The “Love Island USA” reunion was as filled with drama as the season itself, with contestants rehashing old blow-ups and grappling with newfound social media fame.
The Peacock reality show, a spinoff of “Love Island” in the United Kingdom, brings singles together in a Fijian villa for a chance at romance. Over the course of six weeks, the so-called “islanders” couple up, get dumped and face various challenges while facing judgment from their fellow contestants and the public. (NBCUniversal is the parent company of Peacock and NBC News.)
This year, Serena Page and Kordell Beckham were crowned the winning couple. Meanwhile, couples Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi; JaNa Craig and Kenny Rodriguez; and Nicole Jacky and Kendall Washington were the runners-up.
The road to the final four was not smooth and lingering tensions were addressed at the reunion. There was so much to address that Craig brought pages of receipts in anticipation of certain arguments.
Here’s all the biggest moments from the reunion, which was hosted by “Vanderpump Rules” star Ariana Madix.
Top three couples share they’re official
The reunion opened with couples Page and Kordell Beckham; Leah Kateb and Harichi; and Craig and Rodriguez sharing that they had all made their relationships official.
Beckham asked Page to be his girlfriend during a private dinner date. Harichi wrote Kateb a long letter asking to make it official, with Page’s help. Rodriguez asked Craig with a large bouquet of roses.
Exes confront each other
Kaylor Martin and Aaron Evans, who coupled up on the first day of the season, recently shared that they had called it quits.
At the reunion, Evans apologized for how he treated Martin, while Martin criticized him for tearing down her self-esteem.
Martin and Evans had a tumultuous journey in the villa after the show’s infamous Casa Amor challenge. Casa Amor separates the men and women into two houses for several days and introduces them to new prospects.
During Casa Amor, Martin was sent a video of what Evans was doing while they were separated — and she discovered that he had not been loyal to her. Evans was seen getting intimate with Casa Amor bombshell Daniela Ortiz Rivera, throwing his relationship with Martin into question.
Martin and Evans rekindled their relationship after Casa Amor, but many fans online have expressed that they think their partnership was toxic.
During the reunion, Martin criticized Evans for admitting to lying about the extent of his intimacy with Ortiz Rivera and apologizing to her on camera during the reunion taping. Martin said Evans failed to do so when they had been together in private after the show.
“I don’t want anything to do with you,” Martin told Evans. “I never want to speak to you again. You’re disgusting, and I do not deserve that.”
One couple grapples with the impact of intimate image abuse
Jacky and Washington, who placed fourth during the finale, had a tense argument about the fallout from the intimate image abuse, also referred to as “revenge porn,” that Washington experienced after the season wrapped.
A sexually-explicit video of Washington was nonconsensually leaked after he finished the show. He previously said in an Instagram Story on July 22 that the video was “something I shared to someone in confidence and trust.”
Jacky said that her relationship with Washington had been rocky since they left the villa. She expressed hurt and anger toward Washington because she believed he lied to her about the circumstances under which the leaked video was filmed. She said Washington initially told her it was filmed “years ago” but later said it was filmed shortly before he started the show.
While she said that what Washington experienced was “awful,” Jacky felt that he should not have lied to her. She also said he had not supported her when she was receiving social media hate. Washington apologized for both of these issues.
“I 100% should have been honest with Nicole in that moment, but I honestly wasn’t ready,” he said. “Literally my life was turned upside down. All I wanted to do was just have you there.”
Washington said the incident “led to this domino effect of us not being able to communicate.”
While the cast members sympathized with Jacky’s feelings about the lie, they defended Washington and emphasized how difficult it can be to experience intimate image abuse. Some encouraged Jacky to be more understanding toward Washington, who had to navigate a violation of his privacy.
“Sometimes when you’re at high emotions, the whole world sees something so intimate and so private, it can be embarrassing,” JaNa Craig said to Jacky during the reunion.
Islanders rehash an explosive dumping
Rob Rausch went through several couples during his time in the Love Island villa, but his love triangle with Kateb and Andrea Carmona caused some of the most tension in the season.
During a dramatic dumping, Kateb, Page, Martin and Olivia Walker had to choose one girl to dump out of three vulnerable female contestants. Those at risk included Carmona, Craig and Jacky.
The group dumped Carmona, despite her growing connection with Rausch. Rausch threatened to leave the show with Carmona because of the decision, but ultimately stayed.
Despite her previously being in a couple with Rausch, Kateb told him that she “tried to take the back seat” in the dumping because she “didn’t want to have a huge sway on it.”
Rausch confronted Walker about what Kateb said about the dumping. Walker said she took issue with Kateb claiming she took a “back seat” in the decision to dump Carmona, saying she had a role in the choice. Rausch called out Kateb for seemingly lying.
During the reunion, an unedited clip of the group deliberating on whom to send home was aired. In it, Kateb, Walker, Page and Martin struggle to choose between Carmona and Jacky. After about 12 minutes, a producer is shown telling them to lock in their answers quickly.
Rausch, Walker and Kateb agreed that the blowup between them was a result of miscommunication. Walker said she believed the key detail she missed from her conversation with Rausch was that Kateb said she “tried to” take the backseat rather than saying she “took” it.
“I did back up all the other girls, and I didn’t back you up,” Walker told Kateb. “So I do apologize. I was in the wrong, and I’d take full accountability for it.”
Craig also confronted Evans, who had made a comment during the dumping that she should have been sent home. Evans subsequently apologized for his remark.
Bombshells address social media hate
Bombshells, the term used to describe contestants who are introduced throughout the season instead of on day one, often have the difficult task of finding prospective partners among existing couples.
As a result, they can receive social media hate for breaking up a fan-favorite pairing.
Daia McGhee, who Beckham took back to the villa after Casa Amor and briefly left Page for, said that she received nasty messages from fans of the couple.
“You’re there to make a connection, and people are pissed that we make connections,” McGhee said of being a Casa Amor bombshell.
McGhee said her social media pages were “overwhelming” when she left the villa. She added that the islanders should be mindful of what comments and posts they engage with online because it could fuel more hate toward others.
“You guys have to realize how that’s going to affect other people sitting on this couch,” she said.
McGhee said that she was happy that Beckham and Page were together. McGhee and Page praised each other for not engaging with hate toward one another. Page said she did not agree with any hate toward McGhee.
Kateb, who has grown her Instagram to 3.1 million since leaving the show, also told her followers not to send hate to other islanders on her behalf.
“I don’t want people to think I hate anyone sitting here,” she said.
Host Madix encouraged viewers to “be kind to our islanders.” A list of resources for people experiencing cyberbullying was also aired on the screen.
,
