‘Love Island USA’ alum Kenny Rodriguez has broken his silence a year after leaked text messages led to his breakup with co-star JaNa Craig, denying claims that he is racist and accusing Craig of verbal abuse.

Rodriguez and Craig split in July 2025, shortly after Craig reportedly found text messages on Rodriguez’s phone in which he allegedly stated he did not “like black women” and was “faking” their relationship. The messages were sent to a friend before Rodriguez appeared on the show.

"It was a text message with a friend that I had before [the show] and I did say a statement where I generalized and I take full accountability," Rodriguez said during an appearance on “The Journey” podcast. "It doesn’t represent the person that I am."

Rodriguez, 26, claimed the statement was a generalization made in a moment of venting about alleged verbal abuse from Craig. He stated that he has dated Black women, has Dominican ancestry with dark-skinned family members, and that race was not an issue in their relationship.

"I generalized and I made a statement that I’m not proud of. I think it’s a bit unjust to take that situation and to have that define me," he insisted.

According to Rodriguez, Craig discovered the messages by going through his phone one night at a hotel in Los Angeles. He alleged that Craig became "physical" when confronted, prompting him to threaten to call 9-1-1 and return her phone.

"That’s the last day that I saw her," Rodriguez stated. He also claimed that after Craig informed fellow castmates about the texts, leading to public exposure on social media, "everything came falling down."

Rodriguez further accused Craig of "verbal abuse" throughout their relationship, asserting that she "took advantage of the trust that we had and used that to destroy me."

Following the breakup and the leak of his phone number, Rodriguez reported receiving numerous unwanted calls and Facetime requests, as well as death threats.

In response to Rodriguez’s podcast interview, Craig took to her Instagram Stories, refuting his claims and suggesting she had given him permission to release the text messages.

"To the person who thought it was a good idea to send me a cease and desist, and then go on a whole ass podcast and make up straight f—king lies, very ballsy of you, how f—king insane!" Craig stated. "But if you want to f—king play, let’s f—king play. I think you should give me permission to drop all the text messages. Why don’t we start there?"

Craig also claimed that she was the one who felt threatened on the night she found the texts and intended to contact law enforcement, contrary to Rodriguez’s account.

Rodriguez and Craig, finalists on Season 6 of "Love Island USA," announced their breakup in July 2025 after nearly a year of dating. Their initial statements did not specify the reason for their separation, but social media posts from Craig’s friends led fans to speculate about a racially charged motive.