Love Island USA’s Chelley Bissainthe and Huda Mustafa‘s friendship took a hit over Ace Greene — and their rift has only gotten worse since they left the villa
The Peacock show 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 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.
Huda, 24, and Chelley, 27, started off on good terms when season 7 started in June 2025 but ended up at odds after the Heart Rate Challenge showed Huda putting on a show for Ace — with the edit allegedly not even showing how racy it got.
Once Chelley got out of the villa, she addressed the online discourse surrounding her argument with Huda, telling Variety, “I needed my space from her. We all stand on being a ‘girl’s girl’ and having each other’s backs. At that moment, I didn’t feel like that’s what happened. But once we got a chance to sit down and talk to each other, it was something that we could work through. Our relationship is good. We’re friends. I just needed my space from her, but now everything is good. We understand each other. Boundaries were set.”
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Huda later mentioned feeling excluded at times while filming season 7. She didn’t name names but some fans questioned whether she was referring to her onscreen falling out with Chelley.
Keep scrolling for an explainer on the timeline of the fallout — and what comes next:
The Key Players
Chelley, Ace, 22, and Huda were all original Islanders when season 7 of Love Island USA premiered in June. While viewers were made aware of Chelley and Ace’s brief history (they ran into each other in New York), the plot thickened when eagle-eyed social media users caught wind of Ace also previously “liking” Huda’s Instagram posts before they crossed paths in Fiji.
The Gist
Initially, Chelley and Huda were on great terms while supporting each other’s respective journeys. Chelley was exploring a romance with Ace while coupled up with Austin Shepard and Huda was weathering ups and downs with Jeremiah Brown. The only tension viewers saw initially was mostly one-sided from Ace, who wasn’t happy with Jeremiah and Huda’s toxic relationship.
After Jeremiah was dumped from the villa, Chelley and Ace officially coupled up and Huda had moved on with Chris Seeley — after Chris pursued Chelley first in Casa Amor. This is where things got messy because Huda claimed she brought Chris back for herself and for Chelley, but Chelley wasn’t so sure. After it came out that Huda and Chris kissed, some of the Islanders called Huda out for not following girl code while others (including Chris) defended Huda for doing what everyone is meant to do on the show: explore different connections.
Week 4 subsequently changed the trajectory of several friendships thanks to the Heart Rate Challenge.The point of the challenge was for each couple to tease their fellow Islanders as a way to get their heart rates up and win the game. While it was meant to be done in good fun, Huda ended up in hot water when Chelley felt like her performance for Ace (complete with twerking and a very steamy makeout session) crossed a line.
The rest of the Islanders were divided with some claiming it was all consensual while others claiming Huda crossed a line. Huda, for her part, attempted to clarify, telling Us in July, “The thing I did with Jeremiah in the dominant/submissive challenge — the tongue thing, where I licked all the way up [their body] — I did that with every single guy [in the Heart Rate Challenge]. People were like, ‘Oh no!’ Every dude was very happy during the whole thing. Afterwards, they saw the girl’s reactions and that’s when they’re like, ‘She was doing too much.’”
She added: “It wasn’t personal. I wasn’t trying to take someone’s man, I wasn’t trying to do anything like that. It was literally a challenge that I was trying to win. I didn’t even win!”
Huda made similar comments on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast when she insisted she never “sat on Ace’s face” while explaining how her “ butt was on his stomach” before she twerked on him. Amid Huda’s press tour, Love Island USA fans claimed that Huda and Chelley were no longer following each other. (Their fellow Islander and Chelley’s friend Olandria Carthen was also not keeping up with Huda anymore amid the drama.)
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What People Are Saying
Chelley and Ace remained largely tight-lipped after leaving the villa one day before the finale. In a rare interview with Variety, Chelley weighed in on Huda’s behavior toward Ace during the Heart Rate Challenge.
“It was just fun and games. She expressed that it was just a challenge and for fun,” she said at the time. “So, it had to be something along that line.”
Ace and Chelley later hinted that certain things weren’t properly represented on screen.
“I know there are a lot of questions, and trust, those answers will come with time,” Ace wrote via Instagram in June. “The truth is, who I am in real life and who I may have been perceived to be on TV are two very different things.”
Chelley, meanwhile, wrote in a separate post: “My time in the villa was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. It wasn’t always easy … there were plenty of rollercoasters, lessons, and unspoken moments but I wouldn’t change a thing. It led me to someone I truly adore. For that alone, I’ll always be grateful. “I’ve never been angry with the world for having opinions. A lot occurred and went unseen, but understand that you’re only seeing a glimpse, maybe 10 minutes out of my 24-hour day in Fiji.
Social media has remained divided about who exactly was in the right and who was wrong.
“Anyone with common sense and awareness can clearly see through Huda. Chelley was never upset about the challenges or Huda being with Chris it was always about the principle of things. And Huda seems to not understand that,” wrote a fan via X while another pointed out that Huda never “said nothing bad about Chelley and Olandria” amid claims of a feud.
What’s Next
Peacock confirmed that the Love Island USA reunion will premiere on Monday, August 25, with Andy Cohen joining host Ariana Madix as a cohost. According to a press release, the special “will feature this season’s winners, fan-favorite couples and this year’s bombshells for an up close and personal look back at their experience in the villa.”
Huda, Chelley and Ace are expected to be in attendance to hash out their issues after a break from their time together in Fiji.
