Taylor Williams is speaking out on accusations that he led on Olandria Carthen.
The Love Island USA alum—who was dumped from the villa during the July 8 episode alongside Clarke Carraway—maintained that he did emphasis initially have an interest in Olandria before he coupled up with Clarke.
“I definitely was interested in her,” Taylor told E! News in an exclusive interview. “If me and Clarke never did hit it off, then I would have kept rocking out with Olandria, because it was something that was real.”
“We had a strong connection,” he added. “We had, s–t, the strongest connection in the house, so, we definitely genuinely did like each other, but just what I had with Clarke, it was different from what I had with Olandria.”
Taylor, 24, gushed that he felt immediately drawn to Clarke, also 24, when she came into the villa as a new bombshell.
“It was like an instant spark, an instant connection, a different feeling that I have with Clarke,” he explained, “and it was something that I just couldn’t pass up on, because I’m in here to find someone that I can go on the outside with.”
The Oklahoma native doubled down on the fact that he followed his heart amid viewer skepticism about his relationship with Clarke.
“I don’t see how it’s fake,” he shared. “If it was fake, even though me and her hit it off so strong, I would have chosen Olandria and took the safe route and stayed all the way to the end. That would have been me faking it, and then like, ‘Clarke, when I get out of here, I’m gonna text you,’ that would have been me faking it, but me choosing Clarke was definitely me going with my gut.”
For her part, Clarke echoed those sentiments, saying, “I’m not good at faking. I don’t lie. I’m a very honest girl. I literally…yeah, faking? That’s crazy.”
As for Olandria, Clarke harbors no ill will toward her fellow Islander, despite how their oftentimes tense love triangle played out in the villa.
“I like her a lot, so I would love to be friends outside of the villa,” she shared. “Obviously, if that’s something that she’s comfortable with, I would love that.”
Taylor agreed, even so far as to give Olandria and pal Nic Vansteenberghe, who are now coupled up on the show, his blessing.
“I have no problem with Olandria,” he said. “I’m rooting for her and Nic.”
“I have no bad blood of it,” Taylor added, “Yeah, me and Olandria can be friends after this.”
Keep reading for more about this season of Love Island USA…
Bryan Arenales
Boston, Massachusetts
Elan Bibas
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Courtney “CoCo” Watson
Los Angeles, California
Clarke Carraway
Columbia, South Carolina
Chris Seeley
Fresno, California
Zak Srakaew
Roi Et, Thailand
Zac Woodworth
Portland, Utah
JD Dodard
Dallas, Texas
Jaden Duggar
Los Angeles, California
Gracyn Blackmore
Bristol, Virginia
Savanna “Vanna” Einerson
Salt Lake City, Utah
Andreina Santos
Thomas John “TJ” Palma
Pleasantville, New York
Belle-A Walker
Honolulu, Hawaii
Austin Shepard
Northville, Michigan
Ace Greene
Los Angeles, California
Chelley Bissainthe
Orlando, Florida
Huda Mustafa
Raleigh, North Carolina
Nicolas Vansteenberghe
Jacksonville, Florida
Jeremiah Brown
Los Angeles, California
Olandria Carthen
Decatur, Alabama
Yulissa Escobar
Miami, Florida
Taylor Williams
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Cierra Ortega
Phoenix, Arizona
Charlie Georgiou
Birmingham, United Kingdom
