'It Was Hurtful': Iris Breaks Down Her Decision To Marry Luke On 'Temptation Island'

Following the conclusion of “Temptation Island” Season 4, Iris Jardiel is engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Luke Wechselberger. However, she came to the island fully prepared to leave by herself if he didn’t make some serious changes. 

Speaking to USA Insider, Iris broke down her journey on the island as well as why she ultimately decided to not only stay with Luke, but agree to marry him. 

“I feel like there were a lot of questions I asked myself on that journey that I normally should have asked myself back at home,” she explained. “I think it took being out of my comfort zone and being around like different people and getting their perspective on life to really figure out what I deserve. Do I really love myself and in the end, do I ultimately want to be with Luke?” 

There was a time before “Temptation Island” and even during the show when Iris felt she had to make peace with the idea that he would fall short of her expectations, forcing her to break up with him. After having issues with infidelity in the past, Iris made it clear that Luke’s journey had to be all about accountability and maturity. 

“I remember just launching through a bunch of bonfire clips, the same issue coming up of him saying that I constantly bring up the past and don't allow us to move forward with the future,” Iris explained. “I truly felt like I was only bringing up the past instances where I found him breaking my trust. And in those moments I would constantly bring up all the other times he hurt me to get him to really understand my point of view and to show him that my feelings are actually valid ... it was hurtful because he doesn't know what it feels like to constantly have trust broken.”

It wasn’t until the final bonfire that she was able to talk to Luke directly and see for herself that he was a changed man after his time on “Temptation Island.” 

“Hearing him talk at the bonfire, it was pretty awesome to hear how much growing he decided to do. It was nice that I never saw him consistently connecting with anyone. That was definitely like a major plus going through my head, going into the final bonfire,” she said. “I did just want to hear him talk more about taking accountability for hurting me, because if you couldn't take that accountability, then I can't move forward with the relationship. And he did take that accountability in that final bonfire, finally. And I think that he really started to put my feelings first and make me feel like I was more important in his life after that.” 

Today, she’s happier with their relationship than she’s ever been. She feels that not only is Luke a new man, but she was able to fully recognize and communicate to him what she needs from their relationship going forward. 

“Luke and I are great. I feel like we've been communicating really well. Whenever one of us is hurt or bothered by something, we communicate it,” she said. “He's been treating me great, like he hasn't been texting other girls. He's been all about me, and he's been really making an effort to just be a way better man. And I'm so happy for that.”

In fact, Iris said the only time she and Luke have fought recently was over which one of them got to post moments from their incredible life together. Because they had to keep their engagement a secret so as not to spoil the final moments of their season of “Temptation Island,” she noted it’s been difficult keeping their lives on social media separate. 

“We do everything together and we love going out and meeting up with friends and posting together, posting Stories together,” she explained. “So it's been hard not being able to tag him or show him in anything that I do because he's such a big part of my life.”

Now that their secret is out, Iris said she and Luke are looking to the future and planning their wedding. As for their time on the island — she has no regrets. 

“I'm really happy with how things played out, to be honest,” she concluded. “Going into the experience, I had cold feet. I didn't know how Luke would act during the whole process. I honestly didn't have the most faith in him, but he did it, and I'm so grateful for that.”