Love Island USA‘s Austin Shepard is several days sober after suffering a relapse while filming the show’s upcoming spinoff.
Shepard, 27, appeared on TMZ’s “Previously On” podcast on Monday, March 9, where he revealed he is 11 days sober after entering rehab for opioid addiction.
“I know how this road goes. I’ve got plenty of friends that are not here today that have sadly passed from it,” he explained about his addiction struggles. “It’s either death or a long life of misery.”
Shepard noted that he was on opioids while filming Love Island USA‘s Love Island: Beyond the Villa. He told TMZ producers didn’t know about his relapse because he “tried to avoid filming as much as possible.”
“I’m a pretty manipulative, functional addict until it becomes so unmanageable, like how it got,” he noted before revealing he had a seizure once he arrived at the detox center and had to be sent to the emergency room.
Love Island USA follows a group of singles who have to pair off in order to stay in the show’s luxury villa in Fiji. The contestants — who are referred to as Islanders — live in isolation and are under constant video surveillance. They must be coupled up to remain on the show and to stand a chance to receive the prize of $100,000.
Shepard was part of the season 7 cast, who were filmed in the villa in June 2025. He ultimately didn’t make it to the finale after initially forming a connection with Chelley Bissainthe, who has since ended her romance with fellow Islander Ace Greene.
After leaving the villa last year, Shepard opened up about his past struggles with addiction. He spoke on “The Journey” podcast in August 2025 about an unconventional and “super intense” 18-hour treatment.
Peacock’s Love Island has way more behind-the-scenes revelations — and production secrets — than some fans may realize. Love Island, which premiered in the U.K. in 2002, follows a different group of singles every season who have to pair off in order to stay in the show’s luxury villa. The franchise has since expanded worldwide […]
“When I was 22, to get clean from opiates, I did this psychedelic stuff called ibogaine,” he said at the time about the side effects of the psychedelic including him seeing a version of his life. “In it, I lived until I was 64 years old as an addict, day in and day out.”
He continued: “Had two kids, a wife, kids got taken away. And then I came out of my trip 18 hours later, and I was like, ‘Holy s***, I need to get my life figured out.’”
Since getting sober last month, Shepard told TMZ on Monday that he has been staying with his dad and girlfriend.
The reality star, who is reportedly dating Raven Wood from O’ahu Shores, told the outlet that he “plans to pay it forward and start a scholarship for those in need.”
