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Temptation Island's Iris and Luke End Engagement: What They Said Happened
Temptation Island couple Iris Jardiel and Luke Wechselberger ended the engagement they started in the Season 4 finale. Here's what they say happened.
There has been a major shakeup in the world of Temptation Island as a couple that previously made up one of the show’s biggest success stories has officially called it quits. Iris Jardiel and Luke Wechselberger from Season 4 have officially ended their engagement and they’ve both got a lot to say about what happened after the show that led them to this.
The couple’s post-show relationship has been the stuff of much rumor and speculation among Temptation Island fans. After she accepted his proposal in the finale of Season 4, Luke and Iris seemed happy together and even talked about wedding planning at the reunion. However, no clear wedding plans crystalized, and fans took notice.
When Iris posted a photo without her ring and seemingly scrubbed Luke from her Instagram, speculation ran rampant that they broke up. In November, they released a video on YouTube explaining that they hit a rough patch and took some time apart. However, they’d since gotten back together and were going strong with their engagement. The next fans heard from Iris and Luke, they were having a romantic, yet disastrous, dinner date in Thailand.
It turns out, there was a lot more going on behind the scenes that their fans were privy to, until now.
What Temptation Island's Iris said about her breakup with Luke
Iris got the ball rolling by laying out her and Luke’s entire post-show relationship timeline in an interview with fellow former Temptation Island cast member Kaci Campbell (who fans may remember for her very public breakup with then-boyfriend Evan Smith). Speaking on the It’s Tempting podcast, Iris explained how she and Luke met when she was 19 and essentially started dating while working at a restaurant together. While she noticed a few red flags in the relationship, the biggest was one they carried into Temptation Island.
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“A month or two into the relationship, he broke his leg skateboarding,” she explained. “So, he was out of commission and not working for two months.”
Iris said Luke began figuring out ways to make money without being able to walk, which led him to the Amazon FBA business he does to this day. While she said Luke’s family wasn’t immediately supportive, she claims she was and even offered to help pay for him to get started.
“Because I know it takes capital,” she explained. “So, he was living at home at the time, it wasn’t like I was paying our rent or anything. He wasn’t living with me, but if we went out to eat, I was covering our meals.”
After he healed, Iris said that her covering food and gas had just become their new normal, something he was taken to task over during their time on Temptation Island. While he made strides on the show and was allegedly apologetic after being dragged a bit by her fellow ladies at the reunion, Iris claimed he fell back into old patterns soon after. Sadly, that wasn’t their only problem.
Iris dropped the bombshell that, after having a history of DM’ing other women in the past, she caught him doing it again while they were engaged. Although the messages to “some random girl” were nothing explicit, she deemed them to be far too flirtatious for an engaged man. That’s what led to their brief split.
While taking some time off, the two eventually realized they missed each other and ultimately got back together. That’s when they made the YouTube video revealing what had happened, but leaving out the DM scandal to maintain a brand as a "power couple." While Iris was looking into counselors for them to get their relationship back on track, she claims Luke earned some money from a deal he made and decided to use it to travel the world. She said he did not ask her to tag along and mere days before he left (one month after the YouTube video dropped), he suggested they take time apart again.
“The same week or the day before he leaves, he’s literally like, ‘Hey, so I know I’m going to be gone for a long time and I kind of don’t want to be tied down. I want to explore other people and I hope you’re OK with that. I still want to be best friends,'" she said.
She added: “It’s so crazy, he’s just like ‘I don’t want to mess up or cheat on you, and I feel like we just deserve to see what's out there'… He literally gaslit me!”
Despite everything, they stayed in touch, but their conversation often devolved into what Iris described as toxic, lying about what they’d done with other people while he was away. Eventually, they tried to give it one more shot and Luke flew her out to Thailand to see him. Things were going OK, but one night she went looking through his phone and claims she found messages between him and other girls, one of which she claims he hooked up with. She said Luke had lied to her and attempted to hide the evidence from her.
With that, they were done for good.
Temptation Island's Iris Has Moved On With Another Man
Between Luke leaving on his trip and their ultimately doomed attempt to reconcile in Thailand, Iris said she did what he suggested and tried to explore other people. During a trip to Florida, she met up with fellow Season 4 islander Gillian Lieberman who told her about a website where men can bid to take women on dates. So, she signed up on a whim and went out with a guy named Ryan who paid $500 just to have brunch with her.
The brunch went well and she felt like they had chemistry. However, once she and Luke started talking again, she cut off communication with Ryan and went to Thailand. When she got back and was definitely single, she and Ryan started hanging out in March and have been together ever since. They’ve even said “I love you” and traveled the world together, for which she noted he's footing the bill.
Additionally, Iris revealed that she has explored a new side of her sexuality in this new relationship and discovered kinks she previously didn't know about. Together, they’re going to make a business out of it. Iris and Ryan are working together to get a subscription-based adult entertainment website off the ground where consenting people can explore their kinks and find content catered to them. Iris will be the CEO.
What Temptation Island's Luke has said about his breakup with Iris
USA Insider reached out to Luke, who is still traveling the world, to ask what he thought about Iris sharing their story. It turns out, he has a very different version of what happened between them.
“We broke up because she felt like I still wasn't in tune with my emotions and fully vulnerable, even though I was significantly improving on this since the show ended,” he said in an email. “I spent a lot of time trying to coach and build her skills to become self-sufficient and successful in her own regard, but her effort/focus was not there.”
Luke explained the constant money debate in their relationship by noting he has a difficult dynamic with his family, who he said are “dealing with extensive mental health issues” and for whom he takes on some of the financial burden to care for them. He said that left him unable to provide the lifestyle Iris demanded.
“I left Seattle to focus on finding myself while stepping away from the family burden and pressure from Iris trying to turn both of us into clout chasing, luxurious, money blowing influencers. Before I left for Dubai, Iris wouldn't stop talking about the show, about getting verified, about getting followers, doing interviews and getting her 60 seconds of fame. I was so burnt out by this that we separated before I got to Dubai so we could take some time apart to grow in our own ways,” he said. “The number of students I was coaching skyrocketed and I didn't want to hear another word about getting famous. Clout was the last thing on my radar, so I asked her for time away so she could grow up and I could just mentor. It wasn't in any way my focus to go date many women (besides Dubai is not a place for hookup culture, everyone knows that).”
While Iris claimed they were both being toxic and lying to the other about hooking up with other people, Luke characterized the situation as Iris telling him, “The most explicit and unhinged hurtful details I could ever imagine” about her activities with other “sugar daddies” on the app Gillian recommended.
“I get if someone is trying to meet others, but what made it all so weird was how after every date and sexual encounter, it seemed like an obligation to share exactly what she did, who she did it with and how the guys were so much better than me,” he claimed.
He said he tried to make long-distance work with Iris despite being hurt, which led him to fly her out to Thailand. In Luke’s telling of the story, Iris discovered in Thailand that he had gone on one date with a girl, despite her claiming he had sex with someone. However, he made sure to note that this was during the time she was allegedly meeting other men on an app and they were both free to date or even hook up.
"I did flirt with girls while she was dating guys, but the idea that I cheated on her is absurd and absolutely incorrect," he said.
Luke concluded his thoughts on the matter by saying that he is trying to move forward, away from the clout chasing that he and Iris were engaged in following their time on Temptation Island. As for the breakup and his final thoughts on Iris?
Luke said: “Our values don’t align in any way and she’s not even close to the same Iris I loved months ago. Boasting about being a sugar baby and the demeaning sexual behavior she’s involved in is so far from what I’d want in a future wife. Honestly, if her parents knew what she was doing, they’d be broken-hearted.”
Catch up on Iris and Luke's Season of Temptation Island on Peacock and tune into new episodes Wednesdays on USA Network.
