Love Island USA Season 7 is nearing its end, and neither fans nor the Islanders have experienced twists and turns this dramatic — from America voting to pair bombshells with already coupled-up Islanders to emotional villa dumpings that leave one or more contestants single and vulnerable.

Episode 27 of the reality TV show was one of the show’s most dramatic and shocking as host Ariana Madix let the Islanders know that five people were leaving the villa. After yet another series of votes from America, the six Islanders with the lowest votes were at risk of leaving the villa with only one being able to stay. Islanders were then forced to stand behind the person they wanted to save, and ultimately, Iris Kendell had to see her connection, TJ Palma, go home.

Love Island USA’s TJ Palma Has A Surprising Emotional Reaction To Iris Kendall’s Final Message After His Villa Dumping

Love Island USA’s TJ Palma, who entered the villa as a bombshell, is still reeling from his shocking unexpected exit from the villa. Episode 27 marked one of the season’s most dramatic moments, as five Islanders were sent home following a tense voting challenge. Not only did America weigh in on what they really thought about the Islanders, but the Islanders were also forced to make tough decisions about who should stay and who should go.

It was quite a shock that TJ Palma was one of the five Islanders sent home as he formed a rather strong connection with Iris Kendall. Iris was crying and clearly devastated that her strongest connection was leaving. It also left her single and vulnerable.

After leaving the show, each Islander was given a chance to hear one last goodbye message from their fellow Islanders on Season 2 Islander Cely Vazquez’s “Cely phone.” However, it was clear that TJ’s message from Iris hit him the hardest, and he was seen shedding a few tears.

“TJ, I am really gonna miss you. You’ve made my experience here so much better than I ever could’ve thought it would be,” she began. “Every morning, I was excited to see you, and going to bed with you was amazing.”

“Everything that we did together in the short amount of time that we had together was truly amazing and I’m not gonna forget you, so don’t worry,” Iris said as TJ was seen wiping away tears. “And I’m really, really grateful to have met such a wonderful guy like you. I had a great time and I’m really gonna miss you.”

After listening to Iris’ touching final message, TJ shared that he “didn’t think I was gonna be crying today, to be honest.”

“I didn’t think I was gonna shed a tear today, but, it was nice to hear from her,” he said. “She’s f****** amazing,” he told Cely. The 23-year-old also added that he already has a date planned between him and Iris once she exits the villa. “Probably the beach. She loves coffee, too, so maybe a coffee spot.”

What Happened On Love Island USA That Got TJ Dumped From The Villa?

Love Island USA Season 7 hasn’t been short on drama, and Episode 27 was no exception. The Islanders took part in a revealing game that once again showed exactly how America feels about each one of them. In this challenge, viewers were asked to rank the Islanders in various categories, from the most to the least genuine boy, to which girl they’d trust with their deepest secrets.

Although viewers weren’t surprised at the outcome of the ranking, the Islanders were quite shocked. Chelley Bissainthe found herself near the bottom of the rankings while Amaya Espinal ranked No.1 in both catergories. As for the men, Taylor Wiliams found himself as the least genuine and worst boyfriend material, which stemmed from his surprising switch up when he coupled up with bombshell Clarke Carraway and left Olandria Cathen high and dry.

And, while some of the Islanders were questioning their moves in the villa based on America’s vote, the game wasn’t quite over.

Ariana informed the Islanders that those who received the least votes from America were at risk of going home. It wasn’t just one or two Islanders that would be sent packing, but five.

The host called the six Islanders that received the lowest votes: Jaden Duggar, Gracyn Blackman, Andreina Santos, TJ Palma, Taylor Williams and Austin Shepard. She then told the Islanders that they had to stand behind the cast member they wanted to save with the one having the most Islanders behind them safe.

Taylor had most Islanders behind him, meaning that he was safe from getting dumped from the villa. For TJ, only Iris and Zak Srakaew stood behind him. Iris was visibly emotional when TJ had to go home. Along with TJ, Jaden, Garcyn, Andreina, and Austin bid their farewells from Fiji.

Iris Found An Unexpected Connection With Pepe Garcia After TJ Left

Iris was left crushed after TJ’s departure, suddenly finding herself single and vulnerable in the villa. But in a surprising turn, Pepe Garcia approached her, and the two agreed to explore a potential connection, especially since Pepe’s former partner, Gracyn, had also been dumped from the villa. Pepe, still reeling from losing his strong bond with Hannah Fields after the Islanders voted her off, knew all too well what Iris was going through.

The next day, Iris and Pepe hung out and got to know each other, and the two got along surprisingly well. In another game, Pepe chose Iris to kiss, with Iris admitting that she thought it was a good smooch.

When Ariana came for yet another recoupling, Iris chose Pepe, and they were officially a couple in the villa with fans hoping that they didn’t couple up just for the cash prize or because it felt forced. What this means for TJ and Iris hanging out in the real world is difficult to say, so hopefully he doesn’t tune in and feel disappointed.

A Reddit thread discussing Iris and Pepe’s surprise connection saw fans hoping it was the real deal.

“A lot of the Iris / Pepe sparks could have been some very clever editing or it could have been real. We really won’t know for a few days until it pans out! That being said, while I really was happy for Iris finding TJ they did bring up a good point that they were only together for 3 days. If there are [8] days left in the Villa, that could be enough time to form a connection or they could be just friends. I really hope they stick around long enough so we can see what happens.”