Bryce Fins has something to say.
In an exclusive interview with Vidak For Congress, the “Love Island USA” contestant clarifies ex Courtney Boerner’s claims that he showed “disrespect” by ignoring her desires for physical intimacy.
“As far as I can remember… it was a night where we were just really exhausted,” he says, sharing his side of the story.
“We still kissed, we were still passionate and intimate with each other — but it wasn’t for the duration we had the nights before.”
Their abbreviated bedtime make-up session, Fins believes, has sowed a “tiny seed of doubt” in Boerner about their potential as a couple.
Before that, the couple was hot and heavy. The brunette beauty’s head turned for Finnish rather quickly when he arrived at the villa late, eventually dumping his then-partner Felipe Gomes for the hot new bombshell.
Fins and Boerner’s physical chemistry was explosive; they often catered to her penchant for PDA. More importantly, though, the self-proclaimed “Italian Stallion” and the fashion stylist seemed to have a connection on an emotional level that wasn’t present in her relationship with Gomes.
“My experience with her, especially when I started and during the time I was there, has been extremely positive. We were voted ‘Most Boring Couple’ because we got along so well and got along so well physically, intellectually and emotionally,” said Fins.
“We really bonded with each other and everything we shared with each other,” he adds. “I felt really good [with her] clear.”
Therefore, Fins says, Boerner’s claim that he “rolled his eyes” at her was just a misunderstanding.
“When I ‘rolled my eyes’ at her, I was in bed and I was like, ‘Hey, do you want to talk? Because it seems like you’re a little anxious or a little stressed. You look a little bit.’ And she says, ‘No, I don’t want to talk now,'” he recalls. “She’s got her hand on my neck and I didn’t even roll my eyes. I was like, ‘I know you want to talk about something , I feel something is not right.’”
He claims the interaction was “playful” and that he cannot recall rolling his eyes in “another case” while staying at the villa.
“And in my opinion I was absolutely never disrespectful,” says Fins.
The Los Angeles finance manager says he and Boerner, who also lives in LA, had separate conversations about the hiccups in their romance.
“The second call was shorter and it was just before the shutdown. She said, ‘Sure, we’ll see. We’re going to watch it overnight, like we always have. But my feelings for you haven’t changed. I don’t see my head turning,” he says.
“She basically just said, ‘This upsets me, this is what I’d like to see changed.’ And that was especially being passionate at night and making sure her love languages are addressed, which I was absolutely committed to and respected.”
If he hadn’t been voted out of the Peacock reality series in a surprise elimination, Fins thinks he and Boerner would have survived the current Casa Amor episodes — and might even have won the title of “America’s Favorite Couple.”
“I feel like what I had with Courtney was very genuine and not something that happens — easy even in this accelerated experience,” he says. “For my part, I would have been faithful and stayed true to the relationship and making sure I didn’t do anything to jeopardize it too much.”
Fins explains: “I think we would have survived. We might have had more opportunities to talk about our feelings and work through the issue we had… But that’s not how the cards fell.”
While the castoff keeps an eye out for the rest of the season, he’s not confident that Boerner will find a bond as strong as theirs. She is currently chasing Chad Robinson after trying it out with Jordan Morello.
“I don’t like comparing myself to any more people,” Fins says of the new guys. “But I know the way she and I started feels stronger than anything I’ve seen with her and with anyone else.”
“Love Island USA” — hosted by Sarah Hyland — is available to stream on Peacock. New episodes air Tuesday through Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.