The Big Picture
- Love Island USA couples are truly enamored with each other, as seen through their gestures and glances filled with adoration.
- Kassy and Leo, the first runners-up, feel like winners because they have found true love and have a deep bond that combines friendship and romantic connection.
- The Love Island experience is intense, with daily dates and constant proximity forcing the couples to bond quickly and make meaningful connections. Mistakes can also be made, but true love can overcome them.
It is easy to see just how much these new Love Island USA couples are enamored with each other. During their conversations with Collider, there were dozens of little gestures shared between each couple, a nibble on the shoulder here, a quick peck on the cheek, and glances filled with adoration. And while only one couple could win the cash prize, it’s clear that the other three couples are elated to have found true love.
Kassy and Leo Are Glowing
First runner-up couple, Kassy Castillo and Leo Dionicio, felt like winners for sure. When it came to asking what they love the most about each other, Leo said,
“Every time she looks at me, it makes me melt. Like the first time I saw her. It’s just an unreal feeling because it’s like she said, like she’s my best friend and my girlfriend all in one.”
Kassy echoed this, sharing,
“I like how he looks at me. Him being my best friend; him being himself around me and I can see him bringing out the best traits of myself. When I’m with him, I’m laughing, I’m goofing around, but I’m also flirting. It’s all my emotions, all in one conversation. And that’s how I knew that I liked this guy because I liked being around him. I liked his presence.”
During our conversation, Leo would take little opportunities to kiss Kassy’s shoulder and nuzzle her neck. This young and lovely couple truly radiates beaming rays of love. Leo also shared,
“She’s beautiful and all that, but once we unlocked the vibe that we truly have deep down together, that’s when everything started staying out even more. I always thought she was fine, but that doesn’t really mean much to me if there’s no actual bond being built. Once we got like all that stuff knocked down, I was like, damn! I’m really, like, all the way falling for this girl. And it was weird trying to admit it to myself. On some days I was like, ‘Why do I feel this way for this person? I couldn’t even explain it at one point. And then I started just sitting back [thinking], ‘Has anyone ever made me feel this way? What are the feelings that I’m feeling?’ And then I started explaining to my friends in the villa, [and they said] ‘Yeah, sounds like you’re in love!’”
Leo’s adoration was truly a surprise for him, as he came to Love Island on a whim.
“I wasn’t like a major [reality tv] fan. Then one day I made this really stupid TikTok, you know, just me doing a trend, and it caught the attention of one of the scouting agents. She DMed me on Instagram. She was like, ‘Hey, is this your video? Would you wanna fill this out to be on Love Island?’ And I literally told her ‘Hell no!’ I thought it was a scam! Only a person with three brain cells in their head knows not to press a [random] link. That’s a random person that you’ve never met before! So then one day I’m bored and I’m like, you know what? Fuck it. I’m just gonna, I’m just gonna fill it out.”
Kassy, on the other hand, was very purposeful with her application, sharing,
“ I remember I had gone through a breakup in December, and I was watching Love Island UK as like my “heat of the moment ” show. I was like, Ooh. I was always watching it, [and] it started popping up on my feed on Instagram. Then there was the application for the US [version] and I was like, ‘Hmm, should I apply?’ So I just applied and long story short, my best friend was like, ‘Hey, I know you did the application, like you should reach out to like one of the scouting agents because I bet a million people applied. You wanna stand out.’ I remember when I applied it took me a minute. I think it took me like two weeks ’cause there were too many questions for me, but I did it. I texted like a scouting agent I found Instagram [and said] ‘Hey, I just applied. I’d love for you to check my application out.’ And she DM’d a day later, asked for a video of myself and the rest was the start of the whole process.”
Leo and Kassy are looking forward to their future together, and are strategizing on how to make long distance work until Leo is finished with school in Ohio. Kassy said of the future,
“[Our] plan is to try and make as much time as we can for one another. Just communicating- the good thing is we have our laptops and phones, so long distance won’t feel like long distance. We’re definitely gonna try and do that for a little bit. And if everything works out, then [we’ll] move in together.”
Third place couple, Carsten “Bergie” Bergersen and Taylor Smith, are thrilled to be each other’s first relationship. They are each at their separate homes for the time being, but are excited to continue growing their relationship and meeting their friends and loved ones. Taylor shared,
“His family is actually flying me out to Minnesota next weekend. I’m super excited to meet them. I’m meeting grandpa, I’m meeting grandma, meeting all his dad, his cousin…. I’m super excited to meet everyone. Everyone seems just so supportive of us. Like, the whole family in general just seems so sweet, and so welcoming.”
Bergie seems excited to have Taylor come visit, and is clearly happy he decided to give the show a try. When asked about why he decided to apply, Bergie shared,
“It was a December night. I just finished my last final exam of the fall semester, and I was just like, ‘I kind of want a girlfriend. I don’t know how to go about it.’ And then I watched the first two episodes of Love Island on Netflix, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna apply for that. Why not?’ So I opened up my laptop, applied for it. Then four months later I got a phone call saying, ‘Hey, would you like to continue the application process?’ Heck yeah, I would! And then three months later I was in Fiji.”
Taylor shared one of her favorite moments during their time on Love Island, saying,
“I would say my favorite moment was probably the Mr. Quarterback challenge. That challenge was so much fun, and just like seeing all the boys and their banter and their comments, and then knocking the pins down with their faces on it. It was probably the funniest thing to watch. And then, when Bergie did this, like, “Indiana Jones” move– it looked like [he was] gliding through it, from where I was standing. Him just knocking two down, and then tackling the rest of them down was like so unreal to watch. To be there, in that moment, and him coming and kissing me– that was probably like my favorite moment in the villa.”
Both Taylor and Bergie are looking forward to seeing where their relationship goes, especially since it’s a first for both of them.
Carmen and Kenzo Are (Almost) Ready to Settle Down
Carmen Kocourek and Kenzo Nudo are also excited about the future ahead of them. Kenzo shared some of their plans, saying,
“We really wanna meet each other’s families. I think movie night really shows [that] she has a really good family and I’m excited. I’m excited to get to know them. And then after that we’re gonna spend some time together in Scottsdale and really settle down and figure our life together. Figure, like what we wanna do with our careers and everything like that.”
Kenzo had no problems gushing about his new lady love. When asked about what he found most attractive about her, he said,
“I mean it’s a given [that] she’s fucking beautiful. She’s just amazing and so smart, you know, and so easy to talk to. She’s very open to trying new things, you know? I know I can be a little bit of a difficult person. I like the outdoors and traveling and stuff. I’m a morning person, and she’s trying to match me with that. That means a lot to me. She’s a very special person and I’ve never felt any way about anyone else before. I’m very excited and very blessed to have met her.”
Carmen shared a similar enthusiasm for Kenzo, saying,
“I feel like his most attractive quality to me is how calm and collected he is. He’s so funny, but [also] very level-headed. He has it all together. I can be the opposite– I’m a very anxious person. I can be all over the place. So to have someone that has that energy– he very much calms me down. Just being around him makes me feel better.”
Love is clearly in the air for this group, but that wasn’t the only thing that happened on Love Island. Real friendships were also created. When asked about these bonds, Kenzo said,
“I heard [that] usually the final four don’t really get along at the end. But all of us love each other. We all went to Disney yesterday together. It’s a very special group.”
Is Love Real on ‘Love Island USA’? These Couples Say Yes
It’s hard from the outside to imagine how these couples all managed to fall in love so fast. From the viewing perspective, the time they spend together seems to be incredibly quick. But it’s an entirely different experience for these couples. Taylor and Bergie want fans to understand just how intense the experience really is. Bergie said,
“Every day in [the villa] is a date. You’re gonna spend like three hours with the person that you’re getting to know. I feel like that’s just something you don’t experience in the real world. Like you date someone, like maybe you’ll see ’em again in a week. And [at the villa], it’s like, date one, date two, date three, date four, date five. Like its date, after date, after date.”
Taylor interjected, saying,
“And then like you’re sharing a bed with him after [one] date. It’s crazy. After the first date, after the first chat– you’re in bed with them already. It’s nuts! No one can understand that. It’s definitely a bond that kind of forces you to connect because like, as much as you wanna get away from people, and need your space, you can’t. There’s only so many places you can go. All We’re all in the five, you know, feet range of each other. So it forces you to keep bonding and making those connections. No access to social media. No phone, no sense of time, no date, nothing.”
Not only was being forced to bond a challenge, but it also paved the way for mistakes to be made. Leo is grateful that his mistake didn’t end the bond he and Kassy had built. After the debacle and Casa Amoré, Leo said he was almost ready to quit.
“I was like, fuck this, I want to go home. And Ken was like, nah, bro, if you really feel this way for this girl, just show her. And he didn’t say exactly what to do. He was like you’ll know what to do to the core of your heart if you really want this girl. Bet. Challenge accepted. Um, And then I did stuff for Kassy that I’ve never done for a girl in my entire life. Like if things had ever gone wrong with a person before, I’d just be like, ‘Damn, I’m sorry. It is what it is. I wish you the best.’ But then with her, it just didn’t feel that way. I’ve fallen in love before, but this type of love just hits so much harder ’cause you spend every hour of every day with these people. And then when it’s cut short outta nowhere, it’s almost like you just got pulled away from a drug, like, ‘oh my God I still need this person really bad.’ And not needing the sense that like, I need her [for me] to be happy. She was just a perfect compliment to my own happiness.”
We’re glad all of these couples managed to find their happiness. Season 5 of Love Island USA is now streaming on Peacock.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
