Love Island USA's Miguel Harichi Reveals He Played a Love Island Contestant on Ted Lasso (Exclusive)

Love Island USA's Miguel Harichi had some prior experience when he stepped into the villa this summer.

The runner-up, who left Fiji with fan-favorite Leah Kateb, joined the Peacock dating series in episode 9, but he tells PEOPLE that wasn't technically his first Love Island experience.

"Funny enough, people actually found out I did a role — I was basically an extra in the Ted Lasso series, and I was playing a Love Island character," Harichi, 27, says. "So Ted Lasso, I think, was watching TV and I was the character in the TV [show]."

The episode Harichi is referring to is a season 2 moment when Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) joins a British reality dating series that's modeled after Love Island, but called Lust Conquers All.

Harichi's appearance comes when Tartt is dumped from the villa — despite his confidence that Harichi would be the one sent home instead.

Harichi admits, though, he has "not actually seen Ted Lasso, nor have I seen that [episode]."

"When I do work, I do not watch it back," he says. "Unless it's modeling. Because it's shoots, so you'll see it and you're like, 'Okay, I can appreciate the picture.'"

When season 2 of the hit Apple TV+ show premiered in 2021, Dunster, 32, said that his character was forced to face some of his demons after his elimination from the Love Island-inspired reality series. "He's learning from the emotional heavy-lifting he's been doing before. He's on a journey of understanding, accountability and apology."

The actor also admitted that he'd taken in some Love Island UK of his own. "I had one season I got into," he said. "It was the Dani Dyer season."

"I got into it in the wrong way. I went into it really wanting to hate and despise it, but I was also just so enthralled by it," Dunster said. "At its best, it's a sort of cross-section view at humanity in stressful situations, but you have to be in a really, really good mindset to sort of approach it like that. Or not. Or just people enjoy it because it's escapism and it's fun and it's people messing around, which is probably what a lot of people would say that Ted Lasso is as well."

While Harichi may not have yet tuned into the hilarious series led by Jason Sudeikis, he still has time before it makes its rumored return for a fourth season.

In August, PEOPLE confirmed that Ted Lasso took a promising step toward a return as Warner Bros. Television picked up options on cast members including Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein and Jeremy Swift. For the actors represented by SAG-AFTRA in the U.S. — Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt and Juno Temple — deals would still need to be made.

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Love Island USA season 6 can be streamed in full on Peacock, and seasons 1-3 of Ted Lasso can be streamed on Apple TV+.