LOVE Island USA has revealed the winners of season 7, but fans aren’t happy with the couple chosen to take home the $100,000 prize.
Love Island USA’s season 7 finale took place on Sunday, July 13, as Olandria Carthen and Nic Vansteenberghe, Huda Mustafa and Chris Seeley, Iris Kendall and Pepe Garcia, and Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales competed for the win.
Love Island USA spoilers below
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The episode kicked off with each of the four couples going on romantic dates to close out the dramatic season.
Later on, host Ariana Madix announced Amaya, 25, and Bryan, 28, as the season 7 winners.
Amaya said during her speech, “Every decision led me to finding my personal prince charming. I met you, a man who fills up my cup and embraces the waterfall of my emotions.
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“You make me believe fairytales are true because I am currently living in one with you right now.
“This is the end of our journey on Love Island, but the beginning of our fairytale. Cinderella finally found her perfect glass slipper.”
Bryan responded, “You said I was the water to your fire, but you are my peace to this madness.
“I can’t wait to continue taking steps forward together. And keep watering the seed we planted.”
Olandria, 27, and Nic, 24, came in second place.
Coming in third place was Huda, 24, and Chris, 27, while Iris, 25, and Pepe, 27, finished in fourth.
When it came time for the $100,000 prize, Amaya picked first and opened an envelope revealing $0.
Bryan decided to split the money with Amaya.
LOVE STORY
Amaya was one of the first bombshells to enter the villa, as she joined the show during episode 5.
Ace Greene picked Amaya to couple up with, but their romance was short lived.
The two got into an explosive fight when Ace told Amaya she was moving too quickly, as he refused to be affectionate with her and was turned off by her calling him “babe.”
She then moved on to Austin Shepard, but the two ultimately explored other connections for the same reason.
In Casa Amor, Amaya coupled up with Zak Srakaew.
Bryan joined the show in Casa Amor and had a steamy romance with Andreina Santos.
When back in the villa, the contestants played the mailbox challenge, where they wrote anonymous letters to express their true feelings.
When Amaya’s exes complained about her moving too quickly in relationships, Bryan came to her defense.
After Andreina was eliminated, Amaya recoupled with Bryan over Zak.
Since then, the two have been in a loving couple, and even went to the Hideaway.
Amaya told Bryan on the finale, “With you, I don’t ever cry out of sadness.”
Amaya became a fan-favorite on the season because of her positive and humorous personality.
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FAN BACKLASH
Fans were upset over the winners, as viewers have been rallying for Nic and Olandria to win Love Island USA.
One fan wrote of the finale, “Well this was the worst love island summer ever.”
A second said, “Nic and Olandria robbed omg.”
A third commented, “Nicolandrians we tried hard, give yourselves some love.”
A fourth penned, “These not my winners sorry you were robbed Nicolandria.”
A fifth viewer said, “This has to be the worst #LoveIslandUSA finale!“
NICOLANDRIA
Nic wasted no time finding a new connection after Cierra Ortega was removed from the villa last Sunday after a racist post resurfaced.
Nic and Olandria first explored a connection with during Casa Amor after a season of subtle flirting.
The two decided they were just friends after kissing.
But when Cierra went home, the two decided to explore their connection again.
Nic said of Olandria in his confessional, “I think she’s someone I enjoy spending my time with. That’s what I’m looking for.”
When Nic asked if Olandria is open to exploring a connection after Taylor Williams left her for Clark Carraway, she responded, “yes.”
The two have only gotten closer with each episode, as fans have nicknamed the couple “Nicolandria.”
SHOCKING ELIMINATION
The finale came after a dramatic episode on Friday night.
Chelley Bissainthe and Ace Greene were voted off by America.
Chelley, 27, and Ace, 22, were favorites to win all season, as they had the strongest connection and were together the longest.
After the dumping was announced and Chelley and Ace packed their suitcases, fans took to social media to fume over the results.
One person said, “I WANT A RECOUNT!!!!”
“OMG THATS CRAZY I cant believe ace and chelley like WHAT??? I thought it was either Iris and Pepe or Chris and Huda wtf,” said a second.
“Y’all could have warned me about this terrible ending,” penned a third.
“You’re done. I will NOT be watching anymore,” said a fourth.
While a fifth fumed, “I truly cannot believe yall let Ace and Chelley go home the strongest couple of the entire season!… Throw the whole show away and cancel it while you at it worst season EVER.”
Meanwhile, on Instagram, one person said, “Love Island isn’t even love island this season. This is legit the worst season ever.”
SHOW SCANDALS
Love Island USA is wrapping up after facing a series of controversies this season.
Original cast member Yulissa Escobar was sent home after the first episode aired when a racial slur said on a podcast resurfaced on social media.
Yulissa apologized for the scandal when she returned home from Fiji.
Cierra Ortega was removed from the island last Sunday after a screenshot of her using a slur resurfaced.
She too apologized, as she said in a video, “I want to first start by addressing, not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply offended, but most importantly, the entire Asian community.
“I am deeply, truly, honestly, so sorry. I had no idea that the word held as much pain, as much harm, and came with the history that it did, or I never would have used it.
“I had no ill intention when I was using it. But that’s absolutely no excuse, because intent doesn’t excuse ignorance.”
Huda, 24, was also involved in a racism scandal, as she appeared to lip sync the N-word in a TikTok video.
But because it is unclear if she actually said the word, she remained on the show.
A production source previously told The U.S. Sun, “Huda has created a whole lot of tension, and that post is very embarrassing and puts us, once again, in a tense situation.
“But she doesn’t say the word clearly, and we had to have a meeting with her, asking her to not create any controversy as we are about to wrap the season.”
LOVE ISLAND USA SEASON 7 CAST
Love Island USA has returned to Peacock for Season 7 with a new cast – and new drama! Check out the cast of Love Island USA below.
Original cast members:
-Chelley Bissainthe, 27, Orlando, Florida (Eliminated)
-Huda Mustafa, 24, Raleigh, North Carolina
-Olandria Carthen, 27, Decatur, Alabama
-Belle-A Walker, 22, Honolulu, Hawaii (Eliminated)
-Yulissa Escobar, 27, Miami, Florida (Removed from house)
-Ace Greene, 22, Los Angeles, California (Eliminated)
-Taylor Williams, 24, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Eliminated)
-Nicolas Vansteenberghe, 24, Jacksonville, Florida
-Austin Shepard, 26, Northville, Michigan (Eliminated)
-Jeremiah Brown, 25, Los Angeles, California (Eliminated)
Bombshells:
-Cierra Ortega, 25, Los Angeles, California (Removed from house)
-Charlie Georgiou, 27, United Kingdom (Eliminated)
-Hannah Fields. 23, Tucson, Arizona (Eliminated)
-Amaya Espinal, 25, New York, New York
-Iris Kendall, 25, Los Angeles, California
-Pepe Garcia, 27, Los Angeles California
-Jalen Brown, 27, Sparta, Georgia (Eliminated)
-Andreina Santos, 24, Jersey City (Eliminated)
-Bryan Arenales, 28, Boston, Massachusetts
-Gracyn Blackmore, 25, West Palm Beach, Florida (Eliminated)
-Clarke Carraway, 24, Columbia, South Carolina (Eliminated)
-Zak Srakaew, 29, Roi Et, Thailand (Eliminated)
-TJ Palma, 23, Pleasantville, New York (Eliminated)
-Jaden Duggar, 25, Seattle, Washington/Los Angeles, California (Eliminated)
-Elan Bibas, 24, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (Eliminated)
-Chris Seeley, 27, Fresno, California
The U.S. Sun also previously reported the casting process will be more strict for next season.
An insider previously claimed to The U.S. Sun, “Starting next season, we are going to get some people working on looking way more into the social media presence and the articles, pictures and public things that potential contestants did before trying to get onto the show.
“We are going to hire more people to dig into people’s past and things they did in public and really brush out their social media and old posts to see if anything controversial came out of there.
“We will be really digging way more and deeply in each participants past, and make sure that their ‘records’ are clean of racist, xenophobic or sexist words or behavior.
“If there is anything racist, sexist or offensive in there, the person won’t be allowed to be considered as a potential participant on the show. We can’t have any more situations where we deal with racist behavior.”
The source continued, “We absolutely cannot have another season like the one we are about to wrap up.”
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