The Love Island USA season 7 reunion may not be hitting Peacock on August 25, but Islanders, we’ve got an early treat for you. Olandria Carthen, Nic Vansteenberghe, Amaya Espinal, and Bryan Arenales—aka this season’s top two couples—were on the August 13 episode of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, where they spilled tea about their time in the Villa and the upcoming special.
Andy, who moderated the reunion alongside Ariana Madix, revealed that an extended version of the infamous heart rate challenge was shown to the islanders during the taping, which took place the night before WWHL. Oh, and according to Andy, the clip was “revelatory to the group.”
The reason? I’m guessing it had something to do with that moment between Huda Mustafa and Ace Greene…especially since—before the reunion—neither Olandria nor Chelley Bissainthe had seen Huda since they left the Villa.
Fans of the show know that the challenge entails the islanders teasing each other in sexy costumes to get their heart rates up and win the game. This season, things took a turn when Huda got on top of Chelley’s partner, Ace, during the challenge. Tension was high, and things escalated to the point that—during another challenge—Chelley, Olandria, and Cierra Ortega called Huda out for “not being a girl’s girl.”
Once she and Ace were dumped from the Villa, Chelley told Variety that she “needed space” from Huda after her moment with Ace. “We all stand on being a ‘girl’s girl’ and having each other’s backs. At that moment, I didn’t feel like that’s what happened,” she told the publication, confirming that things are good between her and Huda in the aftermath.
She went on to add, “We’re friends. I just needed my space from her, but now everything is good. We understand each other. Boundaries were set.”
Love Island USA season 7’s heart rate challenge.
However, Amaya seemed to come to Huda’s defense when she was asked if she “took it too far” during the heart rate challenge during a July 16 appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast.
“Whenever we do challenges, we really just go all in. We don’t have a TV, we don’t have our phones. This is our entertainment, like, okay, we’re in an amusement park! Let’s just go for a ride,” the season 7 winner explained.
She continued, hyping up Huda in the process. “Listen, one thing about my girl is she’s a great dancer. When she shakes that booty, it’s an earthquake falling through. So, you know, I believe that she really just had fun,” Amaya said.
We’ll have to wait for the extended cut of the challenge during Love Island USA’s season 7 reunion to see how it all pans out between the girlies.
