Amaya almost immediately became a fan favorite due to her vibrant personality, singing, one-liners and metaphors. Despite providing some of the most viral moments of the season, she had a string of failed connections, even through the Casa Amor stage of the competition.

However, in one of the biggest moments of the season, Bryan stood up for her amid several other Islanders coming for her during a mailbox challenge. It changed the trajectory of the competition, their relationship, and firmly made them the ones to beat.

In the post-finale cast interview with Blavity’s Shadow and Act, the duo spoke to us about their win, how they both felt during that “Standing on Business” challenge, a scene with Amaya and Ace Greene that may not have been included in the season, what their immediate plans are now and much more.

The interview below has been edited and condensed for clarity. You can view the full video above.

How does it feel in these initial days since becoming the winners, especially since you’ve both made history by becoming the first Latino couple to win? What are your initial post-villa feelings?

Bryan: It’s honestly been unreal. We can’t even put into words how grateful we are, and being the first Latino couple is so crazy. We didn’t know that until they told us after they announced the winner. We were like, “Oh s**t.” That’s history made. And especially in a time like this, it’s perfect.

Amaya: It’s very powerful. And coming from us being the first kids here, my parents were born in DR. It feels just amazing that we made history.

Amaya, I want to talk about the moment when it was clear that you were America’s favorite through the polls. Was it a surprise for you to be voted that high by America?

Amaya: It was honestly a good surprise. I know, like the first votes, the way that the guys were ranking me was just out of projection. But to see that there’s so much support and that there’s so many people that actually see me for who I am and understand me — it was such an empowering feeling. I’m like, you know what? Let me keep on being myself because this is just a testimony to never change who you are. And when you’re being genuine, there’s no poker face mask that falls.

This is something that fans had pointed out — do you think that some of the energy, especially with the men in the villa, shifted a bit once they realized how much America clearly favored you?

Amaya: I would have to say yes, especially me personally experiencing it and just seeing it. And I’m really big on energy. Energy don’t lie, especially if somebody’s acting one way one moment and a different way the other moment. So it’s like, OK, you went from A to Z real f**king quick, and I wonder why.

In the “Standing on Business” challenge, you were up there like slaying dragons. So many people were coming at you. Did you feel like you had any issues with them before this, and did you feel any type of way about anyone not standing up for you until Bryan intervened?

Amaya: To be honest with you, I really was shocked by it because I would always ask certain individuals if they ever had a problem, if there’s any miscommunication, we could honestly speak it out. But unfortunately, they waited for that particular moment to stand on business, I guess. That’s not standing on business to me, but whatever. But I knew that the girls were going to check up on me afterwards, especially when I walked away, and Cierra and Huda did come to make sure I was OK. But to be honest, Bryan’s voice was all I needed. It was definitely powerful, and it really made our connection have a big shift.

Bryan, what was it like for you in that moment to stand up for Amaya? It happened organically and naturally, despite not having much of a connection before that.

Bryan: Yeah. At that point, we were just friends, and it was just natural. Just like you said, she was up there with three people pretty much going at her, and it just felt natural as they were coming kind of not understanding our culture and how we talk. And I just felt like I really needed to intervene and let them know that’s how we talk and our culture.

I know things are fine between you and Ace right now. I talked to Ace a few days ago about this, and fans have had questions about the last dinner before Ace and Chelley were eliminated. You gave Ace an apology. A lot of fans have wondered if you think you were also owed an apology in how all of that played out. Objectively, on both sides, there were communication issues and differences. Things are good now, but how are you processing that part of your villa experience?

Amaya: To be honest, it’s been something that I’m still digesting because it was very impactful. I am glad that we’re both in a better place now, and we could call what we have a great friendship. And I always am an advocate for being the bigger person, whether or not you receive an apology back. I know when I want to say sorry, and I feel like the way I raised my voice and everything like that wasn’t a go-to. But yeah, I’m just glad that I was able to say my piece, and there was a moment where we did call it a truce that people didn’t see. It was not captured. Way prior to the family’s dinner, we had a conversation between me and him. I think it was in front of Nic and Cierra at the time, but we called a truce. That apology that happened during the family dinner was just like a second round.

I’ve seen what you both have said you want to do with the prize money. Bryan, mental health awareness is something you want to bring attention to. Why is that an important cause for you to advocate for now that you’re going to have this platform?

Bryan: Yeah, it’s extremely important to me. I opened up to Amaya about it. Growing up, I struggled really bad with anxiety, and I grew up really not knowing how to handle it, and a lot of just mental battles within myself. And I want kids to know how to face those emotions and really deal with them and just be in a better head place. Just because mental health is everything. And my mom struggles with anxiety, and we’re dealing with that day by day, and it’s something that hits home really.

Amaya, you’ve gotten so many shoutouts from so many brands over the course of the month. A lot of people keep saying on Twitter that they knew Amaya was in it for love because no one managed your social media. And you’ve gained millions of followers — I think you’re at least close to 3M on Instagram, which is wild with no new posts. Is this something you thought about going in [having handlers]? Did that even cross your mind before going in the villa?

Amaya: Honestly, no, because first of all, I had no idea that this was going to blow up the way it did, and neither was that my priority at the time. As long as I made sure my mom and dad knew I wasn’t kidnapped in any sort of manner, and I was safe, it really did not cross my mind. But I also want to let our extended family know — our supporters — know that I definitely do want to engage with them. So I hope that they don’t take the lack of posting or lack of engagement right now — that does not equalize me not being grateful or anything like that. I’m just, once again, trying to digest and get accustomed to everything that’s going on because we literally just came here two days ago. And right now I’ve just been calling my mom and my dad, but I have so much love. We have so much love to be given back to the extended family, so they’ll definitely be seeing me engaging with them more.

What’s next for y’all? It’s only been a few days, but where do things go from here? You became exclusive and closed-off going into the finale. What do the next few months look like for you both, solo as well as together and in the relationship?

Bryan: So together, we want to just keep taking the right steps. We took all the right steps in the villa, and now, on the outside, we want to tackle the outside world. Keep taking those steps and really spending quality time with each other, and our families get to meet and have our first real date on the outside, and stuff like that. And then individually, I’m just blessed to be in this position and open to a bunch of opportunities that are to come.

Amaya: Basically, everything he said. Very excited to spend quality time with him and do cute couple things — whether it’s a date night or just falling asleep to a Netflix show. And individually, just like he said, being open to any pathways that resonate with my character that I want to stand for.

Love Island USA Season 7 is now streaming in full on Peacock. The reunion special for the season airs next month.
The post ‘Love Island USA’ Winners Amaya And Bryan On Making History, Unseen Ace Scene And Islanders’ Reactions To Her Being America’s Favorite appeared first on Blavity.



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And in a shocker, the fourth couple to leave the villa before the finale, due to America’s vote, is…..Ace Greene and Chelley Bissainthe. The two Islanders, who had a star-crossed lovers storyline of sorts before finally being able to couple together and some ups and downs throughout the season, but had a pretty smooth journey toward the end before they finally closed off recently.

Prior to the episode airing, the two chatted with Blavity’s Shadow and Act about being eliminated right before the finale, what exactly went down at the Heart Rate challenge and its the mailbox night aftermath, the growth they’ve been through this season, how well they knew each other before the show and much more.

The below interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. You can view the full video above.

I’m actually very gagged to be chatting with y’all. I was thinking [you were] at least Top 2 [couples of the season]. What are your immediate feelings right now, as it seemed that you all had made progress in the past few days—a lot of cute dates, you got to go to the hideaway… shout out to the worldwide hit song “Eat That Kitty in the Hideaway.” What are your immediate thoughts on being so close to the end and being eliminated right now?

Chelley: It’s a bittersweet moment, honestly. We got to walk out together, so that means we won. So there’s not anything more I could really ask for. It’s just the feeling of leaving everybody behind. The close friendships that we made, the people that we love so much. It’s like, “Damn, we’re not going to wake up to you guys anymore.” But I mean, we still get to wake up together. So it’s just one of those things of like “Hey, I guess it had to end at some point,” you know?

Ace: Honestly, it is a bittersweet moment. We’re leaving a lot of friends behind, but I feel like I came and did what I needed to do. We had a long process throughout this entire season, and once I felt like it was time for me and her to be exclusive, I felt at that moment my journey ended. I was cool with it. It was just time for us to leave.

I want to talk to you both for a moment about the aftermath of the mailbox night. First off, I want to dive into the Huda and Ace moment [during the Heart Rate challenge]. What exactly happened in that moment and the levels of inappropriate it reached, because it definitely had a reaction with you both. And can you give me a perspective of what happened and how that made you both feel in that moment and in the time afterward?

Chelley: I know for me in that moment I was very upset, especially [when] we stand on this code of girl code, and having respect for one another in that moment, I didn’t feel like I was being respected. So in that moment, I was very disappointed; I didn’t enjoy it anymore. But we got to have a conversation and resolve it and find a middle ground to we could squash this, we could get past it and continue our friendship.

Ace: It’s 24 hours in a day. Only one hour gets shown. But as long as she moved on for me and she’s at a clear mind, that’s what I cared about is making sure she was okay. But it was a lot that went down.

Chelley, I also want to know if you could provide any more context about the conversations you and Huda had about Chris coming to the villa, and you not really feeling it was done with the same purpose in mind that you may have had.

Chelley: The conversation was, ‘I want to be able to bring him back.’ She knows Ace and I’s connection was very strong, so she knows there was a big chance that I wasn’t going to couple up with Chris. So her thing was like, “I know you guys still want to explore, so how about I bring them for you, and I’ll also explore, but I know what you guys have, and then we’ll just go from there.” And in the moment as the days were happening, it didn’t seem like that’s what it was. But also, I just realized for myself, I’m like, “You know what? After all was said and done and the arguing and stuff, everything worked out how it was supposed to.” So, yeah, it was just a crazy situation.

Last question about the mailbox episode. Ace, I want to dive into the Amaya of it all. You both had ups and downs with the relationship and later friendship during the season. It seemed you were a bit surprised that she was polling pretty high in the fan polls in the last few episodes. It seemed that you both came to a common ground as time went on, but a lot of fans were wondering: When you first chose Amaya, did you think you all would have had as many disconnects as you did? It seemed as if you chose her and it didn’t really go anywhere.

Ace: Honestly, how that all turned [out] to be was me and Chelley had a conversation of…we did know each other coming into this experience, but we weren’t going to just lock in with each other. We wanted to explore and get to know different people. So Amaya was one of those people who I really wanted to choose and get to know and get to explore. And, again, it’s 24 hours in a day, only one hour gets shown. And it was a lot of conversations that led up to that point. But Amaya is a great, great person. Amaya is an extremely friendly person, and I love the friendship that we’ve built. Our friendship started really, really earlier than what you guys have seen throughout this whole entire process, and that’s why I defend her. Even in conversations and stuff like that, we might’ve not worked out romantically, but as a friend, she’s super, super down to earth, and I love Amaya.

I always root for Black love on these types of shows. What do you think was the biggest point of growth you both achieved, from first having interest in each other, coupling, and to the point where we are now?

Chelley: I would have to say when the whole Casa Amor experience happened, before it was what people say is the honeymoon phase. But then Casa Amor happened, and that’s where more sides of us were being shown. We really were learning about each other’s communication style, what makes you feel good, what doesn’t make you feel good, and just really learning, “You know what? There’s more to relationships than all the happy and cheery things.” There’s the moments where things don’t feel so good, but how do you navigate that? So being that we were able to navigate, that was a turning moment of, “Okay, you know what? This is meant to be. This is my person.” Yeah, I mean, it’s not every day that you get to spend every single day and 24 hours with your friends. So at first, we all walked in, and we’re all strangers.

Talk a little bit about the friendships you built during this process. When Olandria went home, there is this gif of you and Huda, and people were like, “Chelly wants to get in Olandria’s suitcase.” Then Ace, you, Nic and Taylor have a tight friendship. You know, some people think you are the ring leader of sorts, but it showed how much you cared for each other because both of those eliminations were super emotional. Can you dive into how you have such strong bonds with these people in a short amount of time?

Chelley: I remember the first day, I always say to everybody how I pictured you the first day, I couldn’t imagine you being who you are now, because we were all so nervous and this and that. But instantly we realized, okay, we’re in the same experience. We’re together morning, noon, and night. We’re really seeing each other through and through at our best moments, at our worst moments. So many different things. And the moments that you guys don’t even get to see are when we’re together and we’re talking deeply about our past and where we come from and who we are, and really clicking and bonding on those things. So being in this whole thing together just made us grow this unforgettable bond that just can’t be broken.

No one could say that they went through the same experience with us, and that’s something we’ll always share. So those moments really made us so tight where it’s like, “Damn, that is why I was so devastated to see Olandria go because that’s my girl.” Everybody probably sees 10 minutes, five minutes of our relationship when I spent 24 hours with this girl every single day, and we were really pouring into one another. So it just was quite the experience.

Ace: For me, the ringleader comments….[laughs], it was never a matter of the ringleader. We all agreed with each other when it came to most topics, and that’s why I felt like we were so close. Mine might’ve been highlighted a little bit more because I’m very vocal. I communicate with everybody. I feel like my communication is through the roof. And the same thing with Taylor and Nic. It is just, again, mine might’ve been highlighted a little bit more, but it was never a matter of like, “Oh, go do this for me. Go do that. Go do this, go do that.” We all helped each other out one way or another throughout the villa, whether it was Taylor helping me with making breakfast, whether it was Nic helping me, giving me some advice on how to move about a certain situation. We all bounced off each other when it came to how to move through the villa.

Regarding to the type of relationships that we’ve built, I was really, really sad to see Nic go, because again, I’ve dealt with some really, really dark days in the villa of just missing home and missing family and friends because we’re isolated from that. We can’t reach out and call them with a question about how to move through this. We got to deal with the emotions head-on in the villa. So when that person leaves and that you feel that’s the person you’re closest to, it’s like, “Damn, I feel like a part of me has just left in this villa.” And it was tough, but we definitely made it through the process. We made it through the fire.

I know you two aren’t too hip to social media right now because you don’t have your phones, but you spoke early in the season about knowing each other prior to the show. But the internet has so many theories about how you actually knew each other so well before this competition and how. So can you just clarify the extent of what the relationship was before this, because there’s so many things.

Chelley: I want to say knowing each other could be used very loosely as well, because we met outside of a club in NYC. So with that being said, we exchanged each other’s social media. I didn’t even give him my phone number. We had each other on social media, and as people could see, he’s been in my comments. I’ve been in his. He might’ve been in my DMs. But nothing too crazy where at least what I’m hearing now is that we have kids, we’ve lived together, all these crazy things. And it just goes to show the internet is crazy. Even Amaya is someone that I’ve known before we got into the scene. Even seeing her was a shocker to me because I’m like, “What the f**k are you doing here?” Andreina was another person that I knew. So it was like, “Yo, this is actually crazy.” It was a joke of like, “Oh, Chelly knows everybody.” And even the other guys knowing each other too.

Ace: I knew Pepe. I knew Pepe before coming into this experience. I knew Nic and Jeremiah knew each other.

Chelley: They worked together before, so it’s just a thing of this is out of our hands. We just show up. We get the invite, and we show up. It’s a whole process to come onto Love Island. I know they go through extensive research to dot their I’s cross their T’s. It wasn’t a secret that we follow each other on social media and stuff, but as far as to say a relationship before this, and kids, and a house, and this and that is crazy. We were definitely friends on Instagram, but anything past that, he’s in LA. I was in New York at the time. It’s not that.

As someone who lives in New York City, it’s nothing to meet somebody out, and one night you follow them on Instagram. And then maybe a few months later, you’re like, “Who is this person? When did I meet them?”

Chelley: Exactly, exactly. And it really is like that. So it’s crazy. These people don’t know us. They don’t know me. These are allegations and stuff. But if you know anything about New York City, you could run into literally anybody and meet anybody. So, I mean, hopefully that answers all these people’s questions, but it was very funny to hear all these crazy ass things [laughs].

The Love Island USA Season 7 finale airs Sunday on Peacock.
The post ‘Love Island USA’s Ace And Chelley On Shock Exit, ‘Ring Leader’ Claims And How Well They Knew Each Other Pre-Villa  appeared first on Blavity.



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