‘Love Island USA' Star's Police Resignation Sparks Mayor Backlash: 'Disappointed'

On Aug. 18, 2025, Sean Reifel was sworn in as the newest officer of the Bethlehem Police Department. The Pennsylvanian mayor who did the honors, J. William Reynolds, is now criticizing Reifel, after the young recruit resigned less than a year later.

The reason? To be a contestant on Love Island USA.

"Our police department spent a lot of time training," Williams told local news WHTM. "We paid thousands of taxpayer dollars to send him to the police academy. We are disappointed he left as we now have another vacancy in our department that it's impossible to fill until next year."

"I never thought I'd see the day in America where reality show participation wins out over being a police officer," he added.

The news that Reifel is actually a former police officer comes four days after Peacock released a Meet the Islanders video. Given his introduction, the revelation was surprising.

'I'm a Police Officer, Actually'

"I'm not a model, not an actor," he said, while he was shown walking on his hands and flaunting his toned abs. "I'm a police officer, actually. You could be having the worst day of your life, and I'd just help you sift through that. The more thoughtful you are, I think that s**t is so pretty, I love it."

According to Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott, his last day was on May 20. While she praised him, she reiterated the mayor's sentiment.

"I love Sean, he's a good guy, he was a great officer, but I'm disappointed," she told the Morning Call. "Just because we work so incredibly hard to try to recruit the best people we can to be part of the Bethlehem Police Department."

'It's Just a Bad Look'

Because of all the current police department vacancies across the US -- and 15 vacancies with the Bethlehem Police -- letting Reifel take a leave of absence wasn't an option, Kott claimed.

"At this time, I don't think there'd be a department that would be willing to allow someone to leave for "x" amount of weeks to go on a television show when everyone's hurting right now and overtime is being utilized to fill those gaps," Kott said. "Officers are getting burnt out. It's just a bad look to me."

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 12:45 PM.