A Lehigh Valley cop left the force to join ‘Love Island USA.’ The police chief and mayor aren’t happy.
Sean Reifel was previously a Bethlehem police officer. Now, he's joining the cast of a hit reality dating competition, looking for love and a cash prize.
A Lehigh Valley police officer has left the force to join the villa.
Sean Reifel, of Easton, who was employed with the Bethlehem Police Department until May 20, is among the latest bombshells cast for the upcoming season of Love Island USA, the Morning Call reported.
“I’m not a model, not an actor. I’m a police officer, actually,” Reifel said in a trailer for the Peacock hit reality dating competition. “You could be having the worst day of your life and I’ll just help you sift through that.”
But his former bosses aren’t too happy with the new-found islander’s quest for love ... and a $100,000 prize.
“I love Sean, he’s a good guy, he was a great officer, but I’m disappointed,” Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott 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.”
Reifel’s departure, Kott said, leaves another vacancy in the department, which is currently 15 people short, according to the Morning Call.
“This is America, people can do what they want,” said Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds, who swore Reifel in last August. “Our mission, ... it’s to have a police department that is fully staffed, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”
Reynolds added: “We are disappointed when we invest in an individual with our time, our money, our resources and the opportunity cost to hire somebody else, and then they leave after [nine] months.”
Season eight of Love Island USA — where a group of hot, single people will live together in a Fijian villa and compete for love, all while sun-soaked chaos and meme-able moments will surely ensue — is set to premiere Tuesday, June 2, on Peacock.