'It Was Awkward For Me': Trace Reacts To Lascelles' Declaration Of Love On 'Temptation Island'

There's been plenty of drama brewing on Season 4 of "Temptation Island" — and a lot of it has to do with Lascelles Lagares, who came to the island after worrying he and his girlfriend of seven years, Ashley Rodriguez, were struggling with co-dependency. But almost immediately, Lacelles fell hard for one of the singles: Trace Winningham. This led to awkward friction with another single, Alexa Coppola, and a shockingly early declaration of love. So, what did Trace think during all this?

Trace, a model, explained to USA Insider she wanted to join "Temptation Island" to put her dating skills to the test.

"I feel like it's been a long time since I've been in a situation where I'm able to make a strong connection just based off of the candidates we have here in Los Angeles ... I just wanted to give it a chance. I wanted to have fun. I wanted to find a connection and just really be in the experience so I could learn as much as I can," she explained.

After arriving at the villa, Trace said she formed a connection with all the guys (although she noted Luke Wechselberger has consistently been her favorite!). However, the man she became closest to was obviously Lascelles. Lascelles consistently took Trace on dates and spent his time at house parties focused solely on her. This annoyed Alexa, who had initially been flirting with Lascelles, to the point where Lascelles told the entire villa not to talk to him anymore, as he was "only interested in Trace."

Naturally, this did not endear Trace to Alexa, and vice versa, Trace admitted.

"To be honest, I feel like, unfortunately, she was one of the people that just didn't get the hint and it sucks that it kept having to be reiterated and brought up multiple days in a row. I'm proud of him for standing up for himself because they really put him into a corner, basically — like, 'Why are you not giving us a chance?' But you can't force someone to give you a chance. They have to like you, at least to some extent. You can't just walk up to a random person and be like, 'Hey, take me on the date.' So, I think that's something that maybe she shouldn't have done. Overall, she's not my favorite person in the world," Trace explained.

The men ultimately eliminated Alexa, which was a relief for Trace, she said.

"I was really excited that [the men] were able to recognize that she wasn't necessarily a positive impact on the house and that they were open to sending her a home, and that was a good decision, so I was happy," she explained.

Still, despite the tension with Alexa, she was able to form a strong connection with other singles in the villa.

"I've never been a person that hung out with big groups of girls or just always had so many friends in my life. So, initially meeting everyone, I was a little standoffish ... but when I first met the girls, there was a couple that I feel like I instantly connected with. And then, of course, you have the few that I didn't get along with as much and we didn't click. But that's normal. That's totally normal. But overall, it definitely was a crazy, fun group of girls," she said.

As for Lascelles and his declaration of love, Trace still feels conflicted about the stunning moment.

"I definitely was thrown off guard. I came into the island open to the idea of having connections, but at the end of the day, I was just being realistic ... So there was no way in hell that thought that this guy that I've only known for so long was going to declare his love for me. I had no idea. That was never my intention. As far as our connection, I knew that it was deep and genuine but I definitely was not expecting that bombshell. It was awkward for me [at the time] honestly," she confessed.

But will Trace ultimately reciprocate his declaration of love? We'll just have to keep watching to see.

New episodes of "Temptation Island" air Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network. Catch up now on USA Network.