Related Articles
The time has come for Love Island USA viewers to put down their pitchforks and popcorn. Season Seven concluded on Sunday evening with heartfelt romantic declarations, a breakup anyone with eyes could have seen coming from a thousand miles away, and a collective sigh of relief from the fans at home that Total Drama Island is finally over and normal life can resume — maybe.
Over the past six weeks, Love Island saw two contestants removed from the show after their digital footprints revealed the past use of racist and derogatory language; multiple closed-off couples were dumped from the Island despite their connections; and production changes to the connection-challenging Casa Amor made the villa feel like a true social experiment, or nature documentary.
Through all of the highs and extreme lows, viewers were able to see two real love stories make it to the finale. “Amaya really came out on top fr fr she got jumped by three different men at the same time and they all got sent home back to back and she won the damn season,” one user wrote on X, referring to Amaya Espinal who won Season Seven in her couple with Bryan Arenales. Earlier in the season, Amaya entered the villa as a bombshell and cycled through multiple connections with men who found her emotions and affection overbearing.
During one challenge, her former flames Ace Greene, Austin Shepard, and Zak Srakaew openly criticized her to the point of tears for coming on too strong, despite her giving them each a chance to set their boundaries early on. Arenales, a new addition to the villa from Casa Amor, stepped in to defend her, saying, “Coming from a Hispanic household, calling someone babe, mi amor, mi vida — that’s just how we talk.” “Amaya and Bryan — both latinos — being the first latino couple to win Love Island USA in the middle of trump’s administration MI GENTE LATINO WE WON,” one viewer wrote on X.
Some others were rooting for Amaya Papaya, but remained weary of Arenales. During the finale, while each couple prepared to be sent on their final date, he encouraged fellow Casa Amor holdover Chris Seeley to push through his date with Huda Mustafa despite the clear cracks in their connection. A few viewers read the interaction as Arenales telling Seeley to “fake it,” but what does it matter when the date ended in a breakup, anyway. Even the singer the show’s producers tapped to perform during their date — who emerged at the worst possible time — seemed over it.
“Chris and Huda breaking up during the finale whilst Chelley and Ace (the only real and genuine relationship of the season) was booted right before sums up this garbage and embarrassing season 7 of love island USA,” one viewer said. Mustafa was nearly dumped from the island at multiple points throughout the season, but made it to the final four on the strength of the fans who voted for her, even if they didn’t believe Seeley was her match. “Idc how you feel about Huda, Chris telling the boys he knew he would never marry a girl like her but forcing HER to end it and act like that was all her and how she felt, not him, was little boy behavior,” another viewer said.
“#LoveIslandUSA Season 7 was very unserious. Singles got saved 2-3 times, multiple couples formed a week before the finale and a couple breaks up in the finale episode,” read one user’s summation of the season. Included in the recently-formed couples were runner-ups Olandria Carthen and Nic Vansteenberghe, but viewers with a sharp eye and ample delusion saw the foundation being laid from the very first episode. Vansteenberghe confessing to Carthen during the finale that he kissed her in the blindfold challenge during the first week was the cherry on top.
“If I never experience love again I’ll be okay because I got to witness the real-life slow burn. Friends to lovers. Subtle glances across the room. I’m kicking my feet up and sleeping good tonight. #nicolandria forever,” one viewer wrote, while another celebrated in all-caps ferver, “NICOLANDRIA NATION WE STILL FUCKING WON. WE GOT THEM TOGETHER AND YKW SECOND PLACE AINT BAD. BEING DELUSIONAL GETS YOU PLACES DONT LET PEOPLE TELL YOU DIFFERENT! #LoveIslandUSA.”
Love Island will bring everyone back together for a reunion on Aug. 25 with Andy Cohen and Ariana Madix as hosts.
