As the title suggests, this is the first time I’ve ever watched Love Island USA. I didn’t watch that bombshell season 6 despite hearing so many good things about it. (don’t worry, I’m catching up on it now.)
But this isn’t what this post is about. It’s my honest thoughts on Season 7, and yes, I’ll be delving into Nicolandria and the Huda and Chris drama.
Who appeared in Love Island USA Season 7 cast?
Original line-up
Olandria Carthen
Nicolas Vansteenberghe
Chelley Bissainthe
Taylor Williams
Huda Mustafa
Jeremiah Brown
Ace Greene
Yulissa Escobar
Austin Shephard
Bell-A Walker
Bombshells
Charlie Georgio
Cierra Ortega
Hannah Fields
Amaya Elizabeth
Pepe Garcia
Iris Kendall
Jalen Brown
Andreina Santos
Tj Palma
Casa Amor
Casa boys
Zak Srakaew
Elan Bibas
Jd Dodard
Bryan Arenales
Chris Taylor
Zac Woodworth
Casa girls
Coco Watson
Clarke Carraway
Gracyn Blackmore
Jaden Ashley
Vanna Einerson
The set
I’ve been watching Love Island UK for several years now, which is typically set in either Mallorca, Spain, for its regular seasons, or South Africa for its winter and new All Stars season.
I’ve grown accustomed to the regular locations, despite their stunning views, such as the fire pit or the hideaway. However, it’s relatively small compared to the Love Island USA villa in Fiji, which is significantly larger. In addition to the firepit, the villa has several cool places for the islanders to hang out, such as Soul Ties, their own drinking room, and a photo booth area with pictures to share with their fellow islanders and couples. The budget definitely feels bigger and better, and I was in awe.
The drama
The drama this season has been incredible— the dramatic fallouts, the crashes, and the unexpected dumpings!
I’d say the highlights of this season were the dramatic moments between each and every couple, except for a few (if you know, you know).
Ariana Madix was a fantastic host this season. I really admired how she slayed with her outfits. She connected with the islanders through all the ups and downs and truly owned her presence.
Huda & Jeremiah + Huda & Chris
I didn’t hate seeing Jeremiah and Huda together. Honestly, there were good parts to their relationship, and obviously, bad parts as well. However, the good bits really tainted their romance. I wouldn’t blame either of them, to be honest; I just don’t think they were the right match for each other.
Yes, their fallout made for great TV, but they genuinely seemed like they fell for each other, and hard.
I hate the hate online that I’m seeing about Huda being toxic. I can see why people might say that, but looking at her behavior from a deeper perspective, I’d say she’s someone who loves to love and is kind-hearted, but also has a very fiery side, like most women.
However, her actions were also very sporadic and loud, which wasn’t necessary. I think we need to remember that these people are human, and we shouldn’t be quick to judge their character, as they could be dealing with past traumas that lead to insecurities. We all need to remember to be kind.
Moving on from Huda and Chris, the mom of one ended up coupling up with Chris, whom she met at Casa Amor.
Chris had originally shown interest in Chelley, but it was clear to see that she had stronger feelings for Ace.
I thought they were a really strong couple. Chris seemed mature, and Huda was taking things at a slower pace with him, getting to know him more. But evidently, while it appeared smooth sailing for us, it was clear that their relationship was also going through some rocky moments. Huda claimed she wasn’t getting enough attention from him (both on-screen and in her post-Love Island interviews), while Chris claimed she was treating him like her child. Finally, the couple called it off in the finale episode. (Yikes.)
Nic and Olandria
Omg, the couple I—and most Love Island USA fans—were rooting for was Nic and Olandria. We knew Nic was her secret admirer, choosing her for challenges, sharing those glances across the room (yeah, we saw that), and calling her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his lifetime.
Unfortunately, both of them got to know new people in the villa, which meant they weren’t able to explore their connection fully.
However, this was later revisited by a producer’s plant. They finally had the chance to really get to know each other in their final days, following a dramatic recoupling with Taylor and Cierra (Nic’s potential partner being cast out of the villa) after resurfaced social media videos showed her using a racial slur.
I just love Nic and Olandria (and I’m clearly not the only one!)
Cierra drama
As mentioned above, Cierra was kicked out of the villa after a clip resurfaced of her using a derogatory word towards Asian people.
Cierra went on to apologize after leaving the villa, but she still received hate comments, and her family was targeted with death threats.
During her time in the villa, she was painted as the “mean girl,” and her connection with Nic was scrutinized.
I’m not defending her online behavior, but I do find it cruel that people have ruined her only connection in the villa. Despite not appearing as “loved up” as Nic is with Olandria, you have to consider her genuine feelings toward Nic. I don’t think she faked them, and honestly, I don’t think Nic did either.
Taylor
Oh, don’t even get me started on Taylor, the man of few words. He was self-centered and dishonest from the start with his connection to Olandria.
The only time I actually heard this man speak was when Olandria expressed her feelings of betrayal, and he tried, poorly, to come up with some kind of excuse for his actions.
This was after he picked Clarke over Olandria, despite knowing her for literally seconds. I can’t even go on.
Ace and Chelley
Ace and Chelley are such a cute duo. I don’t care what anyone says. They were unproblematic, they got along, had the same interests, were respectful while exploring other connections, and Ace clearly showed up in their relationship by planning dates and having fun for his better half. Yes, I said it—clock it.
Unfortunately, their connection was overshadowed by rumors that they dated outside of the villa (which was later debunked). Not many people liked how Ace was behaving, either.
But I’m so glad they made it as far as they did.
Pepe & Hannah and Pepe & Iris
Okay, we can all admit we’re obsessed with Pepe, right? Like, have you seen him?
He immediately hit it off with Hannah, who was coupled up with Charlie at the time. However, he was quickly dumped, leaving Hannah devastated. There were a lot of tears and tantrums at the time, and Pepe lent a shoulder for her to cry on. Eventually, they did bits in bed.
Hannah also gets dumped, leaving Pepe to explore things with Iris, with whom he entered the villa with. Her match TJ, also unexpectedly got dumped from the island, which left her single and vulnerable.
I think Pepe and Iris worked well together. They were both very level-headed, soft-spoken, and the chemistry between them appeared to be there from the start. I don’t think they stayed together out of convenience, as they genuinely seemed to like each other. I just wish they had actually chosen each other, but I guess that’s not always how things work out. You don’t really realize how good something is unless it’s taken away. I really liked them as a couple.
Amaya Papaya & Zak
After a tumultuous few weeks in the villa, which resulted from unsuccessful matches, we all believed that Zak would be the right guy for Amaya. That was until things went terribly wrong between the pair, including when Zak called Amaya out for being affectionate too soon, leading to communication issues.
Despite this breaking so many of our hearts, we knew that Amaya not picking Zak was the right choice for her, and he seemed gentleman enough to take it on the chin.
Amaya Papaya & Bryan
Our queen and king. The duo were crowned the winners of Love Island 2025, taking home 100k to split.
I think, despite what everyone thinks about their relationship, these two work really well together. Bryan is calm and protective, while Amaya is outspoken and often fiery. They just get each other. I was so glad they won!
My overall thoughts౨ৎ
Did I enjoy this season? Heck yes. I’d say I enjoyed it even slightly more than the current season of Love Island UK.
I know a lot of people will fight me on this, especially since there weren’t many strong couples towards the end, but unfortunately, this season gave us undeniably the best drama, tears, and couple—of course, I’m talking about Nic and Olandria.
That twist following Casa Amor was so juicy, and I can’t believe the producers intervened to give fans what we all wanted. Ahh, it was like watching a romance novel come to life.
I will definitely continue watching this edition of the show!