Cierra Ortega’s decision to save Taylor Williams from elimination on Love Island USA didn’t exactly make sense after his split from Olandria Carthen — so what could have motivated that controversial choice?
During the Thursday, July 3, episode of the hit Peacock series, America’s ranking for the least favorite boys and girls was shared with the Islanders. The guys at the bottom were Taylor, TJ Palma and Austin Shepard, while the girls at the bottom were Jaden Duggar, Gracyn Blackmore and Andreina Santos.
The villa could only save one person out of six, so imagine Us’ surprise when Taylor, 25, received the most support despite being named least genuine guy after choosing Clarke Carraway over Olandria, 27.
But the most surprising show of support came from Cierra, 25, who was the only girl who stood behind Taylor. It didn’t add up for some viewers who questioned where Cierra’s girl code came in after voting to save the man who publicly embarrassed her friend Olandria.
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Others, however, had their theories about what caused the divisive vote. The top theory was that Cierra just followed Nic Vansteenberghe’s lead after he stood behind Taylor. Cierra and Nic, 24, just closed their connection off, so her choice could have been out of support for her partner.
It feels important, however, to remind viewers that Nic’s decision didn’t exactly add up either. Just this week, Nic and Olandria coupled up after the Casa Amor shakeup nearly led to both of them being dumped from the villa.
Nic and Olandria got a second chance if they explored their chemistry, which fans have been rooting for off screen. They did, and it even seemed like Nic was questioning his future with Cierra because of Olandria before they changed their minds. Nic then had a front-row seat to Taylor trying to vote Olandria off at the recoupling. If anything, Nic should have stood behind anyone else but Taylor, if you ask Us.
The other popular theory is that Cierra was just going by majority vote. She realized Taylor would get the most support and followed everyone else. But there is also speculation that as a self-proclaimed Love Island USA fan, Cierra’s vote was much more calculated.
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By standing behind Taylor, Cierra was making sure TJ, 23, couldn’t remain in the villa with Iris Kendall. Outside of Cierra and Nic, TJ and Iris, 25, are the only other couple strong enough to make it last until the season 7 finale later this month. If TJ left the villa, it would work in Cierra and Nic’s favor so they could ultimately be crowned the winners.
Love Island USA follows a group of singles who have to pair off in order to stay in the show’s luxury villa in Fiji. The contestants — who are referred to as Islanders — live in isolation in a villa and are under constant video surveillance. They must be coupled up to remain on the show and to stand a chance to receive the prize of $100,000.
As of right now, the Islanders still left standing include Cierra, Nic, Taylor, Clarke, Olandria, Ace Greene, Amaya Espinal, Bryan Arenales, Chris Seeley, Elan Bibas, Huda Mustafa, Pepe Garcia Chelley Bissainthe and Zak Srakaew.
New episodes of Love Island USA will be released six days a week — except for Wednesdays — on Peacock.
