With three individuals leaving the villa this week, Season 5 of Love Island: USA is approaching its end.
The three most recent islanders who won themselves a one-way ticket back to the United States were Matia Marcantuoni, Imani Wheeler, and Isiah ‘Zay’ Harayda, all leaving the villa during the Aug. 22 episode of Love Island: USA.
To kick off (for lack of a better term) the s**tshow that was episode 33, the final re-coupling of the season finally came to a close after Love Island: USA fans were left with the ultimate cliffhanger just 24 hours prior, ultimately sending Matia home as a single man. The end of the episode shocked islanders and viewers alike, forcing the remaining contestants to decide who the least compatible couple was, causing them to be dumped from the villa just hours after Matia’s departure.
The infamous text from the Love Island: USA producers was enough to send chills down the islanders’ spines:
“Islanders. Tonight each couple must vote for the couple who they think are least compatible. The couple who receives the most votes will be dumped from the island… #foodforthought #gowithyourgut.”
After much deliberation, the couple that received the most votes was the villa’s newest pair (seriously, though it had been less than 24 hours since the re-coupling), Imani and Zay, ultimately leading to their tear-jerking elimination.
As the two bombshells were packing up their things, a few of their fellow islanders shared some heartfelt goodbye messages:
“Imani. That girl is one of my best friends, and she is a gorgeous human being, and her high magnetic energy just rubs off on you and just makes you wanna be all smiley and happy. Her presence that she brings is something that is not forgotten, so that is something that I’m definitely going to be missing here in the villa.”
Taylor Smith
“This is rough saying bye to my friends. Especially my day-ones in here. It’s like one after another, but I’ll see them soon. To my Casa [Amor] boys for life.”
Kyle Darden
Leaving with quite a bit of unfinished business, Imani and Zay sat down with Maura Higgins for an exclusive exit interview, reflecting on their Love Island: USA experiences, respectively.
Imani started out by sharing what she gained out of her time in the villa, despite not leaving in love like she had hoped:
“It was a great experience, but I’ve had a hell of a journey… I mean, I started off, you know, I had a few dates [and a] possible connection with Bergie. That was a genuine thing for me. It fizzled out in a sense, but he did have great qualities that I loved, and then from there, [there were] a few more connections I was looking forward to exploring, but they never really worked… It just was bad timing. I tried something different, you know, I don’t usually date around like that, so I was kind of putting myself out there. It was kind of more of a self-love journey.”
While Imani tried to make quite a few connections during her time in Fiji, ultimately making the most out of her Love Island: USA experience, Zay was 100 percent invested in a relationship with Destiny Davis from the start:
“I feel like coming in from Casa Amor was kind of like an uphill battle from the beginning. Your objective is to find the strongest connection, even if they already have a previous connection. Luckily, I did find a strong connection with Destiny out the jump. I chose to just stick with it and believe in it and put everything into it, then going into the villa, things changed a little bit… I was vulnerable, I was communicative, and I was truthful, and I just felt like she had left the door open with her and Mike… I just felt like for that reason we weren’t really on the same page, and I was kind of running out of time. I wish we would’ve focused on our relationship together, instead of focusing on other people’s relationships… I’m at peace with the outcome. I tried my best [and] put my best foot forward.”
Despite exploring a connection for a few days (or a few hours) in the villa, it looks like Imani and Zay are leaving Love Island: USA with a really great friendship rather than a romantic connection.
In the same exit interview with Maura, Imani gave viewers an inside look as to what was going through her head during that final re-coupling, as well as her reasoning for pairing up with Zay so late in the game:
“Zay expressed that he was interested in me, and he finds me attractive, and our conversation went really well. I saw a romantic spark there, and I was like, ‘Okay, maybe we just missed each other. We had a lot going on.’ I was excited, you know, I saw great qualities in him, and I felt like it could work, and then the re-coupling happened… I realized it was more of a friendship vibe from you… In my head, I left single.”
Zay ultimately reinforced Imani’s feelings, sharing that he also felt the initial spark. However, being preoccupied with Destiny throughout his time in the villa caused him and Imani to begin building their connection far too late:
“It didn’t always feel like a friendship. It started off as that for me, because we were so late to the game. The conversation you and I had really did surprise me, and I wish that we would’ve had more time to talk, more and more time to discover and see if there was anything more significant that was there. With all of the drama and things that were happening on either of our sides, we kind of neglected ourselves in a sense, and I wish we would’ve spent more time together.”
“The re-coupling, that kind of took me by surprise. I was kind of fully prepared to leave that night. I was very grateful and thankful that you chose me. I have nothing to say about you at all. You’re a great girl, and I just honestly feel like we just didn’t have enough time.”
With just six couples remaining (Taylor and Bergie, Carmen and Kenzo, Hannah and Marco, Destiny and Kyle, Kassy and Leo, and Johnnie and Scott), who will be crowned the champions of Love Island: USA season 5? Tune in to Peacock every night (except Wednesdays) at 9pm ET/6pm PT to see how the final episodes unfold.
Published: Aug 23, 2023 11:45 pm