to get up and go. That is why I got up and left,” Chris clarified to Us. “I came back and I asked her why she was crying and [she explained]. I said, ‘OK, I clearly understand where you’re coming from but it was your decision to make. So, just stand on that.’”
Chris claimed he didn’t just immediately refuse to carry Huda back to dry land. “She was basically giving me a choice, like, ‘Are you gonna carry me? Are you going to make me walk?’ It kind of just rubbed me the wrong way because, of course, I’m a gentleman,” he said. “But I’m not going to fall into you trying to make me fold again to give you some type of treatment. Yes, we’re friends and I could’ve given her a piggyback ride.”
He continued: “I tried to help her down but if she wasn’t getting carried then she didn’t want to be helped at all. That is why I walked away.”
Huda was surprised to hear the version Chris told Us. “He did not want to do that. Let’s be real here,” she quipped. “That man did not want [to carry me or help me].”
After seeing the mixed response to the split, Huda wanted to make it clear that she had no regrets, adding, “Everyone has their opinions. I know exactly how I want it to be treated in a relationship and I’m not going to settle. I will never sit here and just accept [whatever] as he says shut up to me. That’s another thing, Chris would want me to shut up. I don’t like that.”
Huda pointed to that behavior as a red flag for her.
“I’m not letting a man talk to me like that. I’ve had past relationships do that. It triggers me,” she explained. “There’s a lot of little things that weren’t shown on camera that led me to my decision because why the hell would I have a man talk to me that way?”
While Huda knew she could have remained with Chris for one more night, she didn’t want to “fake it,” saying, “Why would I try to put on a show and be a happy girl and whatever when I’m not happy in my couple? … I really didn’t care about winning. I really wanted to leave with my person. And if this isn’t my person then I’m not leaving with you. I don’t care if it’s the finale, I’m not leaving and not being genuine about my connection.”
Chris, for his part, denied speculation that he was pushing Huda to be the one to officially end things.
“I didn’t really want her to be the one to end things. I knew it was going to happen after the whole situation in the bedroom where she counted down,” he told Us, referring to an argument after he playfully hit Huda with a pillow. “I was waiting for her to bring it up, which she did. … There were some issues that I still wanted to work on on the outside because I did like her. I didn’t think it was gonna go down like that but she made that decision and we’re just gonna live with it.”
Love Island USA is currently streaming on Peacock.
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