Things are getting steamy on Love Island USA with one couple getting sent to the Hideaway — while at least one other couple already hooked up in secret.
During the Sunday, July 6, episode of the dating show — which airs daily with the exception of Wednesdays — Ace Greene, Amaya Espinal, Bryan Arenales, Chelley Bissainthe, Cierra, Clarke Carraway, Chris Seeley, Elan Bibas, Huda Mustafa, Iris Kendall, Pepe Garcia, Nic Vansteenberghe, Olandria Carthen and Taylor Williams were all in for a surprise.
Halfway into the episode, narrator Iain Stirling confirmed that Cierra “left the villa due to a personal situation” and noted that Nic was “officially single.” Luckily the villa had their resident matchmaker Ace to start rooting for Nic and Olandria to re-explore their connection.
That is exactly what happened as the remaining guys were either settled in their couples or vying for Amaya Papaya’s heart. She had a tough decision to make after Ariana Madix arrived for a recoupling with three suitors to choose from: Zak, Elan and Bryan.
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Week 5 ultimately threw things for a loop since Cierra and Nic were one of the strongest couples. But the exit came amid a resurfaced racist post, with Cierra serving as the third Islander to face backlash since filming kicked off. (The Islanders are halfway through their sixth week in Fiji but for the sake of its timeline, Us Weekly will be tracking the events based on when they air on Peacock.)
As the group settles into their connections one week before the finale, Us is keeping you up to date with live highlights so keep scrolling:
Monday, July 7
Coming off a successful recoupling, everyone was in for a surprise with the fake baby challenge. The goal was to take care of the baby without a minimal amount of crying but not every couple made a solid team.
Taylor and Clarke were the winners with Iris and Pepe, Nic and Olandria and Huda and Chris a close second. Ace and Chelley and Bryan and Amaya, however, were not successful despite their best efforts. This challenge also showed some cracks in Huda and Chris’ relationship after she called him out for how he was speaking to her and how he didn’t take her feelings into account.
Huda and Chris were able to communicate about their issues — and he later revealed to Bryan that they secretly hooked up the night before. As for Bryan, he was growing even more fond of Amaya, which couldn’t have come at a more perfect time now that The Hideaway is open. Amaya and Bryan were nominated as the couple to go enjoy their night away.
Meanwhile back in the villa, both Nic and Olandria realized they were very attracted to each other. Their conversations made them even more convinced that they should explore their connection before their time in Fiji is over.
The sneak peek for Tuesday’s episode hinted that another couple — Pepe and Iris — were about to have sex just as America’s votes are about to send one pair home.
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Sunday, July 6
Week 5 started off with a shock when Cierra was no longer in the villa. That caused Nic to question where his future in the villa was going. Nic decided to shoot his shot with Olandria again as they bonded over their familiar connection.
Elsewhere in the episode, Taylor created a date for Clarke to show her how serious he was. There was also Amaya’s search for The One, which just got more interesting after that makeout with Bryan. She was also pulled for chats with Zak and Elan as the guys in the villa finally realized she is America’s Sweetheart.
Just as Nic and Olandria had another sweet chat — which included Nic somehow mentioning the Nicolandria ship name that has gone viral on social media — Ariana arrived for this week’s recoupling.
Sunday’s episode ended with Ace and Chelley together again while Clarke chose Taylor. After forming an unexpected bond following both of their matches getting dumped, Iris and Pepe chose to give each other an official chance. Chris, meanwhile, was Huda’s choice while Olandria made all of Us happy by picking Nic.
Amaya was the last to go and she chose Bryan, which meant Elan and Zak were headed home.
