The Toast - Pepe Garcia & Turd Self Lid: Tuesday, July 15th, 2025

Episode Date: July 15, 2025

Turdy is taking a break from her maternity leave to chat with LIUSA star Pepe Garcia. He is fresh off the island and we are asking him all our burning questions.The Toast with Jackie (@JackieOshry) and Claudia Oshry (@girlwithnojob) Lean InThe Camper and The Counselor by Jackie OshryMerchThe Toast PatreonGirl With No Job by Claudia OshrySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's Jackson Claude and we're your hosts. It's your favorite show, the fast five things you need to know. We'll start your day off swirly, it's The Toast. They sound amazing. Welcome back to The Toast. I am humbled and honored to be joined by somebody who America voted number one on. I'm so excited to be here with you. I'm so excited to be here the toast. I sound amazing.

Welcome back to the toast. I am humbled and honored to be joined by somebody who America voted number four, but in our hearts, he's number one. It's Pepe Garcia from Love Island, USA, just back from Fiji. Hello, Pepe. How are you doing today? I'm so excited. I'm actually, I don't know if you know this, I had a baby seven weeks ago. I'm on maternity leave. I'm not podcasting for the next two months, but I got a text. I'm actually, I don't know if you know this, I had a baby seven weeks ago. I'm on maternity leave. I'm not podcasting for the next two months, but I got a text. I got a text that we have the opportunity to have you on the show and you are the only person I would have gotten out of bed for.

I have been a fan of yours since day one. I feel like the papyrus sand train starts and ends with me and I'm honored to be speaking with you. I love it. Thank you so much. Honestly, that's, first of all, congratulations on having a baby. And secondly, thank you for coming on the podcast

just for me. I really appreciate that, honestly. I have so much, selfishly, I wanted to have you on. I have so much to ask you. You have kind of been at the center of a lot of the couples that Jackie and I have been following really closely. So my sister Jackie hosts the show with me and she was obsessed with TJ and Iris.

And when TJ got sent home, she was kind of like done with the show. And I said, just wait, there's something brewing. And lo and behold, we got Papyrus. Now you guys did not win, which I'll get into later in the show because I'm devastated about. But I think, and based on some of the things

I've seen on social media of you guys in the airport, like you are actively still in a couple, correct? Yes. And are you like exclusive, seeing other people? When I think, yeah, I mean, that's how I date. So I wouldn't wanna do anything differently nowadays, right? I mean, that's such a refreshing take to hear from a young man.

How old are you, Pepe? 27. Oh my God, I can't. How old are you Pepe? 27. Oh my God, I can't believe I'm older than Pepe. You just seem so wise and mature. And actually seeing your mom on the show, I feel like I got to understand how you got to be the way that you are, because your parents were quite sophisticated.

They are. Yeah. They hold themselves to a level of respect and accountability, you know. They had me when, me and me and my sister were young. So the fact that they're able to show that, I think showed me that I can show that as well at a young age.

Well, that was kind of, I think what also set you apart in the villa is anytime you were speaking to somebody or in a couple with somebody, you weren't actively pursuing other connections. And I know that's what the show is for, but like at some point, like you can stop, like you don't need to be exploring connections till the very end. And that was like a little bit of the frustration I had with's what the show is for, but at some point, you can stop. You don't need to be exploring connections till the very end.

And that was a little bit of the frustration I had with some of the couples, but it was really refreshing to see you just sort of go all in on somebody. And you had a few people whom you went all in on throughout that journey. First, obviously, we have to talk about Hannah, because I loved you and Hannah together.

And I was screaming at my TV, throwing things at it when she got sent home. I was so upset. Walk me through that journey for you. Were you shocked when the girls chose her? I was screaming at my TV, throwing things at it when she got sent home. I was so upset. Walk me through that journey for you. Were you shocked when the girls chose her? I was shocked. They're honestly very shocked. I think everybody, not only was I shocked,

but I think all the guys were shocked as well. I think some of the girls were probably shocked, and obviously America was definitely shocked. But I think that was the name of the season. I think that was, I don't think anything this season that happened was, I mean, if somebody told me this is how the whole season was going to play out, I would have either thought you were lying to me or you were the smartest person in the world. There's no in between. So yeah, I think we were all shot.

And I was really proud of you for at the Standing On Business Challenge for bringing it back up. And I thought Sierra's answer like literally made the standing on business challenge for bringing it back up. And I thought Sierra's answer like literally made no sense. She was speaking gibberish and I wish she pushed her a little bit more, but like I understand you were just being respectful. But good for you for bringing it up. I still don't really understand why she got sent home. A theory online is that at the time Huda was thinking about pursuing you because she was

kind of left with nobody after Jeremiah and she had made it seem like she wanted to pursue you and then maybe getting Hannah out of the way was a good way for her to do that. But then we never saw her pursue you after, was there anything that went on with you and Huda after Hannah went home? I had a conversation with her and I don't know if I haven't even been able

to watch the show yet, so I'm kind of hearing bits and pieces I go. Had a conversation with her and kind of told her I wasn't a big fan of the way she moved and the way she did a couple of things considering Hannah really took care of her. Especially as Huda was putting these positions of not being at the top of the leaderboard and then being at the top, but still voters were on it or islanders kind of putting her position to potentially get voted off. And Hannah was there for, and for Hooded to then come and pull me for a chat,

special phrase around here, I guess, without kind of letting Hannah know I wasn't a big fan of that. Yeah, sneaky. I think, right. I think exploring in here, in the villa, I should say, not in here, I'm not there anymore. Oh my God, are you okay?

Like, are you having like sort of, cause you've literally been completely disconnected, right? From the world, no phone. Do you guys know about like world affairs? It was like, Loki, a small war and I ran while you guys were gone. Did you know that? We didn't know anything.

They literally kept everything silent. I mean, even when our parents came, which kudos to all of them, they did such a good job of keeping everything a secret. Yeah. And at the second we got home and opened up our phones, it was like, what is going on with the watch party? Yeah, it was wild.

So quickly back to Hannah, I think a question that everyone wants to know is when she left the villa, you guys were like pretty seriously, you know, whatever you want to call it, dating, seeing one another. And life goes on, you know, you had to get back to what she had to do. She had to leave and you did fall into this other couple, which I think is more serious than you were with Hannah.

But do you, and I know you just got home last night, so it might be premature, but do you talk to Hannah? Like have you spoken to Hannah? Do you end things with Hannah? Like where does Hannah play into all of this? So I haven't even had the chance to spoken to Hannah? Do you end things with Hannah? Like, where does Hannah play into all of this? So I haven't even had the chance to speak to Hannah. Yesterday I got home and I was just immediately at, drove down, picked up my dog,

I saw my family and friends, and they had millions of questions. So I kind of put the phone to the side and just spoke to them, just turned it all off and said, let me speak to the people that actually have been loving and caring for me from before all of this happened. Yeah.

And let me make sure that they like know the full story of everything before anybody else. I think that's only fair. So I would like to speak to Hannah. I think what happens in Love Island is a crazy thing. You're with somebody for a couple days, then in there feels like a lifetime. And so you really get to connect with somebody very quickly, especially when you realize that you connect with somebody more than anybody else, right? And so being with one person for X amount of time, it really makes you just kind of

want to be with them forever, right? It feels like that's your person. It feels like this is the only person I can talk to and hang out with in here that really understands me or just wants to also be with me. Hannah's an amazing girl. I'll cherish every moment that I have with her in the building. I definitely want to call her and give her, just talk to her. And so in one of the interviews, she's like,

no matter what, I'd still love to be friends with her. And it's like, you know what? I think just because things happened in the villa and things went one way for one person, another way for another, I think at the end of the day, we all went through this crazy experience together. So why shouldn't we all still be friends no matter what?

I also would love to know how you felt about you know you get cast on the show I'm sure you're very excited you're in the hotel room what are they gonna bring me out this new bombshell and then you find out that you're gonna be brought out in a pair of leather underwear with another man Jalen who we love. Right. Walk me through your thought process when you saw that outfit on the hanger. You know what that process was probably one of the funniest and weirdest processes of my life. There was no outfit set out. They brought me out in the morning.

I was in the hotel. You know, you have your little routine. And then we're just trying out a bunch of clothes and just writing what fits and what we like and what we don't like. Definitely a weird one. But I remember once I realized this is what I'm doing, I'm walking in like this, I could only just remember thinking,

my mom is gonna kill me. For sure. My mom, my sister, my dad's gonna laugh his ass off. But yeah, that was the only thought process at night, honestly, until I physically started walking into the villa. Did you think about your parents or your family a lot on the show?

Because you are put almost, you know, not daily, every couple of days, in precarious situations. The challenges are quite explicit, and you know this is being televised, and you know your parents are watching. I think, did your mom run your social media for you while you were gone?

No, I had one of my social media manager run me. She did tell them a lot to focus on. Yeah, I saw little messages from your mom on your Instagram. I'm like, oh my God, that's so cute. That's cute. But you're in the challenge, the milk challenge. That one really stuck with me, you know, spitting milk from your mouth into somebody else's.

What's going through your mind as it relates to your family? You know, challenges I wasn't really too worried about. It was more of like the relationships and the connections you build in there and what they're seeing when I'm not. Obviously, I can't have eyes and ears everywhere in the villa. I think the season would have been a lot easier if we did. I think every season in general would be a lot easier if we did. So you know, it's my biggest worry was you're always thinking, because this is your support system back home, right? And you bring a home, a girl home, they're going to tell you everything that they think about her. So not being able to have that where it's like, I wonder what they're seeing, and are they seeing what I'm

seeing? Or are they seeing a different side of this person that I'm not seeing? That was more of the questions and the worries that I had with my family. It wasn't so much the challenges. I think we all kind of understood when I went on the show. I had no clue of the show prior, and I started watching some episodes

before leaving with my family, and they were like this is crazy and I was like you know what crazy but it seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity that I could not pass out. What made you want to do this show? You're not like a likely candidate for it. You were playing basketball overseas correct? Yes, I was playing basketball overseas.

I had a couple injuries that made me decide I I think it's time to hang it up. And then I was just working. I was working on businesses and a couple of my friends were telling me about doing different things on social media. I never really wanted to do it. And then the show kind of hit me up and I realized I went to college for a couple of years, a year and a half, and I never really got to experience this whole spring break type of vibe.

Yeah. And it seemed like, you know what, this is probably as I'm 27, not in my early twenties, obviously in my late twenties. So this is probably one of the only last times I'm gonna really get a chance to go out there, have some fun. And I decided, no matter what,

if I don't meet someone that I really like, I'm probably going to meet some amazing friends that are going to turn into family that are very similar to me and like what I do and are the way I am. So that was my reason for going on it, to meet friends and potentially someone that, which is ironic looking back at it, but potentially someone that, which is ironic, looking back at it, but potentially someone that I would have probably never met in my normal day-to-day life in California. Yeah, it was a shot in the dark,

but a shot I wanted to take. Now this might be a dumb question because I don't know how the overseas basketball leagues work, but did you know Chris, he's also an overseas basketball player. The overseas basketball world is such a small but big circle. I didn't know Chris from overseas, but apparently as we were talking to Villa, him and I had played in high school one game together against each other.

That's so cute. Yeah. And it was funny when my dad like was watching everything he came and when he came for family day, he's like, I like Chris a lot. He's like when I get home I'm gonna watch the tape of you guys playing each other. That's so cute. Yeah so I'm excited honestly I spoke to him about it yesterday he's like we gotta have a little like watch party with you and Chris so we can watch the game and see who actually played better. That's so cute. But I didn't know of him but we've got a bunch of friends. It's a small world.

Yeah, small world, but just such a big world as well. I can pretty much back up every decision you made on this show, except for one. And now in hindsight, I can think maybe you were being slick, but when I was watching the challenge where, no, someone was getting sent home and you guys had to vote and stand behind them. Yes.

And your ass stood behind Taylor. The way I wanted to kill you, especially because I felt in that moment so deeply for Iris, like she is in an active couple, like she was so emotional and I really wanted to kill you. Now I see maybe you were being slick, like, you know, trying to get Iris isolated out on her own so you could attack. If not, explain yourself.

So that was the complete wrong reasoning for me doing that. I did not do that at all because of that. I'm going to be honest with you. Taylor is one of the guys in there that since from the day that I walked in has had my back. He's helped me maneuver everything from the start. And honestly, I respected him so much for everything that he's done for me from literally the beginning to the end. There's not one point in my experience with Taylor that he did anything that was just not to help me. And you know, honestly, you look at things in the villa and you can say, okay, well, I want to do things for myself, or you say, I want to do things for other people. And I was definitely the one that I decided,

if I left, I left. I didn't care to be there a long time. I didn't care to be there a short amount of time. It was just, I want to make sure that I'm true to myself and respectful to everybody. I'm like that in the outside world, so why would I change in there? And yeah, it was one of those things where

I respect Taylor from the bottom of my heart. He's the first person I called. He's the third person I called when I got my phone back. I called my mom, my dad, and my family. Then I called my friends. Those are two separate phone calls, and he was the third one. So, you know, just to check in on him and make sure, see how he's doing.

I didn't get to, you know, they're quick goodbyes, but so you try to get as much out as you can in those couple of minutes. How did you get his phone number? Instagram. I found, he followed me on Instagram. Yeah. Okay.

Phone numbers were all getting spread out through IG, just trying to, you know, even followers It's like you're getting so many followers that you fall right? I don't know who follow me. So you're just trying to look up everybody's name. Is there a group chat now with all the castmates? Not yet, but I believe there's gonna be one very very soon Do you like Ariana when I say that it totally? Today's very special episode of The Toast is brought to you by Hill House Home.

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with One Skin. Did you feel like Taylor got screwed a little bit with his whole situation and America disliking him so much? Cause I can say with total honesty, I actually don't hate him and I didn't hate him. It was unfortunate what he did, but he chose love, you know? He's a hopeless romantic. You know what, and it's a tough thing to do in there,

especially when you build such a strong connection to the cost that comes around. I don't think it's ever gonna be an easy decision to choose someone you recently met over someone you've been with for three weeks, especially, like I said earlier, the way three weeks in there feels like four or five months, right? But he chose his heart. And honestly, again, you just respect it for it because at the end of the day, no matter what, the only thing you can continue to base your decisions off

of in there is from your heart and how your heart feels. So my heart felt to stand behind Taylor. And I mean, my family said that they saw in the episode and TJ had an interview saying it where he just kept saying, I'm sorry. Right. I'm sorry to TJ, I'm sorry to Iris because, you know, I've been taking, I was caring for Iris

and taking care of her, making sure that she was fine from the start. So me choosing it from my heart saying, you know what, I just, Taylor was my rock in there. And same with Iris. I mean, it was honestly such a tough decision to make. Yeah. But you know, you get put in those decisions,

but moment decisions where you have to just make them. I don't know, I just honestly, the way Taylor was looking at Clark and the way Clark was, the way they were both maneuvering themselves in there and just continue to deal with everything being thrown at them and continue to just choose each other no matter what.

I just, I didn't want that journey to end for them. That's nice, I guess. Like when you hear it, when I hear you say it that way, it's not so bad. Can we talk about the finale? I have a couple of questions. One moment in particular has gone viral. I'm not sure if you've seen, but when it's all said

I don't know what you're talking about. When it's all said and done, you give Iris a kiss cause you guys are so cute and in love. And then Iris is a joke cause like Huda's third wheeling. She's like, do you have one for Huda? And you give the dirtiest look and you just like ignored Iris. Talk me through that. Do you hate Huda?

No, not at all. There's no hate to anybody. It's actually really funny. There's a lot of moments that you don't really notice that they're going to put in there. But you're just trying to joke around. And you kind of wait for them to continue to play something and it just doesn't happen. I thought you were gonna bring up

when Iris and I cheered, but I had taken a drink beforehand and I said oops afterwards, because I took a drink and she said cheers. I was like, oops, like my fault. And I know people are spinning that around as if we were mad to get fourth place. And it's like, not at all.

Well, were you? Because I. It's like not at all. Were you? Because I was mad. Not mad at all. Honestly, like I said earlier, everything in here, I didn't come to win. I didn't come to stay in the villa until the finale. Like nothing was pre-planned or premeditated. It was just be you, be happy, enjoy it, because there was a lot of, a ton of different

emotions, not just happy ones, but sad ones. So enjoy it no matter how you can. And whatever happens, happens. So I was happy no matter what the outcome was. I was happy if I would have left three days into the villa. I was happy if I stayed into the finale. I was happy getting fourth. I would have been happy getting first. None of that mattered.

It was just be able to walk out of that experience and still be happy is all that I could ask for. So did you have an idea of who was gonna win? Cause based on like my experience, I think a lot of people who are watching and like engaging on social media, it was like pretty clear Amaya and Brian were gonna win. She was really, really well liked.

Not even so much to them as a couple, but more so her as a person. Did that permeate the village? Did you guys know that? Or it was just like going in blind? We had no idea. We had no idea what was happening. We had no idea.

I mean, when we got out of there and we saw that she had millions and a bunch of the girls had millions, we were like, wow. Yeah. I mean, and I tell this, and obviously people probably won't believe me. I walked into this experience thinking like, I'm going to walk

out with maybe a couple thousand followers more, like nothing crazy. I had never seen the show, so I didn't know that last season had gone, I guess, very well. And it was kind of one of those things where I'm like, I don't know. So we didn't even think that, at least me, I didn't really think that there was much going on with all of that. You know, I didn't know there was that much voting going on in the outside world. I thought it was very just small and unique in particular to a group of people that were voting. Yeah. But clearly I was wrong, it was very wrong.

It was huge, so yeah, we had no idea what was happening. And so that challenge where you guys had to stand on different podiums based on how people in America were voting. And it seemed like everybody was really shocked that not only were Shelley and Ace not everyone's number ones, they actually, a lot of people did not think that they were genuine.

And it seems like everybody in the villa sort of thought Ace and Shelly were like king and queen. Is that how the dynamic in the villa was? Personally, I've never held anybody higher than anybody else. So I never thought somebody was king and queen in there. It was always just, you base things off of your eye value and your value of what you see. And for me, I always thought Ace and Shelly were very respectful people, to me at least,

because that's all I was able to see. I never saw anything else outside of that. And honestly, until I watched the the show I still feel that way. Until I'm given a reason as to why I don't believe that, I'm gonna continue to think that obviously. So no, it wasn't about a king and queens. I think it was just honestly from what I've experienced with the both of them, yeah they were very, at least to me, very genuine, very sweet, very kind.

A couple of things that were like, you know, misleading every once in a while, but then they would bring it right back in and, you know, apologize or whatever they needed to do. And it's like, you know what? I don't see, you know, they never, again, from what I know, they never said anything wrong about me and then not say it to my face.

They would bring it up to my face and honestly, I think that's as genuine as you can get. If you don't like someone, if you tell them, I mean, shoot, or if you do like someone, you tell them, or if you have a problem, you tell them. No matter what, as long as you're saying it, that's being as respectful and kind. So even if it's a negative thing, it's still respectful. And yeah, so I. I held them to that just because of what I saw. And your decision to I don't like to use the word reject,

because it feels kind of harsh, but Andrina, that was really shocking. When she entered the villa, everybody was like, you know, tongues hanging out of their mouths, Andrina this, Andrina that. She comes back from casa, she wants to pursue things with you and you just, in a very lovely way, told her no. Was that more so because you wanted to pursue a different connection or just because she's like not your type?

I'll say this, I don't have a type. I don't think people in there- Oh, well that's also been major discourse on social media that you only like the blonde girls. I've seen that. No, I definitely, I don't think people in there. Oh, well that's also been major discourse on social media that you only like the blonde girls. I've seen that. No, I definitely, I don't have a type. I think attractive is attractive. And I kind of just went off,

again, I put everything mentally to a side and just went off my heart. And at that time I was with Grayson and I was kind of trying to figure things out with her. After the Hannah dumping. Yeah, after the Hannah dumping, I was like, it was, again, you're in this little whirlwind for a couple of days. And I know in the episode, people are saying like,

oh, people move on so quick. One episode doesn't mean it's one day. One episode can have been filmed over a span of two, three days. So people are moving on after two or three episodes. That might be five days. But I also imagine a day in the villa is not a normal day in at home. Like the hours, it just feels like so much happens in a day.

Yeah. So it's one of those things where, you know, all of that kind of gets a little intertwined and confusing. Um, but yeah, when, when Andreina came to me and was like, kind of telling me like, I'd like to explore you, we had a couple of chats before Casa, never really did anything because I was with Hannah. I kind of was in the same boat as I was with Hannah, where it's like, let me give my all to this person

and really explore this option until it either continues or until I realize there has to be an end to it. Just sadly the way that worked out was I realized like I just didn't feel that spark with Grayson. Like I kind of sat her down and I told her as politely and respectfully as possible because you are dealing with some of these emotions. Of course. But in that moment with Andrina I was like look I need to make sure that I can give grace and my undivided attention so I can make sure I do like it because I didn't want to stay in the villa and not be authentic and not be happy. Just to stay in the villa like that didn't make any sense. they had walked in if I was not gonna be happy with the person that I was gonna be with. Because at the end of the day, again, a normal day in the village is not a normal day out

here. So you're gonna be 24-7 with somebody. I wanna make sure I'm happy with that person. So yeah, it was nothing against her, nothing about like I'm not attracted to her. I think all the women that walked in were beautiful. I think all the guys that walked in were attractive. I didn't see a single person. I was like, you know, why are they here? Well, that's very nice of you.

Yeah. Everybody was, you know, on their Ps and Qs in there and everybody was there for a reason. So yeah, no, it wasn't anything like that. So did you sit next to Iris on the flight home? I did. And I saw you guys in the airport and there was like so many fans. I'm sure that was really shocking. The two went your separate ways. Of course you have to say hi to your family

and I saw your dogs. When are you and Iris gonna get together next? And like, do you think it's gonna be different? Like weird? You know, I'll answer the first question. I think we're gonna hang out tonight. Date night. Yeah, we're gonna do. Burgers on the beach, in and out?

Something smaller, realizing maybe it might be a little bit harder nowadays. Yes. Yeah, I don't think burgers on the beach is gonna work. Yeah, maneuvering that a little bit is gonna be an interesting one. But I don't know, we'll see. But definitely wanna hang out with her.

I will say the awkward part was I've never texted her, obviously. I had never FaceTimed her. It was always like we're just together in person for 30-something days. So when I got into the escort to get back to my house. I took her to her house and to get back to mine. When we got into the car, I was just, I kind of turned off the phone and just let it go because I realized I don't want to go down the world window of things. I just let me just relax for a bit. It was the only, I had an hour and a half drive and there was some traffic. So I was like, you know what? I've got some time to just close my eyes for a little bit

and just relax. And when I got home, I realized, shoot, I need to text her. I need to like tell her I'm home. Like all these little things that you're, you know, you do pretty quickly into relationships that I didn't. And then even last night I was like, do you wanna like FaceTime? Stop, that's so cute.

And it was also very awkward of like asking the question, whereas usually, I don't know, like I'm very much a FaceTime person. So I wouldn't have even asked the question. I would just click the button FaceTime. If they answer, they answer. They don't, they don't. But yeah. The last thing I want to ask you about is another saga.

I mean, it was such a long six weeks. Like there were so many things that happened that now seems so long ago, but your bombshell brother Jaylen took the world by storm. People were, and by the way, when I say people, I mean myself, so mad that he didn't get chosen. He was such a genuine sweet guy. I think a lot of people were really touched by the fact that it was his first time leaving the country. He got his passport for this,

only to be brutally rebuffed by Olandria and sent home. Like it was devastating. The internet really rallied behind him. He had like a million followers on TikTok, all these brands, airlines, hotels wanting to fly him out, help him see the world. It was such a beautiful thing because social media can be so toxic, especially the Love Island fandom gets really fucking crazy.

It was such a wonderful moment. And I'm curious if you've spoken to him to see big travel plans, like what's up with Jalen? You know what, he texted me, I get chills every, this is like the fifth time somebody has brought this up and I keep getting shots over it. He texted me last night and we're gonna see, I'm gonna hang out with him on Wednesday.

He is literally, gosh, I mean, everything you said, you hit it to a T. He's the sweetest man in this planet. And for him to put himself out there and do something like this, I mean, we all put ourselves out there to do this crazy experience, but the fact that he had never done anything even remotely, not even traveled, it just like, I mean, you know, you have to give him all the love and all the respect for that. I mean, truly I'm so happy I walked in with him. I'm so happy I got to talk to him. I had the most conversations with him.

We had each other's back, him, I, and Iris. We constantly had conversations in the villa and we just always had each other's back and proud to be able to say that he is like the closest guy that I had in there after Taylor. And I wish he would have stayed till the end. I mean, he deserved it of all people. Agreed.

Those are the situations which happened a lot in the villa, where it's like, you just want to put yourself in the other person's position so that they can continue to just live that experience. And that was, that was, it happened for me a couple of times, but that was a big one where I was like, gosh, I wish I could just trade places with him and just let him stay here and just continue to be him, continue to find something because we all love them. I mean, that was a heart wrenching one for me. You know, and I'm proud of him. You should have seen this back home.

We were devastated when you talked to him on Wednesday. Please let him know America is still rooting for him. We love him so much and he's what we call here at The Toast, a Pee Jam, a precious gem of a man. I love it. He is and I can't wait to see him. The fact that he's like, I'm going to LA. It's like, gosh, it's those little things for me that,

you know, he went from working his butt off and just, you know, nailing down and working and just being in Georgia until now he's able to explore everything. It's like, those are the things that honestly made this crazy roller coaster of an experience the most fun. You know, it's the fact that, you know, when somebody is a good human being and a great person and they get rewarded for it, it doesn't matter how much time they're in the villa, it doesn't

matter anything. It's like, those are the things that you realize. He was there not to not to win, not to stay there for a long time. He was there to do his thing, to be himself and to put himself out there. He did. And he's being rewarded for it. And I honestly, I love that. And I appreciate America and everybody that's kind of backing him. Totally. Yeah, I love that for him. And I'm so happy for him, I'm so proud.

It's the only moment that I've gotten chills. I mean, when I gave you my phone and they said, look at your Instagram followers, I just like, I didn't get the chills from that. Obviously it was a great feeling, a great experience in that moment, finding out how many people actually support you. But here in Jalen, and how many people truly loved him, it was like, you know, because the last, I don't know how many weeks, I was like, I wonder what's happening with Jalen. I wonder what's happening with Jalen. I hope

he's having such a great time. I hope he got so many unbelievable opportunities that he would have never been able to have and to come out here and that not only did he have those unbelievable opportunities but they're elevated to a higher level. Yeah, I keep, I get chills every time I think about it. I talk about it. It's a love island fairy tale. Much like Papyrus, please send our girl Iris, who I just found out is half Jewish, obsessed. Please send her all of our love. You just know you have the support of every listener of this show. We are rooting for you guys so hard. We'll be devastated if you break up, so you have to stay together forever. And thank you so much for joining the toast. I know you have a

million things to do and you're like busy because you're one of the biggest celebrities in the world right now. So thank you so much for being here Pepe. We're gonna let you go. Make sure to follow along Pepe and Iris's off the Villa Island journey on social media. I just followed you both on Instagram. Feel free to follow me back Pepe. And we will see you guys on the next episode. Thank you so much, Pepe. Love ya, bye. Thank you so much.