Austin From ‘Love Island’ Said an “18-Hour” Psychedelics Trip Led Him To Quitting Opiates

During Love Island USA Season 7, Austin Shepard found himself in multiple controversies. He was one of several contestants who were put under fire by fans due to suggestively racist comments he allegedly made online following his debut. Fortunately for him, most of the fandom pushed his past aside and focused on his on-screen moments he shared with his potential partners, Chelley Bissainthe, Season 7 winner Amaya Espinal, and Casa Amor bombshell Jaden Duggar.

Now that he's out of the villa, Austin is opening up about other parts of his life he didn't get to share in the villa. One topic he's shedding more light on is his previous opioid addiction and his journey to sobriety.

Austin discussed his battle with opiates in an interview with The Journey Podcast. During his chat with the hosts, he revealed that he was addicted to opiates in his early twenties and decided to seek sobriety when he was 22. Austin said he used a psychedelic called Ibogaine, which he said helped him see he wouldn't have as long of a life as he hoped if he didn't get clean.

"It's like this 18-hour trip," he described at the 1:04 mark of the podcast. "It's super intense. It's like crazy. But in it I lived until I was like 64 years old as an addict. Like day in and day out. Like left that place like went straight back home and did what I was doing. Like had two kids, a wife, kids got taken away, like literally lived day in and day out."

Austin said he came out of his trip realizing he needed to change his ways, thinking, "Holy s--t, like I need to get my life figured out."

The Peacock star said his experience with Ibogaine opened him up to other "alternative" methods of care, including Ayuascha and psychidelic mushrooms. Austin also credited psychidelics for its "therapeutic effects" rather than the benefits recreational users receive.

"If you open up your mind in like a completely different way to it, it'll like help a lot," he said. "It's crazy."

While Austin is transparent about his past opioid addiction, his journey came as a surprise to some fans who saw him every nearly every day on Love Island for several weeks. He shared on The Journey Podcast that, although some of his castmates knew about his progress, Love Island's producers didn't air those conversations.

"I guess they didn't like, show that," Austin said. "I guess they couldn't like really show that."

The pool technician added that, although Love Island didn't highlight his road to recovery, he plans on continuing to use his platform to share his story in hopes that it can inspire others to seek the support they need and to raise awareness that addiction "doesn't discriminate."

"A lot of people wouldn't expect that from me," Austin said. "That s--t does not discriminate."

"You can have an awesome life," he continued. "It's not like life's over. Because I feel like that's like what a lot of people that have gone through addiction or getting clean [are like] 'Oh man, like I feel like I can't like have a life or do stuff after.' And it's like you can completely do whatever you want. You know what I mean? You just got to stay grounded."