After a whirlwind season that saw Love Island USA become one of the most popular reality TV series ever, the islanders ditched the bikinis and sunnies for nightwear as they gathered in New York City for the reunion.
Many of the islanders had life updates and scores to settle, but at a brisk one hour and twenty minutes, the producers decided to let things snowball, leaving us with a messy ending.
It was heavy, rarely funny, and ended in a way that made me think this would be the absolute last time we see all these people in the same place ever again.
If you watched the series this summer (and if not, what are you waiting for?), you already know the players and the game.
So, let’s dive into some of the things we learned during what I’d classify as an uneven hour and twenty minutes at best.
PPG STILL On Top
One of the best parts of this season of Love Island USA was the friendships—particularly the friendship between Serena Page, JaNa Craig, and Leah Kateb.
Affectionately calling themselves PPG (which stands for Powerpuff Girls), the trio were OGs who formed a tight bond during their time in the villa. And if you’ve been following along on social media, then you know that bond is stronger than ever.
The top three finishers this season all walked away winners, as they have long-lasting friendships and solid men by their sides.
It was lovely to hear that all three couples had made their relationships official during the hiatus between the finale and the reunion.
Serena and Kordell Beckham, winners of the whole damn thing, could not have looked cuter and more loved up than during their little video where they shared the news with their followers.
I smile whenever Serena laughs, so seeing her so happy with Kordell was one of the highlights of the reunion.
Leah and Miguel Harichi were among the few couples who didn’t close things off in the villa, but that doesn’t matter. The real world is what’s important, and it’s clear that in the real world, they’re more than ready to be committed to one another.
JaNa and Kennyyyyy Rodriguez’s love story has been all over social media post-show, and their boyfriend and girlfriend status feels right.
Seeing their genuine care for one another throughout the hour and twenty minutes (they were ALWAYS touching even when they played the islanders by making them sit six feet apart) felt like just watching an extension of how they were on the show.
I’m personally wishing all the couples much love and success!
Some Things May Have Been Better Left Off-Screen
Nicole Jacky and Kendall Washington were the couple that placed fourth this season, and all seemed well when the two left the island. But we learned pretty early into the reunion that things took a hard left almost as soon as they got their phones back.
I won’t get into specifics here, but a private video of Kendall was shared online shortly before the finale aired. We now know that the video was filmed while Kendall was in holding to come onto the show, a fact that he lied to Nicole about when explaining the situation post-show.
Nicole was understandably upset about being lied to and equally upset that Kendall hadn’t been very communicative with her since leaving the villa.
What ensued during this segment was a lot of back-and-forth between the pair over a very intense and emotional situation that is, quite frankly, none of our business.
At times, I felt like I was intruding on a conversation that should have been taking place in someone’s living room, not on a stage with lights, cameras, and a bunch of friends listening in, ready to pass judgment.
While people will surely have their own opinions about the situation, both parties are understandably upset, and many deep conversations still need to occur between them.
But I wish we got an abbreviated version of the situation instead of having to hear it all because it was a lot.
Come With Receipts, or Don’t Come At All
JaNa, you Queen.
I don’t want to see another reunion without someone coming fully prepared with pages full of notes so they’re ready to call out any and all BS they’re forced to listen to during these things.
What was funny about JaNa and her pages of receipts is that she used them more to defend her friends than herself.
The notes came in handy during the segment involving Andrea Carmona, when she struggled to justify many of her post-villa actions, which involved many TikTok lives and sing-songy observations.
JaNa made sure to have Leah’s back and all her ducks in a row when stating her claims.
Unfortunately, the reunion didn’t allow JaNa time to go through all of her notes, and honestly, the show was worse off for it. She wasn’t doing anything but ensuring people would be held accountable for their actions and words.
I’d take an additional half-hour of JaNa reading those pages and making sure every islander who did her, her girls, or her man dirty got a piece of her mind.
Let This Be The Last Time We Ever Have To Hear Kaylor and Aaron’s Drama Ever Again
There was a reason Kaylor Martin and Aaron Evans didn’t make it to the finale despite being a day one couple who were boyfriend and girlfriend and in love; America was TIRED of their drama.
So, production decided to make America suffer one last time by giving them a segment in which absolutely nothing got accomplished.
Aaron lied to Kaylor in the villa. Gaslit Kaylor any chance he got. And that trend is apparently happening outside the villa as well, except now, Kaylor has exhausted all her tears, and she’s just pissed off.
The trend of straight not saying things until they could be put on blast at the reunion was weird, and I’m not sure why the spirit of honesty jumped into Aaron when all the cameras were on and not when he and Kaylor could have talked privately, but it happened.
These two have the makings of a classic off-and-on relationship, but Kaylor did seem dead set on things being over. Considering what she said about Aaron, he should probably just pack it up and see what Rob is doing for the rest of the New York trip.
I Will Never Ask For The Extended Cut Of Anything Ever Again
Certain moments during the season really put Love Island USA Season 6 on the map. One of those scenes was the emphasis dumping of Andrea, which had a fallout that reverberated through that villa for days.
So, I understand why they decided to show the uncut fire pit conversation. That talk between Leah, Serena, Kaylor, and Olivia Walker was a whole storyline in and of itself, but it was fifteen minutes too long and did nothing but bring an already low mood down even lower.
What was the point? It was awkward, and all it did was show that no one was in the driver’s seat. If anything, they were all driving that car together to pick Andrea up and drop her off outside the villa walls.
We often complain about not seeing enough during Love Island, even though we’re being fed consistently with five new episodes a week. But A LOT of editing still takes place to condense things to an hour.
Naturally, we miss many things and get the abbreviated version of many conversations, but they could have kept that fire pit chat.
You can’t go into the past and keep Andrea, so nothing was accomplished, but spending precious minutes on an event so far in the past when we could have been showing some fun unseen bits or anything else.
Well, that was a reunion, guys. And it was a pretty disappointing one. But maybe it’s just me.
Let me know your thoughts about it in the comments!
You can watch seasons 4-6 of Love Island USA on Peacock.