Sarah Hyland stood her ground after Love Island USA contestant Mike Stark accused the host of being “mad disrespectful.”
Sarah, 32, appeared on the Friday, August 18, episode of the dating show to reveal the results of the latest elimination ceremony. After the Modern Family alum revealed that Keenan Anunay had gotten the fewest votes, he was ordered to leave the Fiji villa.
Keenan’s partner, Vickala “Kay Kay” Gray, swiftly proclaimed that she wanted to depart the show alongside him in a stunning show twist.
“Before you go anywhere, I just want to make sure that you are absolutely happy with your decision,” Sarah asked the 25-year-old who, in turn, said that she had no regrets and found the connection she had been seeking.
Mike, 22, then inserted himself into the conversation, calling out Sarah’s intonation and claiming that her phrasing “sounded mad disrespectful.”
“I’m being disrespectful?” Sarah responded as the other islanders silently expressed their shock. “OK, then.”
Fellow contestant Leonardo Dionicio leaned over to Sarah and whispered, “I apologize for his reaction, I think it’s just the heat of the moment.”
Sarah succinctly replied to the group, “Boys will be boys.”
Ahead of Friday’s episode, Sarah teased the drama on her Instagram Story. “When I tell you that tonight’s episode was wild. It was absolutely wild,” the actress — who is married to Bachelor Nation’s Wells Adams — said in the social media upload. “I thought New York Sarah was gonna come out, but I kept it [professional].”
Several hours earlier, Sarah had quipped via Instagram that her appearance would have its fair share of drama. “Tonight. There Will be Blood,” she wrote.
Sarah took over as the host of the U.S. version of Love Island from Arielle Vandenberg during season 4, when the show moved from CBS to Peacock.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so fun,” Sarah previously gushed of her broadcasting duties during a July 2022 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “So, they just called me up, you know, the good ole Peacock, and asked me [to host] and I said, ‘Yes, thank you so much, Peacock.’ I love reality dating shows … and we have 10 very, very, very sexy human beings on this show. I could not stop staring.”
She added at the time: “They’re all very beautiful, lovely people and they do sexy, naughty challenges and they’re looking for love. … We shoot in real time on Tuesdays through Sundays.”
After helming season 4 last year, Sarah returned for season 5 upon its July 18 premiere.
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Love Island USA airs daily on Peacock.
