Yahoo Lifestyle Here's A Recap Of Every Wild And Unhinged Moment On "Love Island USA" So Far
If you've spent any time on social media this past month, chances are your feed is filled with posts about Taylor Swift's Eras Tour and Love Island USA, which is exploding in popularity this season.
I have been telling people that #loveislandusa is having one of the best seasons of love island, of any country any franchise or spinoff, but there was an islander dumping last night that puts it in the running as one of the best seasons of a dating reality show...ever?
— folu (@notfolu) July 1, 2024
So to celebrate the return of Hot Girl Summer, let's recap this season of Love Island USA with the help of Taylor Swift lyrics:
First of all, Vanderpump Rules star and Scandoval survivor Ariana Madix is hosting Love Island USA for the first time this season, which brought a new group of viewers to the famous dating show.
Ariana survived a nine-year relationship with a worm with a mustache, and she doesn't tolerate men's BS. She's the perfect host for this season, which is so successful because of the strong female friendships in the Villa.
In the first episode of the season, we're introduced to the first five girls and five boys to enter the Villa:
Serena Page
Serena is a self-proclaimed "slow burn," but she starts a flirty friendship with Kordell, eventually developing into a romantic connection.
Kordell Beckham
Kordell is Odell Beckham, Jr.'s younger brother. He's 22, sweetly sincere, and possibly still in that early-20s phase of life where you think more with your "petey wacker" than your brain. More on that later.
Hannah Smith
Hannah is the comedian of the Villa. She couples up with Kendall, but it doesn't last very long. Her time on the show can be summed up by the phrase "here for a good time, not for a long time."
Kendall Washington
I can't be sure, but it's very possible that this man loves gossip and drama more than his own family. He definitely loves it more than Hannah, who he sends home after recoupling with bombshell Nicole.
JaNa Craig
JaNa is bubbly and hilarious, and she refuses to put up with men who don't respect and prioritize her. She is best friends with Serena and Leah in the Villa, and if that trio doesn't get a spin-off reality show when this season ends, I'm suing.
Coye Simmons
Coye and JaNa couple up on the first day, but they seemingly never speak again. Fed up with his "go girl, give us nothing" routine, JaNa tells him she needs him to put in even a modicum of effort. He continues to do absolutely nothing, so he's the first islander sent home this season.
Kaylor Martin
Kaylor is essentially every drunk college girl you've ever met in a bathroom. She's super sweet, naive, and constantly crying. She and Aaron form an immediate connection.
Aaron Evans
Aaron is a British deckhand who starred on The Traitors UK, but presumably didn't make the cut for Love Island UK or Below Deck. He starts a romance with Kaylor and a bromance with Rob.
Leah Kateb
Leah is a delightful mix of self-aware and totally delusional, aka every reality TV producer's wet dream. She and Rob couple up in the first episode and joke about "sharing one brain cell." They're cute and ultimately terrible for one another, which is Leah's ideal relationship — she admits that her perfect man will make her feel "a little bit like you're going to send me to the psych ward."
Rob Rausch
Rob seems like the exact kind of guy who sends women to the psych ward. He and Leah seem like a good match (he's a snake-wrangler, and she likes snakes), but then Liv comes in and couples up with Rob. He then recouples with Leah for a bit, but he leaves her for Andrea.
Not long after the first five pairs couple up, bombshells start arriving:
Liv Walker
Liv is Australian, "stands on business," and fits right in with the whole "girl's girl" vibe this season. She has no lasting romantic attachments to anyone in the Villa, but she's close with Kaylor and the other girls, and she would probably kill for them if given the opportunity.
Connor Newsum
Connor enters the Villa with Hakeem as one of the first male bombshells. Everyone makes fun of him for walking like the Hulk, and he works out a lot. He and JaNa couple up, but then he leaves her for Leah. He shades JaNa several times for absolutely no good reason and immediately gives Leah the ick (which she blames on his skinny jeans). He's eventually sent home.
Hakeem White
Hakeem couples up with Hannah and then Liv, and he's super weird to both of them. He gives Liv a list of improvements she needs to make, and that's the final nail in his coffin. He's sent home a few days later, and I almost left him out of this list because I forgot he was on the show.
Nicole Jacky
Nicole and Andrea are bombshells who enter the Villa together. She forms connections with Kendall and Miguel but ultimately chooses Kendall. She's maybe a bit too normal for a show like this and fades into the background a lot, but she seems nice.
Andrea Carmona
Andrea makes quite the splash in her extremely short time on the show. She couples up with Rob, who puts on the performance of a lifetime when he ends things with Leah. He and Andrea spend every waking moment in Soul Ties together (sometimes with a disgustingly large spider).
She doesn't make much effort to befriend the other women, so she and Rob are one of the bottom couples in the first audience vote of the season, and the girls vote to send her home over JaNa and Nicole. Rob threatens to leave with her, which makes Aaron cry. He almost tells Andrea he loves her, but he stays in the Villa and promptly forgets about her.
Miguel Harichi
Miguel is another Brit who joins Love Island USA (why???). He makes out with as many women as possible, but he's upfront about his disinterest in serious relationships. After Nicole ultimately chooses Kendall, Miguel pursues Leah. They make a strangely cute couple for two days until he SPRINTS out of the Villa to Casa Amor.
Kenny Rodriguez
Kenny is a bombshell who enters with Nigel and Cassidy. He takes JaNa on a date, where they form an instant connection. He seems quiet and reserved. Before they can explore things further, he joins the other boys at Casa Amor, where he spends most of the time either sitting silently or talking about how he misses JaNa's smile and "warmth."
Nigel Okafor
Nigel and Liv couple up. He starts a ridiculous argument with Liv about how he feels like she regrets her decision to choose him over Connor. She didn't regret it before, but she absolutely does after he berates her about it. He gets sent home soon after with Cassidy.
Cassidy Laudano
When Cassidy enters the Villa, she goes on a date with Miguel but ultimately couples up with Rob, who couldn't possibly be less interested in her. In the second audience vote, Rob and Cassidy are in the bottom two couples with Liv and Nigel because Rob is a dramatic, whiny baby. The islanders vote to keep Rob and Liv, which sends Cassidy and Nigel packing. After Andrea, she is the second victim of Rob's unpopularity with the fans.
A few days after the fan vote, the boys are all given the choice to go to Casa Amor for the week or stay in the Villa. They all BOOK IT out of the Villa like they're a Looney Tunes character:
Caine Bacon
After the original boys leave the Villa for Casa, six new boys join the girls. Caine (ANOTHER British guy!!!!!) is the only survivor. Liv couples up with him at the end of the week, and I would bet a million dollars that they don't have another conversation on camera for the rest of the season. He seems fine.
Ignacio Ferrari, George Vining, Jacobi Graham, Josiah Roebuck, and Jalen Oliver
Of the six new boys, these five are sent home. Most of them are nice but forgettable. Ignacio, who has a few cute conversations with Leah, is the only one to make any real impression. He's from Argentina and speaks Spanish, which comes in handy when Kaylor is sent a video from Casa where Aaron and Daniela are speaking Spanish. Ignacio translates, so now Kaylor knows Aaron wants to kiss Daniela. Unfortunately, he's still sent home at the end of the week when Leah decides she wants to continue her relationship with Miguel.
Daniela Ortiz-Rivera
Daniela and Aaron form an instant connection in Casa. They make out a lot, cuddle in bed every night, and Aaron tries to "get in [her] pants on the first night." At the end of the week, Aaron leaves Daniela and decides to stay with Kaylor, who takes him back for some reason. Daniela goes back to the Villa with Aaron's best friend, Rob. (Yes, it's very weird.)
Sierra Mills
Sierra and Miguel connect in Casa. He brings her back to the Villa, where he promptly announces that he's still interested in Leah and wants to continue getting to know both the girls. He's so vocally into Leah that Ariana has to remind him that he's in a couple with Sierra, not Leah.
Catherine Marshall
After remaining single and mostly uninterested in the Casa girls all week, Kenny shares an awkward kiss with Catherine on his last day and brings her back to the Villa, much to the surprise and dismay of basically everyone. He stutters through a weird explanation about how his connection with JaNa is stronger than his connection with Catherine, but he wants to test them both, and he wasn't sure he made enough of an impression for JaNa to choose him. The whole time, Catherine stands silently next to him, looking like a little baby deer in the headlights.
Daia McGhee
Daia enters Casa Amor with exactly one goal: couple up with Kordell, no matter the cost. She comes on very strong, and Kordell is extremely into it. They make out a lot, and a video of them dry humping with the lights on is sent to Serena, who immediately washes her hands of Kordell. Daia and Kordell don't seem to have any conversations about personal details — they just reiterate how attracted they are to each other, and Daia throws some shade at Serena when she tells Kordell he deserves someone who's all about him and not using him. They couple up at the end of Casa, and Kordell brings Daia back to the Villa.
Destiny Herzog and Sydney Leighton
We barely learn anything about Destiny and Sydney in Casa, and they're sent home at the end of the week.
Now that the boys and their new partners are back in the Villa, we're in for a week of chaos. In the next few days, we'll see movie night and an elimination, which Ariana teased as "a blood bath."
And finally, two contestants from last season, Harrison Hans Luna and Kassy Castillo, will join the show as bombshells — as if the Villa wasn't overflowing already.
Are you as obsessed with this season of Love Island USA as we are? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
