From a Dairy Queen in South Dakota to a villa in Fiji to a mansion in Scotland and beyond, 2023 was the year of traveling for Carsten “Bergie” Bergersen, who left his job as a Dairy Queen manager to compete on season 5 of Love Island: USA, as well as season 2 of The Traitors shortly after.
Finding love in the one and only Taylor Smith on Love Island: USA — despite having a rather rocky journey within the villa — Bergie and Taylor finished in third place, with the former quickly becoming a fan favorite amongst avid Love Island: USA viewers. The Love Island franchise needs more men like Bergie!
For those who might need a refresher on his experience within the villa, the 23-year-old found himself coupled up with Anna Kurdys on day one, not by choice, but because their fellow islanders picked neither Bergie nor Anna. Naturally, their fellow contestants voted the duo as the least compatible couple, and the Dairy Queen manager was dumped from the villa mere hours after his arrival. Poor Bergie!
The following day, Bergie returned to the villa as a “throuple” with two hot new bombshells: Hannah Wright and Carmen Kocourek. After getting a second chance, Bergie tried as hard as he could to form connections with his fellow islanders in the villa — kissing the most girls out of all of the men — ultimately finding himself unlucky in love over and over again until Taylor arrived in Fiji for the infamous Casa Amor week.
Leaving the villa with Taylor Smith, the two lovebirds are still together months later, making a long distance relationship work and traveling back and forth to see one another. Contrary to popular belief, Bergie’s intentions were never to find love or win money on Love Island: USA, but instead to learn more about himself, all while spending his summer in Fiji. With his forthcoming stint on The Traitors premiering on January 12 via Peacock, the Minnesota native shared this same sentiment.
How did a Dairy Queen manager end up on both Love Island: USA and The Traitors? Keep scrolling to find out for yourself…
In an exclusive interview with Parade, Bergie discussed his initial intentions when applying for Love Island: USA, as well as The Traitors.
“The reason I went to Love Island was I get to go to Fiji. Why am I going to say no to that? I’m someone that grew up in a small town never ventured really far out, so any opportunity to leave that area is something I want to explore. This is my second time leaving the country in like three weeks, so I’m super grateful to be in Scotland… I love the rollercoaster of reality TV. I am someone that just kind of thrives off of it. I love just feeling myself and exploring my emotions and getting in touch with them.”
Given the positive reaction Bergie received from fans of the franchise during his journey on Love Island: USA season 5, the team at Peacock asked him to be a part of The Traitors season 2 before he even had the chance to return from Fiji. In true Bergie fashion, the former football star was definitely on board, likely sharing his signature “Lets go!” reaction with those who extended the offer.
In the same interview with Parade, Bergie elaborated on the situation further, explaining what went down that fateful day.
“I literally just got done doing Love Island, got a knock on my hotel room door, and they’re like, ‘Hey, you want to go do this?’ I didn’t even have my phone back yet from doing Love Island. The last episode hadn’t aired yet, so then I immediately called my dad and I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this other show on Peacock.’ He’s like, ‘What show?’ I was like, ‘The Traitors.’ He’s like, ‘No way. We were watching those episodes in between the Love Island episodes, and we absolutely loved it,’ so it was perfect and I didn’t have a job, so it was just like, that’s what I’m doing.”
Didn’t have a job? Bergie, what happened to Dairy Queen?
Nonetheless, to see Carsten “Bergie” Bergersen and Taylor Smith’s love story from start to finish, you can stream all of season 5 of Love Island: USA on Peacock. Similarly, with season 2 of The Traitors premiering on Friday (January 12), you can watch his journey on the beloved competition series via Peacock as well. Who knows, he might just take home the massive cash prize…